Trailfinders tops Which? survey of best beach and resort package holiday providers
The consumer champion invited over 12,000 travellers to rate their experiences of package holiday providers, receiving ratings for almost 20,000 holidays. The results were broken down by type of break, including city breaks, solo trips, beach and resort holidays and more.
Companies were rated on six key criteria including customer service, standard of accommodation, how well the description matched the reality, organisation, transport to and from the destination, and value for money. A customer score was calculated based on overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend.
Trailfinders, which specialises in bespoke trips, and Jet2 Holidays, the UK's largest package provider, gained an unprecedented number of recommendations this year, securing 12 Which? Recommended Provider endorsements between them, across various categories.
In the all-important beach and resorts category, which accounts for the majority of trips taken by UK holidaymakers, Trailfinders topped the table with an impressive customer score of 87 per cent. It secured Which? Recommended Provider status alongside Kuoni (83%), Jet2 Holidays (82%), Olympic Holidays (82%) and Beachcomber Tours (81%).
Trailfinders scored five stars for customer service and organisation. Its holidays are all booked via direct contact with an adviser, whether in-person, over the phone or via virtual consultations, and respondents expressed their satisfaction with the personal standard of care - as one customer put it, “they really listened and organised the holiday we wanted, not the one they wanted to sell.”
Trailfinders also scored four stars for accommodation, how well the description matched the reality and transport to and from the destination. Almost uniquely, they keep customer money in a trust account until their return from holiday in case an airline or provider goes bust, adding an extra layer of protection.
In second place was luxury holiday specialist Destination2.co.uk. It received a five-star rating for customer service, and four stars for the quality of accommodation, how well the description matched the reality, organisation, and value for money.
Multiple holidaymakers expressed their desire to book with the firm a second time, with one saying “I had the best experience ever in the history of my travels.” However, in spite of its excellent customer ratings, the firm narrowly missed out on Which? Recommended Provider status as if costs rise, it reserves the right to add a surcharge to your holiday after you pay.
Kuoni took third place, with a customer score of 83 per cent. The luxury holiday company received a five star rating for customer service and organisation, as well as four stars for accommodation, description matching reality and transport to and from the destination. As with other top scorers, holidaymakers appreciated the personal touch, noting “The accuracy of the brochure was spot on, when we booked the holiday we were able to talk to a staff member that had visited the resort...nothing was too much trouble.”Jet2, Olympic and Hays were close behind, all tied on a customer score of 82 per cent, followed by Beachcomber Tours on 81 per cent. Three of the four achieved Which? Recommended Provider status in the beach and resorts category, with Hays narrowly missing out due to a two-star rating for quality of accommodation.As the UK’s largest holiday company, Jet2 Holidays is responsible for more than seven million packages every year, yet despite its size and continued growth, it continues to deliver excellent customer experiences. It received four stars for customer service, how well the description matched reality, and organisation. As one holidaymaker surmised, “they are efficient, reliable and true to publication.”
At the other end of the beach and resorts table eDreams was in last place with a customer score of 63 per cent, followed by Loveholidays and Club Med tied on 69 per cent.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said:
“Holidaymakers should be able to rest easy knowing their travel company will deliver a great holiday and excellent customer service, and our Which? Recommended Providers do exactly that, meaning consumers can book with confidence.
“All of our Which? Recommended Providers have also guaranteed that they won’t charge customers extra if costs rise after they book, meaning that travellers can have peace of mind that the advertised price is all they’ll pay.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
Between August and September 2024, Which? surveyed 12,119 Which? Connect panel members (2,220) and members of the public (9,899) who have been on a package holiday in the last 2 years (since July 2022) about 19,958 holiday experiences. In the beach and resort category, Which? received feedback on 10,999 beach, pool or resort holidays from 8,591 respondents.
Table of results
Survey results only include holidays that reached the minimum sample size of 30. Sample sizes in brackets. A dash (-) means sample size too small for a rating.
Destination2 is not a WRP because it reserves the right to add a surcharge to your holiday after you pay, if costs rise. Hays Travel’s two-star accommodation rating means it is not eligible for WRP status in the beach and resorts category.
Average price based on per-person prices reported by respondents in all categories.
Short-haul means less than a five-hour flight from London.
Rights of Reply:
An eDreams spokesperson said the company does not provide pre-packaged holidays and argued this makes the comparison irrelevant and misleading by nature. They disputed the methodology and sample sizes in the research. They highlighted that they have asked the Market Research Society (MRS) to investigate a previous Which? report over sample sizes used. Which? stands by its research in that case and is assisting the MRS with its investigation.
Which? Recommended Providers
Beach and resorts
Trailfinders
Kuoni
Jet2 Holidays
Olympic Holidays
Beachcomber Tours
All-inclusive
Trailfinders
Kuoni
City breaks
Trailfinders
Jet2 holidays
Saga
Family holidays
Trailfinders
Kuoni
Jet2 Holidays
Hays Travel
Escorted tours
HF Holidays
Audley Travel
Intrepid
One Traveller
Exodus Adventure Travels
Great Rail Journeys
Jules Verne
Riviera Travel
Trailfinders
Self-guided tours
Audley Travel
Inntravel
Cultural Tours
Jules Verne
Trailfinders
Smaller/independent providers
Inghams
Hayes and Jarvis
Sunvil
Neilson
Solo holidays
One traveller
Jet2Holidays
Tailor-made holiday providers
Trailfinders
Audley Travel
Kuoni
Travelbag
Jet2Holidays
About Which?
Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.
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