The Maldives has always been on my bucket list. It looks like paradise in photos, but it’s also incredibly expensive. I thought only celebrities and rich people could go there.
Until now. The Holiday Factory, the leading tour operator in the United Arab Emirates, just launched its website in the Philippines, and through this digital platform you can book all-inclusive holiday travel packages that comprise roundtrip flights, transfers, accommodations with breakfast, tour guides, and travel insurance for half the market price offered by competitors: Boracay for as low as P3,499 per person, Siargao for P5,499, Bangkok for P11,899, Hong Kong for P14,999, Dubai for P26,999, and (note to self) the Maldives for P32,999.
How do they do this?
Hakan Bakar, Holiday Factory’s business development director for international markets, explains, “We are not a reselling agency like most of the providers in this country.” When they package a particular destination, their contracting managers go personally, checking out all the hotels then handpicking those that meet their standards. “Then we negotiate the prices for the upcoming season and commit to them a high number of guests.”
They do the same with their airline and transportation partners, thereby getting significantly lower rates, “which we then reflect with a slim margin for us in our sales price.”
Holiday Factory did their research on the Philippine travel industry and noted that there’s a rapidly growing mid-income segment with a high intent for traveling who are looking for affordable holiday packages. “Recent searches are clearly showing that more than 1/3 of the population is looking for affordable rates, and also they would like to get their holidays organized for themselves,” Bakar says. “And this segment is highly under-catered and underserved in the Philippines by the big lack of tour operators.”
Holiday Factory’s comprehensive holiday packages include full-coverage travel insurance, breakfast, a designated tour guide on the ground, return hotel-airport transfers and return flights, bundling these services into their vouchers.
To book a travel package with them, go to their website (holidayfactory.ph), select your desired destination, departure airport (they offer departures from Manila, Clark and Cebu), select the hotel you would like to stay at (ranging from two-star to five-star, all centrally located), for how many nights, choose your travel dates and complete your booking.
“Our three unique selling points are: unbeatable price at half of the marketplace; second, our Holiday Factory vouchers with this travel-flexibility option; thirdly, a fully digital platform where customers can hassle-free book a holiday package — very easy. No need to go to different providers,” notes Bakar.
As we saw from the recent Crowdstrike incident, many things can and often do go wrong while traveling. Holiday Factory customer care director Sam Devela assured me their service team is always available to customers before, during and even after the trip to provide assistance whenever they need it. “Our customer is always our number-one priority,” he says.
Their tour guides at the destinations are also curated. “These expert tour guides are not coming from third-party agencies,” Devela says. “They are directly and personally hired by Holiday Factory to ensure the safety of our customers and also to make sure that you are all well taken care of while you are at the destinations. They have extensive knowledge of the destinations. They meet our customers at the airport. They provide transfers from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel back to the airport. But above all they provide assistance however our customers need it.”
Reservations director Rhonna Maullon says they provide a world-class experience with a local touch. “We have a unique, advanced travel-management system specially designed to streamline our operations and coordination with our suppliers and destination,” she says. “Rest assured that my team will handle your reservation with utmost importance to make sure that we do the fast booking confirmation.”
General manager Sandra Daemmrich says that in 2011, Holiday Factory became the first package tour operator in the UAE, bringing to market travel packages at affordable prices. “This revolutionized the market and changed the travel habits of travelers,” she notes.
While we now have the technology to become our own travel agents, you have to admit it’s tiring to scour the web for the best deals on everything, from flights to hotels. “We do the work for you,” she says, citing one of my dream destinations, the Maldives. “You most likely think, ‘Maybe I will see the Maldives when I have my honeymoon or my anniversary.’ But a lot of us think, ‘I will never see Maldives. It's just so expensive.’ But with Holiday Factory, you can explore the Maldives with our product called Maldives Experience, which makes it accessible to everyone.”
You can bet I’m already on the website, seeing if I can turn my dream into reality.
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Go to www.holidayfactory.ph for travel packages and to join the Mega Giveaway of 100 holiday packages.