Jet2holidays and Kuoni finished joint first in Which?’s annual survey of beach and resort package holiday providers, as customer service proved the difference between top performers and those further down the rankings.
The two companies achieved the highest customer score in the consumer champion’s survey of over 8,000 travellers who were asked to rate their beach and resort package holidays over the last three years on criteria including the standard of customer service they received, how well descriptions of the holiday matched the reality, how well their trip was organised and value for money.
Both Jet2holidays and Kuoni achieved an impressive customer score of 84 per cent, and an almost perfect run of five-star ratings. Jet2 slipped to four stars only on accommodation, while Kuoni, the most expensive provider in the survey, lost one star for value for money. Both were awarded Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) status.
Jet2holidays has expanded rapidly to become one of the UK’s largest providers, and has shown that it is still possible to offer excellent customer service as a larger company. The personal touch was appreciated by travellers, with one respondent noting that “you don’t feel like you’re just one of a herd”. Multiple respondents commented that they were repeat customers of the firm owing to their reliability and consistently high levels of service, with one traveller remarking they “always” use them and they’ve “never been let down”.
Similar praise was offered by respondents who travelled with Kuoni, with one traveller commenting that the firm was “prepared to work with us to get exactly the holiday we wanted”, while another said “nothing was too much trouble – they went the extra mile.”
Trailfinders, Inghams and Hays Travel rounded out the top of the table and earned the coveted WRP status. Virgin Holidays tied with Hays on a customer score of 80 per cent, but is not a WRP as it could not offer a guarantee that it would not levy surcharges on bookings already paid for.
At the other end of the table, online travel agency eDreams failed to live up to its moniker, achieving a customer score of just 64 per cent. The firm received a paltry two stars for how well the description of the holidays offered match the reality, and despite being the cheapest provider in the survey, with a price per night of £72pp for short-haul stays, received three stars for value for money.
While there were few companies to perform truly poorly in the survey, with even lowest scoring eDreams receiving four stars in some categories, the factor that separated the top performers in the table from those with lower rankings generally emerged as customer service, with a large number of firms further down the table receiving middling scores of three stars.
Travellers with big name brands like Lastminute.com, Love Holidays, easyJet Holidays and On The Beach were all generally satisfied with their holidays, with none receiving a customer score of less than 70 per cent. However, these companies failed to deliver the exceptional, five-star levels of customer service reported by those at the top of the table.
One traveller with Love Holidays commented that “customer service was non-existent” while more than one complained of difficulties speaking to an adviser on occasions where things did go wrong. Similarly, one unhappy respondent remarked of Lastminute.com that “their customer service is appalling…completely unhelpful”, while an easyJet Holidays customer complained the firm “never answer the phone”.
As one of the largest providers in the UK to offer a combination of online and high street sales, Tui also fell down on customer service. Its performance was in sharp contrast to the likes of Hays Travel, which also has a strong high street presence, and with similarly large competitor Jet2holidays. Tui’s customer score was 74 per cent, 10 points behind Jet2holidays despite serving a similar number of travellers in the survey and having the same average price per night for short haul stays.
One traveller remarked that Tui “cabin crew were rude and ignorant” while another commented on the “long-winded and frustrating” experience of trying to make contact with customer service agents via an app. Others did report more positive experiences however, with one satisfied customer reporting “everything was very slick, good communication and lovely staff”.
