The Great Gallery, Wallace Collection

Sometimes helping others has its rewards. CHTAEF – Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Educational Foundation raises money to put Caribbean students into education where they learn about tourism, travel and hospitality. It’s not a big charity but it manages to fund between 45 and 50 students a year to study. If thestudents come to the UK, then they can go to Bournemouth University – one of the best in the country for tourism studies. In this, their silver jubilee year, they can show that they have managed to raise $1.5 million for education.

For the first time ever they are holding a fundraising event in our countries. They’ve chosen the Wallace Collection to host the event this coming March 10th. I know it’s a bit short notice but if any of you are interested then click here. A group of you might fancy a table but you can go on your own as well.

A silent auction (you just a bid on the relevant prize by adding your name to a list at the price you’re prepared to pay. You may be lucky or you may be trumped.) Then there is the more usual auction. There will be hotel offers including some that you definitely say were one in a million breaks such as staying on Richard Branson’s island. You could also bid for a signed pair of Usain Bolt’s golden running shoes or a cricket bat signed by the 2008 winning West Indian team.

The event is being backed by BA, Virgin Atlantic (rivalry gone for the evening as both support better training for the people who can make your holiday more special to you) and Virgin Holidays to name a few.

But don’t these things go for silly money you might be asking, a question I put to Tom Pas, the chairman of the board of trustees of CHTAEF? He says that in the silent auction generally prizes go for no more than 60 per cent of the value. And the value will be listed on the bidding sheet. In some cases, prizes go for a lot less particularly if it is hotel accommodation and you have to buy the flights.
So if you fancy a great break, a good night out in a splendid location, the Wallace is for you.

You could be forgiven for thinking, after seeing the Which? Holiday report on tour operators that you should avoid the big companies like Thomson, First Choice, Thomas Cook, Cosmos and Virgin because they haven’t done very well in the report.

You would be wrong.

This is not to say that the survey is wrong. The Consumers Association, (CA), publishers of the different Which? Reports has strict and solid research techniques and knowledge. No the problem is the sample. It is drawn from members of the CA which is largely upmarket, middle class. These are not the sort of people who tend to book package holidays with the large tour operators so the number of people surveyed who have holidayed with those I mentioned earlier is proportionately much lower. Low response means a few positive or negative responses can affect results.

The whole survey is only 4,507 responders so the  people responding per tour operator could be low.  A minimum of only 30 have to reply for each tour operator to be included. Thirdly, smaller tour operators like VFB, which came top (and congratulations to them), move comparatively small numbers of people compared to the millions moved by the big companies. It is always easier to get better customer satisfaction ratings from smaller companies than larger ones and that applies to whichever industry you survey. And to be fair, Rochelle Turner, head of research at the CA said that it might be harder to provide the attention to detail in big companies. Finally it should be said that the tour operators interview people during their holiday. The CA interviewed people after they had returned home and, in some cases, holidays could have been quite a long time ago. Answers may vary as time elapses.

I should make an admission. I have worked with most of the big tour operators over the years on their customer satisfaction programmes so I know how much time effort and money goes in to it and the responses they make to problems.

The big tour operators try as hard as the little ones to make your holidays as enjoyable as they can. And if there is a problem, they will try, by and large, to resolve it. I cannot remember, over the last 10 or so years, of any of the biggest tour operators ever being voted number 1. And I wouldn’t expect them to in any survey of CA members

Before looking at that subject, I should congratulate those from travel and tourism who did walk off with trophies. Butlins were awarded Best Service Employer of the Year and Pauline Wilson from Virgin Holidays was named Customer Service Manager of the Year. Manchester Airport, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country and the National Maritime Museum all made the shortlist but were pipped at the last moment. In the case of Manchester Airport they lost out in two categories and the Group (which also owns East Midlands and Humberside airports) lost out as well.

Last year 13 different companies related to travel and tourism were shortlisted so the number has halved. As I said earlier, this could be because companies decided not to enter. But last year there was a category for Customer Service Team of the Year for Leisure & Tourism and not this year. There was also a similar award for airlines, transport and distribution which failed to survive into 2009. So it could be that travel and tourism companies saw little reason to enter.

This week there was the news story about the person who requested a complaint form from the guard on a train. As the journey ended, the guard came over the tannoy apologising for not managing to get the form to the passenger because  overcrowding made it difficult to get through the train! Enough said. An attempt at customer service defeated by the very reason for it.

Customer service needs rewarding in whichever industry it is in.

 By voting you could also win but those prizes will be announced a bit later.

So for now, these are some of the winners.

You chose First Choice as the best short haul tour operator and Virgin Holidays as the best long haul one. Your best airport in the UK was Manchester Airport and overseas, Singapore. The best UK destination was Cornwall and your favourite country to visit was the USA. Your favourite citybreak destination was Barcelona and you thought that Dubai was the best tourist board. American Airlines was voted the best airline and Easyjet, the best no-frills airline. The best cruise company was Cunard and the best ferry operator, P & O. Shearings were voted the best tour operator for escorted tours and Thomson was voted the best in a number of categories including all-inclusive, best to the Middle East and the Med.

For the full list go to www.britishtravelawards.com/tip_awbf.php

Just a reminder. The survey about your future travel thoughts is open until November 30^th. We’ll send you a reminder a little closer to the time as well but you if you haven’t filled it in you can do so by going to www.britishtravelawards.com/tip_rp.php.

And thanks once again for voting. As soon as the winners amongst the voters is known, we’ll let you know.