The top 30 best and worst beach and resort holiday package providers for 2024 have been revealed in a new survey by Which?, with bespoke holiday company Trailfinders taking top spot and eDreams at the bottom of the table.
More than 12,000 customers rated companies based on six key criteria: customer service, quality of accommodation, how well the description fits reality, organisation, transport to and from accommodation and value for money. A customer score was calculated based on overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.
Trailfinders, Kuoni, Jet2 Holidays, Olympic Holidays and Beachcomber Tours were awarded Which ones? Endorsements from recommended vendors, after “earning an unprecedented number of referrals.”
The top-rated Trailfinders achieved an “impressive” customer score of 87 percent, with five stars for both customer service and organization. Which? explains: “All your holidays are booked through direct contact with an advisor, whether in person, over the phone or through virtual consultations.”
A customer said Which?: “They really listened to us and organized the vacations we wanted, not the ones they wanted to sell.”
The tailor-made holiday company also scored four stars for accommodation, description-to-reality and transport to and from accommodation. Which? says: “Almost uniquely, they hold clients’ money in a trust account until their return from vacation in case an airline or travel provider goes bankrupt, adding an extra layer of protection.”
Luxury holiday specialist Destination2.co.uk came second in the ranking thanks to a customer score of 86 per cent. Respondents gave five stars for customer service and four stars for the quality of accommodation, how well the description fits reality, organization and value for money.
Which? explains: “Several tourists expressed their desire to book with the company for the second time, and one of them said: “I had the best experience in the history of my travels.”
However, despite these assessments, which ones? explains that Destination2.co.uk ‘narrowly missed Which? Recommended Supplier Status as if costs increase they reserve the right to add a surcharge to your holiday after you pay.’
The top 30 and worst beach and resort holiday package providers for 2024 have been revealed in a new survey by Which?, with bespoke holiday company Trailfinders taking top spot and eDreams at the bottom of the table.
Top-rated Trailfinders achieved an “impressive” customer score of 87 percent, with five stars for both customer service and organization
Which? says “the tourist (who booked with Kuoni) appreciated the personal touch”
Kuoni rounded out the top three with a customer score of 83 percent, five stars for customer service and organization, four stars for accommodation, realistic description, and transportation to and from accommodation.
Which? says that “tourists (who booked with Kuoni) appreciated the personal touch” and one customer commented: “The accuracy of the brochure was perfect, (and) when we booked the holiday we were able to speak to a member of staff who had visited the resort. .nothing was too much trouble.’
Jet2Holidays, Olympic and Hays tied for fourth place with a customer score of 82 per cent. Beachcomber Tours followed (fifth) with a customer score of 81 percent. Hays was the only one of these companies not to be named as a Which? Recommended supplier, ‘as if costs go up, they reserve the right to add a surcharge to your holiday after you pay’, Which one? explains.
Which? comments that despite being “responsible for over seven million packages each year” as the UK’s largest holiday company, “Jet2 continues to deliver great customer experiences.”
Jet2Holidays earned four stars for customer service, how well the description matched reality and the organization. One tourist told Which?: “They are efficient, reliable and faithful to their posts.”
At the other end of the scale, eDreams came last, with a customer score of 63 per cent, followed by Loveholidays and Club Med at 69 per cent.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘Tourists should be able to rest easy knowing that their travel company will provide them with 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 suppliers have also guaranteed that they will not charge customers more if costs increase after booking, meaning travelers can rest assured that the advertised price is all they will pay.’
An eDreams spokesperson told Which? The company does not offer packaged holidays and argued that this makes the comparison irrelevant and misleading in nature. He disputed the methodology and sample sizes in the research and highlighted that he has asked the Market Research Society (MRS) to investigate a previous study Which? report on the sample sizes used. Which? It maintains its investigation in that case and said it is assisting the MRS with its investigation.
Which? says “Jet2 continues to deliver great experiences to its customers” despite being the UK’s largest holiday company
EDreams came in last place with a customer score of 63 percent. The company claims that the survey is “misleading”