11/28/2012 (press release: OnlinePR) // UK
The Midcounties Co-op Travel is to launch dynamically packed holidays with exclusive deals for customers under the banner ‘Co-op Recommends’ in the New Year.
The move is thanks to a partnership with the bed bank division of On Holiday Group. The new deal will give the Midcounties branch network, homeworking and call centre businesses access to exclusive discounts and added value deals negotiated directly with Hotels on the Coop’s behalf.
The ‘Co-op Recommends’ site will go live in January and follows the decision by On Holiday Group to join the new consortium formed by The Midcounties Co-op Travel. Its membership officially starts on Monday (19 November).
Midcounties’ Alistair Rowland, Group General Manager of Travel said: “We are excited about the new partnership and believe it will benefit both parties and deliver a great deal for holidaymakers. It gives us access to exclusive deals with added value for our customers.
“We will access accommodation and flights through a portal designed by On Holiday Group. However it is more than an advanced technical solution, it is about providing a dynamically packaged tour operation, developing our offer and differentiating ourselves in the market.”
Steve Endacott, CEO of On Holiday Group, said: “Many hotels will often give extra discounts or added value, if a retailer is willing to guarantee that they will really get behind promoting these offers. The Coop Recommends site gives hotels direct access to Coop’s front line staff who will push not just the cheapest hotel, but also the best value holiday offer”.
The new Coop Recommends site will promote partner hotels at the top of any search for their destination and via home page special offers, which in turn will be reflected in Window displays or email shots to clients. Midcounties and On Holiday Group claim that this “joined up” approach to hotel promotion will allow them to directionally sale towards partner hotels offering better deals, which in turn will lead to more deals via a “Virtuous Circle”.
Midcounties has embarked on a strategy of rapid growth as it aims to become the leading independent travel retailer in the UK, with co-operative values at its core. Its consortium will retain principal ATOL status for each of its members.
Caption: Alistair Rowland (centre) is pictured welcoming CEO Steve Endacott (right) and Bill Allen, Managing Director of Accommodation, On Holiday Group, to the consortium.
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Notes to Editors
The Midcounties Co-operative has its headquarters in Warwickshire, with trading outlets in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and the surrounding counties.
The Society’s trading groups are food retail, funeral, travel, pharmacy, childcare nurseries, employee benefits and energy. The Midcounties Co-operative is the largest independent co-operative society in the UK and has more than 470 branches, and 245,000 active trading members. It is in The Sunday Times Best 100 Companies To Work For list for the second year running.
The Society’s mission statement is ‘To be a successful consumer co-operative working towards creating a better, fairer world, and to enhance the lives of our colleagues, members, customers, and the communities we serve’.
For more details call Louise Evans at Seal on 0121 616 5800. Visit www.midcounties.coop
About Co-op Travel
Co-op Travel offer a variety of holidays, flights and hotels. They are providers of last minute city break deals and cheap ski holidays in 2012.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives, highlighting the contribution of co-operatives to socio-economic development, particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will highlight the strengths of the co-operative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socio-economic development.
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