Now in its sixth year of operation, Your Golf Travel is striving to become Europe's largest golf tour operator, says Helen Warwick.
Why is it in the news?
Launched in 2005, Your Golf Travel sells domestic, European and long-haul golf holiday packages. It was recently ranked London's fastest growing company and the UK's sixth (15th in 2009) fastest growing business in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100, after achieving annual sales growth of 158% over the past three years. Durham University friends Ross Marshall and Andrew Harding set up the company using £20,000 from their credit cards in 2005. The first year brought in sales of £541,000. Since then, it has continued to grow and it achieved sales of £27 million in 2010. Marshall says: "We've sold breaks for as little as £1 to £250,000 - we cover the whole range of golf holidays. If it's golf related, we can sell it."
COMPANY HISTORY
2005: Your Golf Travel is founded
2008: It launches sister website Spabreaks.com
2009: It acquires the Inta Group, UK-golfguide.com and Rightclub.co.uk
2010: Your Golf Travel is ranked London's fastest growing company and sixth fastest in the UK in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 guide.
Who are its main competitiors?
Companies such as Lastminute.com and Superbreak offer a comparable product. Your Golf Travel also faces competition from direct bookings with hotels, golf courses and spas.
What does it mean for the market?
The operator's focus is on providing value golf holiday experiences for various types of traveller, from corporate groups and 20-somethings looking for short breaks to packages tailored for older holidaymakers. It currently covers 3,000 courses in 22 countries and books more than 150,000 customers each year. Top destinations include traditional golfing hotspots such as the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France and more recently, Turkey. Expanding its portfolio further, new venture FairwaytoFurlong.com combines golf and horse racing breaks for a niche market, while its sister company Spabreaks.com marries golf and spa packages, ideal for holidaying couples.
What are its motives / strategy?
"To put more golfers on more fairways than any other golf business by making golfing holidays more accessible to more golfers in the UK adn Europe," according to Marshall. The overall aim of Your Golf Travel is to dominate the European golf travel sector, in an industry that's worth in excess of £150 million in the UK alone. The operator is also keen to stress that its products aren't solely for diehard golf fanatics, but also for those wanting to dip their fingers in the game while they're on holiday. "We're helping to make golf more mainstream for the leisure market with our reasonable price points and packages," Marshall adds. "We're certainly not a niche part of a niche market - we're an aggregator for the UK's largest participation sport."
How does it operate in the UK?
With more than 90 staff in its central London offices, Your Golf Travel is on track to becoming Europe's largest golf tour operator, boasting a client base of more than 400,000 golfers. In 2009, the company acquired Europe's largest international golf travel company, The Inta Group, including sub-brands 3D Golf, Bill Goff Golf Tours, 4golf.com (a no frills internet venture), Longshot Golf Holidays and Teetimesanywhere (an online golf course booking system). During that year it also bought UK-golfguide.com and Rightclub.co.uk
Why should the travel trade be taking notice of it?
Your Golf Travel relies heavily on the UK trade to sell its products and offers commission of between 8% and 15% to agents, depending on the destination and product. Recent figures have revealed a strong level of customer loyalty, with 57% rebooking for 2010 after holidays in 2009. The operator is willing to organise fam trips and training days if approached by agents, but as yet has nothing planned for the year.
What challenges does it face in the future?
As well as managing and maintaining its high growth rates, Your Golf Travel is looking to expand its operation into Ireland this year and the US in 2012. It also intends to launch new leisure, travel and lifestyle brands to compete with mainstream travel retailers.
