Why You Don't Want Cheap Travel

When booking a holiday or flights what do you look for? The nicest hotel, the maximum time to explore your destination, the cheapest trip? I think in this situation a lot of people will say that they want a cheap trip. After all, most of us have a budget that we're working with. Cheap sounds like exactly the way to do things and the saying "cheap and cheerful" springs to mind; but the saying that "you get what you pay for" also springs to mind. For every amazing budget-friendly trip I'm pretty sure almost everyone has that story about how that cheap and cheerful option wasn't quite so cheerful. So this leads me on to my main thread of thought...

Maybe you think that you want cheap flights, or a cheap holiday, but in fact what we are desperately searching for is a value holiday. Or at least that is what I've learnt at my new job as an international travel consultant with Flight Centre.

During my month long training for Flight Centre we were told time and time again that "cheap" is a dirty work. Cheap isn't what our customers are looking for, even though it may be what gets them through the door in the first place. In fact, research has show that money isn't even in the top 5 considerations when booking a holiday, it comes in at number 7. There are many other factors that influence which flight or holiday package we book that come before the overall price – such as timings, or quality of the product/airline. 

Travel agents enjoying a great value trip in Paris!

Of course, budget will always be a consideration but would you really book the cheapest flight possible and expect to have the best experience? There are definitely some people out there who would book the cheapest flight possible, but most people would be willing to spend a little bit more if it meant that the service, or food, or connection times would be better - they're booking for the experience. Good travel planning comes from balancing budget and experience. We forget how much the little details can make of break a trip. Rubbish food on the airplane, or terrible entertainment options on that 8 hour plus flight really can impact the rest of your holiday, even though the flight itself is only a tiny part of the overall experience. 

To take a brief diversions from the travel industry, think about the humble can of baked beans. Such a simple thing but also something that people have very strong opinion on. Given two cans, Heinz and some random supermarket own brand, [British] people tend to have a strong and immediate reaction about which can they would choose (unless, of course, you have a deeply ingrained hatred of beans in the first place). I personally would never buy anything other than Heinz baked beans. But why? What sets Heinz baked beans so high above the rest that the idea of another brand of beans makes me recoil in shock? What makes me willing to spend 3 times more to get my baked bean hit? For me it's because cheap isn't the most important thing, I care about taste, and I can associate the Heinz brand with quality. I know that Heinz have a certain standard that their beans are always going to adhere to, and that image just isn't as strong in supermarket own-brands. At least not for me. 

One person I talked about this with had a completely opposite view to me. She said that she always buys the cheapest beans possible because in the end she's always going to slather them with cheese and put them on toast. She would rather save the money on the beans and spend it on some nicer deli cheese. 

This beans example may seem silly but the point is that the worth of anything depends on what you want from it and and what you expect to get out of it – and this applies equally to travel. 

Looking for a cheap holiday, do you really book the cheapest hotel possible? I definitely don't. Most of us will look at reviews, look at the amenities that the hostel or hotel has and then decide if the price is good value for what it provides. The one time I did just go for the cheapest option was an absolute disaster (I'm talking about you Justice League Youth hostel in Chengdu, China). It was like living in a crack den, there was a mushroom growing in the bathroom...but even that didn't survive the night. I did stick it out for the few nights we were in Chengdu but it did kind of ruin my first experience in an amazing city. For Chengdu, my advice would always be to pay that little bit extra a night and stay somewhere like the Lazybones Hostel! 

The same is true of flights. I will happily pay a little bit extra if it means that I don't have to sit on a Ryanair plane. Or occasionally so that I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch a 6am flight. This means that I am willing to sacrifice the lowest price possible in favour of a better overall experience, and I think that this is true of most people who travel. We will pay for quality because what we want is value, not cheap. 

In my job I get loads of people every day ringing up or coming into store asking for the cheapest flight possible, we do have the lowest airfare guarantee after all! But after having a quick chat it often becomes apparent very quickly that what they want isn't actually the cheapest thing I can see on my screen. They want the flight that is going to be the best value for them. That is one of the reasons why we are discouraged from using the word cheap and from focusing on price at all. The aim is to focus on "delivering amazing travel experiences" (cheesy, right?) and to do that a lot of my job is trying to figure out what is going to constitute good value to the customer. Some customers really do want the cheapest thing possible but booking an airline that I know isn't great is kind of uncomfortable for me. If I am selling something to someone that I know is a great price, but that they are more than likely going to have a terrible experience with it puts me in a tricky situation. Some people are willing to sacrifice the overall experience for price but most people think "how bad can it be?" and then when it's a terrible experience, who are they going to blame? But, at the end of the day all I can do is advise and try to steer people away from those Chinese airlines (just don't do it!). After all, part of travelling is making those mistakes and learning from them - it may not be fun at the time but you'll definitely have some good stories!

Thankfully there's a lot more to Chengdu than the terrible hostel

As a travel agent I try to get my customers the best experience for the best possible price. All my customers get excellent value because we listen to the customer and help them find exactly what they are looking for; but even if you're booking online without the help of a lovely travel agent like me I advise you to watch out. Don't go booking that unbelievably cheap flight on Cheapo Flights dot come and expect to have the holiday of your dreams!

Have you ever had a terrible travel experience because you went for cheap over value? Tell me about it!