Internet Travel Auctions, a division of Midlands Co-op Travel,
is launching holidayauctions.net on
September 1. The site will offer people the chance to grab a bargain by
bidding for their chosen holiday online.
“As consumers become increasingly more comfortable with making purchases
over the net, it is only logical that holidaymakers will use the technology
more and more to choose and book their holidays and flights,” said
Gill Peachey, general manager of Internet Travel Auctions.
“After all, it is a fun way to shop without any pressures and there’s the
chance to pick up a genuine bargain. The customer decides how much they
want that particular holiday and they make their bid accordingly — the
choice is therefore theirs.”
Designed to be an entertaining experience in itself, the site will
include useful travel information and advice, weather reports, holiday
reviews and health information.
Visitors will be able to bid for their chosen holiday from the auction
‘rooms.’ Less adventurous holidaymakers can also select from a wide range
of packaged tours in the ‘fixed price bargain’ section.
Each holiday in the auction rooms shows the highest bid to date. When
the bidding closes, the successful customer is contacted by e-mail to
finalise the purchase. Payment is by credit card, via the Internet or
telephone.
According to research firm Datamonitor, European travel sales over the
Internet
are expected to rise from £7.7 million ($12.3 million) in 1997 to
£1.7 billion ($2.72 billion) in 2002.
