Again I will start this review by saying that I am employed by TUI UK the company who own Thomson holidays.
I was originally employed by the Thomson Travel Group, the company was the taken over and has now evolved to become part of the world of TUI, the largest tourism company in the world (so I am told).
The actual idea behind the world of TUI concept is actually very good. They aim to be present at every stage in the customer holiday from where they book, who they fly with, where they stay and every other step in the package holiday process. Therefore the plan is you book your holiday in Lunn Poly, you fly with Britannia airways (soon to become Thomson airways) and they you stay in one of the many hotel chains which the company operates. It has actually got to the point where no matter where you go you can't escape the TUI smile logo.
There is a view that this take over has affected the standards of holidays which Thomson now have. To a certain extent this is true in that the company (TUI)
aims to 'standardise' everything. All the aircraft from all the companies within TUI are painted in similar liveries so they are easily interchangeable. Even the new uniform is being used across the whole world and not just for Thomson. In fact the only distinguishable feature will be a union jack badge which they wear to separate themselves from their colleagues from other countries. I personally feel that things such as this are only eroding the Thomson name which is so well respected.
Having said that, it is hard for this to be avoided no matter what industry it is in. Also I feel that Thomson is still the best at what they do. For many years Thomson have been the market leaders, they are the company who everyone copies and strives to be like. An example is that Thomson was the first company to publish the results of their customer opinion scores in their brochures (good or bad), now first choice and Airtours have followed.
Thomason also have customer satisfaction pledge. In that if you have a problem which they cannot rectify within 24hrs they will fly you straight home.
The actual reasons that Thomson is better are very hard to pinpoint because the product is so similar no matter who you book with. However the aspects which to me are the most important are the service and quality which is associated with the company. Their holiday reps are the best trained (again they are what other companies aspire to, and other operators even try to poach staff from Thomson when they have been trained). Again the second point I mentioned is quality, the standards you get are excellent and are second to none. Obviously I am not saying that all of Thomson’s accommodation is the best, it is exactly what they tell you it is.
Another point which I would like to add is how good Thomson late deals are. As most people are aware most late deals are allocated on arrival. Therefore the customer is not aware where they will stay until they arrive in resort. When you book one of these holidays you will be guaranteed a minimum rating and type of accommodation. So for example you will be given a 3t allocation on arrival deal to Cyprus. This means that you will stay in an accommodation with that rating or greater. I have been on three late deals with Thomson. The first was a 2t self catering deal to Tenerife in August. We stayed in a 4t accommodation. The second was to Cyprus, it was a 3t all inclusive holiday I ended up staying in the 4t patheon beach club hotel (excellent bye the way). The third one was on the Costa Brava (2t) and we ended up staying in a lovely apartment in Tossa de mar (this time it did have a 2t rating. The point I am trying to make here is that the rating you are given is the minimum you can stay in.
They also offer late deals where you are told you will stay in one of three or four hotels, but don't know which one until you get there. These can sometimes be very good value.
Now for what I feel is the only negative part, the price. I do feel that some Thomson holidays are over priced and this is unfortunate. However having said that if you look at the prices just now Thomson have some of the best prices because My travel have increased their prices due to being in bad financial shape. Some times the prices for Thomson holidays a great deal more expensive. In this situation dependant on the difference most people (including myself) will go with the cheaper option. However sometimes it is genuinely worth paying a little more to go with Thomson because of the quality and service I mentioned above.
I have travelled extensively with Thomson holiday and other operators both in the past and as recently as last month with Thomson. I feel it is hard to mention one holiday in particular because as I said the product offered is so similar, but Thomson are the best at what they do.
I have read the other reviews on here of the company and I find it hard to believe the experiences some people have had. I am not saying that these people are wrong I am simply saying that every time I have travelled with them it has been excellent. The only exception to that was this year in Mexico when there was a problem with the flight home to Glasgow. However the problem was on the part of MY travel (who operated the flight) and not of Thomson.
I feel this has been a little vague at times but I hope it give you a good impression of how good the company is.
I will end by giving you some tips. Thomson has a sister company called Portland Direct. They are essentially the same company. The use the same flights, the same holiday reps and in some cases the same hotels. When they do offer the same hotels Portland is almost always cheaper. This is because you can only book direct with them and not via a travel agent. Compare the Thomson prices to those on portland-direct.co.uk and you will see.
Good luck and happy holidays.
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Good review, I have learnt a bit more about the household high-street brand behind Thomson. I have booked a honeymoon trip this year, and I hope everything turns out to be okay. I will write a view upon my return.
Regards,
Samuel.
T21AMY 03.01.2004 01:11
You can always trust a Thomson !!! Ax (aka Miss Thomson)
sue.51 03.01.2004 01:03
Great op - I have been a loyal Thomson customer since my first package holiday with them about 7 years ago, this is despite a number of problems which have included 2 cancellations through building work with no compensation, 1 with only 6 days to go - however, after my recent holiday with them booked through Portland there were a number of issues over which I was dissatisfied including a rep who couldn't care less when my teenage daughter I were taken ill and whether we were fit to return to the UK only a day before Christmas, appalling accommodation which thankfully saw us moved by hotel staff to apartments apparently not generally made available to the UK tour operators and a 24 hour help-line which wasn't aware of the existence of the E111 reciprocal agreement with EU countries - all in all a disaster which has seen me book my first package holiday for the family independent of tour operators - and have saved about £1,200 into the bargain.
Sue
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