Andrew Stanley, Group CEO and Founding father of Golfbreaks, critiques the enterprise for GBN and appears forward to the prospects for 2025.
GBN: What was the unique idea in your marketing strategy?
Andrew Stanley: The unique plan again in 1998 was organising Ryder Cup Type matches for teams of golfers. Taking two groups away on a weekend to play a Ryder Cup model match with a trophy, staff polo shirts and the whole lot organised.
I began by encouraging golf membership captains to play in opposition to their vice captains, membership professionals to problem one other membership professional and many others. Inside a yr, I realised there was a far greater alternative in golf journey, beginning with golf breaks within the UK…
I consider that you simply began by working from dwelling; not fairly as straightforward to do 25 years in the past as it’s now?
Organising in my bed room undoubtedly helped to avoid wasting prices – simply me, a laptop computer, a printer and really intermittent Wi-Fi…!
In truth, I’m pondering that expertise will need to have made an enormous distinction to the journey enterprise?
Undoubtedly. Makes me smile remembering how within the early years, we used to make and ensure each reserving with our venues by fax. The methods we now have in place together with our App and on-line reserving portal make the reserving course of a lot simpler for our clients.
However you continue to want good folks. What has been your recruiting technique?
Recruiting ‘nice’ folks has at all times been my primary precedence. I took on three co-directors/shareholders within the first two years, one being a cousin (Man Proddow) and the opposite two have been nice mates (Steve Hemsworth & Daniel Grave). I’m very proud that 25 years on, we nonetheless love working a enterprise collectively!
Can you provide profession alternatives?
Sure, we’ve got simply over 200 workers now working within the enterprise, together with 45 workers who’ve labored for 10+ years at Golfbreaks and developed their careers with us.
Every year we make use of 10-15 college placement college students to work with us and on common, we provide round 5 of them a full-time place to return again to Golfbreaks as soon as they’ve completed their diploma.
Our Head of Gross sales (Sam Barker), Head of Business (Nik Hayes) and Head of HR (Gemma Clements) all began as placement college students with us 15+ years in the past.
What has been the primary foundation upon which you might have been capable of develop your small business?
Sticking to our unique mantra of “Saving golfers Time and Cash” by providing an unparalleled one-stop reserving service and getting them the perfect out there fee.
Moreover, we’ve got at all times invested in our expertise platforms to additional enhance the reserving course of and assist us keep forward of our opponents.
Does dimension matter?
Inevitably, it helps to be a market chief when it comes to dimension and while we ship over 200,000 golfers away on journeys yearly, our focus will at all times be on popularity versus dimension – the popularity we’ve got with our clients and the popularity we construct with our suppliers.
Is the variety of golf vacation operators/suppliers rising?
Sure, golf and journey are nonetheless very a lot in vogue. Over the previous 25 years, we’ve got at all times had new entrants coming into {the marketplace} which doesn’t shock me, because it’s a lovely trade to be in. Some have lasted, some haven’t…
Do you specialize in any explicit markets or nations?
Our largest single market continues to be golf breaks right here within the UK, adopted by Spain and Portugal, although we additionally provide lots of of different {golfing} locations around the globe from Barbados to Vietnam. Now we have a complete Tournaments programme together with journeys to The Masters, THE PLAYERS, The Open and the Ryder Cup in addition to our personal in style UK and European Pairs Occasions.
Moreover, we’ve got two abroad workplaces, one within the US (Charleston, South Carolina) and the opposite in Copenhagen, Denmark. Our quickest rising market is within the US and our partnership take care of the PGA TOUR again in 2019 (they personal a minority stake in Golfbreaks) has helped to speed up our growth over there.
And who’re the primary Golfbreaks clients?
It’s laborious to outline. We cater for all golfers, whether or not it’s a pair trying to go away for an evening; a bunch of 12 mates having their annual get-together over an extended weekend; a one-off group of fifty+ golfers from a golf membership or society going away for every week or clients going to The Open or The Masters on a event expertise.
Which components of the Golfbreaks market have been notably profitable and why?
Right here within the UK, the marketplace for Sunday night time golf breaks continues to be enormous as there’s at all times extra availability for bedrooms and tee-times, which in flip means we’re capable of negotiate some very aggressive value factors and added worth for our clients. Golf excursions to locations like Bournemouth, Bristol and Cardiff are more and more in style.
In Europe, the quick break market continues to be extremely popular with golfers, particularly as flight availability has now returned to pre-Covid ranges. Going additional afield, we’re presently sending report numbers of golfers to nations like South Africa, Mauritius, Dubai, Vietnam and USA, as golfers look to discover new locations and play bucket record programs.
Does your small business mannequin contain working with golf professionals as journey group leaders? How do you talk and incentivise these contacts?
Sure, we’re the official journey associate for the PGA and have over 500 golf professionals right here within the UK that we assist organise journeys for. We additionally work with an analogous quantity over in Scandinavia. It’s an ideal alternative for golf professionals to take choose teams of members away for some golf, enjoyable and naturally, a little bit of teaching.
What have been your foremost enterprise challenges over time?
The standout one was Covid for apparent causes. I’m so happy with how our staff pulled collectively and managed that state of affairs. We made positive we continued to pay our suppliers on time and labored laborious to rebook over 85% of our clients who weren’t capable of journey – each have been recreation changers for us.
And the way is subsequent yr wanting?
Subsequent yr is ready to be one other record-breaking yr with extra golfers than ever, already booked to take a break with us.
What’s your personal thought of the right golf break?
Enjoying golf with nice mates, on championship golf programs with beautiful views underneath blue skies, with matches being selected the 18th, adopted by chilly beers and a beautiful meal. Favorite locations embody: St Andrews, The Algarve, South Africa and Kiawah Island.
Andrew Stanley, thanks very a lot
For additional details about Golfbreaks contact www.golfbreaks.com
