A NEW low-cost, no-frills travel brand has just launched offering budget breaks to Europe and beyond.
Sundeals, which is owned by the TUI Group, is aimed at holidaymakers who ‘who want great value without the faff’ with clear prices and honest opinions on holidays and hotels.
On Sundeals, there is everything from last-minute trips to all-inclusive holidays, winter sun breaks and adult-only vacations across 100 destinations.
There will be 20,000 hotels alongside a range of airline options from Ryanair to easyJet and TUI.
Looking at its ‘top cheap holiday deals’ – there are breaks to Tunisia from as little as £106pp and trips to Tenerife start from £185pp.
One cheap deal that Sun Travel found is a seven-night holiday to Marrakesh from September 2 to September 9 from £199pp.
This is for bed and breakfast at the Riad Quodwa Marrakesh in a double room with return flights to Liverpool Airport.
This is for bed and breakfast at the Riad Lalla Khadija Moulaty & SPA in a double standard room with return flights to Newcastle Airport.
For winter sun, another break is to the Jardins de Toumana in Djerba, Tunisia from November 24 to December 1.
Staying in a Junior Suite, two adults can stay with bed and breakfast board from £277pp – including return flights to Manchester.
For short breaks, there a three-night stay at Pierre & Vacances Resort Terrazas Costa del Sol in Spain starting from £139pp.
It has an outdoor swimming pool, sun terrace, bar, restaurant, pretty courtyards gardens and return flights to London Luton.
For short-haul, it provides breaks to mainland Europe including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Malta.
There are far-flung holidays on the cards too with options to Thailand, Mexico, Cape Verde, Barbados, Iceland and the USA.
When it comes to sorting your holiday, you can arrange it by price ‘low to high’.
Or select to rank holidays by TripAdvisor rating to see which holidays were highly-rated by other travellers.
Kevin Nelson, Managing Director for Sundeals said: “We know there is a large group of travellers who genuinely enjoy researching and planning their holidays. They’re confident, digitally savvy and like the feeling of finding a holiday, and deal, that’s right for them.
“But these travellers told us that they’re tired of spending hours going round in circles trying to compare options and work out whether they’ve truly found the right trip – a feeling that we’re calling Bookers Burnout.
“Sundeals has been designed specifically for these savvy deal hunters, helping them cut through the holiday clutter and make decisions with greater confidence.
What this means for your next holiday…
The Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in…
TUI launching its own online travel agent is an interesting move from the tour operating giant.
It puts it into direct competition with other online agencies like LoveHolidays and OnTheBeach.
Right now, TUI’s traditional tour operating model means flights, luggage, seat reservations and all the extras are included in the headline price.
But the UK’s second largest tour operator’s prices therefore appeared more expensive than those offered by the online travel agencies.
Online agents show a headline figure but you are then expected to decide if you want to add luggage or seat reservations and that can make a HUGE difference to the final price you pay.
With Sundeals, TUI is able to truly compete – offering the same model and lower headline prices.
With the conflict in the Middle East knocking consumer confidence as fears grew over fuel shortages, this summer has turned into a very late market and travel companies are having to offer cheaper, more attractive prices to tempt holidaymakers to book.
It makes total sense for TUI to want to compete on a level playing field and this should help boost bookings.
The timing of the launch – right in the middle of the school summer holidays – is unconventional but could help them generate more interest among those looking for a Mediterranean bargain.
Whether they have the ability to take on the likes of OnTheBeach and LoveHolidays at their own game will be interesting to watch.
“We’ve launched with a simple user experience focused on the core features customers told us they need most, and over time we’ll continue to introduce smart tools and innovations that make finding and evaluating holiday options even easier.”