Analysis of a Tour Offering

The following remarks and analysis are directed particularly at trips to Scotland where little discounting occurs in the travel industry. In Ireland there is a more established pattern of discounting for operators at golf courses and at some lodgings. But, whether it's Scotland or Ireland, the principle is the same: operator profit is HUGE by any standard.

I have analyzed dozens of tour offerings to both Scotland and Ireland and have arrived at the following guideline—the most important sentence in this website:  Tour operators typically mark up their "product" by a factor of fifty to one hundred percent or more.

That wouldn't be so bad if they were buying at wholesale and selling at retail the way most businesses do. But that's not what is happening. In Scotland, with few exceptions, tour operators are buying services at RETAIL and re-selling them to travelers for one and one-half to TWO TIMES RETAIL.

In their colorful brochures and expensive advertisements—all couched in romantic language—tour operators are good at implying that you're getting a retail package at a wholesale price. But here's the truth: (1) most golf courses in Scotland don't give discounts to anyone; (2) rental car agencies don't give serious discounts to anyone; and (3) only a handful of hotels (e.g., Turnberry, Gleneagles, St. Andrews' Old Course Hotel) pay commissions or grant operator discounts. And, even if a hotel discounts bookings, what good does that do you, the traveler, if the tour operator just pockets the difference between the discounted rate and the advertised public rate?—and, believe me, it happens all the time.  

All "self-drive" golf packages include three basic elements:

•   a rental car, van, or minibus
•   tee times (or, as the operators like to say, "guaranteed tee times")
•   lodging

If you can get a handle on each of these elements, analyzing real tour costs becomes easy.

First, a benchmark for your trip: You can have a first-rate trip to Scotland or Ireland for $300 per day all inclusive of golf, transportation, and lodging. It can be more or less. Remember: how much you pay depends upon where you stay and where you play.

Let's take a look at a "budget" trip offered by Value Golf Vacations (a misnomer if ever there was one). It was on their website in 2008 under the title, "Scottish Gems" (see www.valuegolfvacations.com). Hold onto your hats and your wallets because, in all my years of analyzing tour offerings, following is one of the most egregious rip-offs I've encountered.

TRIP ELEMENTS

Comment: This trip requires too much traveling with too little time. Aside from that, other problems arise: First, 99.9% of Americans prefer to drive a vehicle with automatic transmission. Second, the "budget" hotels here are really B & Bs where golfers often like to have their own single rooms—add another $400 for single occupancy and, all of a sudden, you have a $4,000 trip on your hands. Without belaboring those details, let's examine the trip as it is presented:

Value Golf Vacations' price: $3,385 for the golfer; $2,505 for the non-golfer

Now, we'll look at the actual cost of this package (exchange rate: £1 = $1.90). All costs per person.

Actual costs for the golfer
$  233  rental vehicle (minivan -seven days - £490 ÷ 4 = £122.50 x $1.90)
    850  greens fees at the six courses cited above
    600  seven nights lodging averaging £45 per person per night  
$ 1,683  Actual cost if booked direct (± 5-10 percent)

Thus: $3,385  Tour Price
         - 1,683  Actual Cost
         $ 1,702  GOLFER SAVINGS (operator markup: 101%)

Actual costs for the non-golfer
$233  25% share of rental vehicle
     0  (obviously, no greens fees)
 600  lodging
$833  Actual cost if booked direct (± 5-10 percent)

Thus: $2,505  Tour Price
            - 833  Actual Cost
         $1,672 NON-GOLFER SAVINGS (operator markup: 202%)

The only party benefiting from this "deal" is the tour operator. I know what I'm talking about.  I know the rates at the hotels and B & Bs.  I know exactly what it costs to rent a minivan. The bottom line? Buying a golf trip at an "all inclusive" price—without knowing the cost components—is just like buying a "pig in a poke."  

The Lesson of this Story: you can achieve incredible savings by learning the ins and outs of golf in Scotland and Ireland from Ferguson Golf.

If I can provide you with this kind of information, doesn't my modest planning fee look like the real good deal?

If you think this is just an "isolated example," give me a call at 800-835-6692 and ask for an analysis of a tour you are considering.

For more on tour operators, go to What the Tours Don't Tell You

To learn more about Ferguson Golf, go to Fee Detail, A Summary of Ferguson Golf Advice and How Ferguson Golf Works

If you've read enough and are already convinced, go to Contact Ferguson Golf.  Or just get on the phone right now and call me at 1-800-835-6692.

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