Press office Press office Press pack:
Company facts and information
Company directors:
Biographies
Photographs and logos:
A selection of approved images
Journalist booking:
Assistance for travel journalists
Pre-booked airport and port parking
Holiday Extras is the UK market leader, offering 60,000 parking spaces at 26 airports and ports around the UK. By pre-booking, Holiday Extras customers can save up to 60% standard gate prices. The company operates a Best Price Guarantee, promising to match any like-for-like service price.
Holiday Extras inspect all car parks for security transfers and location.
For passengers in the booming cruise market, Holiday Extras offers parking at the UK's leading cruise ports of Southampton and Dover.
As well as airport and port parking, Holiday Extras also offers parking and hotel packages which often cost only a little more than the parking alone.
Pre-booked airport and port hotels
Holiday Extras was the first company in the UK to offer discounted airport and port hotels and is the UK market leader in this area.
Hotels are offered at or near 26 UK airports and the cruise ports of Southampton and Dover. More recently we have added hotels near to Ebbsfleet International Station in Kent for Eurostar passenger travelling to Europe.
The company began by offering 'Undercover' airport hotels - incredible value 3 and 4-star hotels where the customer only finds out the name of the hotel when they get their email confirmation - and this remains one of the most popular offering in its portfolio.
Travellers are waking up to the benefits of extending their holiday at an airport hotel and Holiday Extras now makes half a million airport hotel bookings a year. Pre-booking an airport hotel can save customers up to 40%.
Pre-booked airport lounges
Airport lounges provide the perfect opportunity to escape the busy airport or to combat flight delays, and Holiday Extras' customers can choose to relax at an airport lounge and enjoy the complimentary drinks, snacks and reading material.
With prices from just £16 at airport lounges in 18 airports in the UK, Holiday Extras makes 104,000 lounge bookings each year. Airports by Rail is becoming increasingly popular as travellers look to save on rising fuel prices, and Holiday Extras offers rail travel to eight UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted.
Airports by Rail offer reduced fares, free travel for kids up to 15 and accompanied by an adult and unrestricted travelling times. Booking rail travel to the airport with Holiday Extras allows travellers to avoid the traffic and enjoy a stress-free journey.
Travel insurance
Holiday Extras has provided travel insurance at competitive prices since 1986, offering single trip policies from just £2 per day or £10 for eight days in Europe, annual multi-trip and specialist insurance for winter sports holidays, golf holidays, weddings and business travel.
Holiday Extras is the company that takes care of the 'extras' that make a holiday complete. Since it was founded in 1983, Holiday Extras has grown to become the UK market leader in discounted airport parking and airport hotels.
In addition to these core products, the company also offers airport lounges, travel to the airport by rail and coach, and travel insurance.
In all the markets in which it operates, Holiday Extras' ethos is to offer the best choice, the best price, and the best service.
The company that was to become Holiday Extras was founded in 1983 by Gerry Pack.
In true entrepreneurial style, Gerry spotted a gap in the market while still working for Saga, the travel and financial services specialists. He realised that there was no easy way to book airport hotels and no discounted rates so set about rectifying this.
Starting life as the Apple Booking Company, the company became known as ABC Holiday Extras and then finally Holiday Extras in 2003.
After developing an expertise in airport hotels and booking systems, the company branched out into travel insurance in 1986, and then airport parking in 1988. Finding that demand for airport parking outstripped supply at some airports, in the early 90s the company purchased its first car parking operation close to Birmingham Airport and branded it Airparks.
Following the acquisition of BCP in October 2007, Holiday Extras now manages off-airport parking at nine UK airports under the Airparks brand offering a total of 28,000 parking spaces.
In April 2000, Holiday Extras launched its website and started selling direct to customers for the first time. The website has won numerous awards - most recently Best Travel Trade Website at the 2008 Travel Weekly Golden Globe Awards - and now accounts for 81% of bookings.
Travel agents have embraced the opportunities offered by the website to reach a larger audience and have developed their own website businesses on the back of it.
In 2002 Holiday Extras opened an office in Munich to serve the markets in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. In 2007/8, 160,244 bookings were made for airport parking and airport hotels, and by 2009/10 the company plans to increase this to 250,000 bookings.
As the company celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2008, Gerry Pack remains actively involved as non-executive chairman in the company he created. With CEO Steve Lawrence at the helm, the company went through a management buy-out in 2005.
The employees at Holiday Extras have established the company's core values: Inspiration, Innovation, People and Success. As market leader, the company seeks to inspire and innovate to stay ahead of the competition.
With open plan offices where directors sit with their teams, Holiday Extras has an open, fun culture complemented by an active social club and regular events such as barbecues and softball tournaments.
Holiday Extras is based in Newingreen near Hythe, Kent. The purpose-designed building, by architects Walker and Martin, won the Kent County Council Building Design Award for 2003/4. The company has recently been given planning permission to build a 1,415 square metre extension as it continues to grow and look to the future.