summer 2015

[Eleanor]

Happy wee bunny tonight, thats next year all booked x

[Kojak]

Well done Ellie. I'm in dispute with Olympic about the room grading at the Anastasoula. they say it's officialy for 2-3 persons but the Hellenic chamber of hotels notice on the door says 2 beds only. I emailed them with photos of the room and the notice - I'm awaiting their reply...

[Eleanor]

Good luck, hope you get it sorted x

[D and E]

Look what you two have made us do !

Sitting here in Mid Wales on a sunny afternoon and E starts browsing the SV site and Eleanor's post tempts her into the Olympic Site "just to see price" for May15.

She sees Anastasia with day flights from Manchester at a price we paid some three years ago - calls up, redeems our loyalty points and gets an additional (small) discount and that's it - we are booked.

Happy, happy day

Now to keep an eye on the site for a last minute sneaky week in early October this year.

[JuliaB]

Interesting to read your comment about Olympic loyalty points, D and E. Received an email about ours today and yet had never previously heard anything about them.
No plans for a second week this year as we're off to the USA in September but beginning to think about 2015 . . .

[Colette]

I've booked for next June, with the added loyalty discount my 3 week holiday is over £90 cheaper than this June

[Eleanor]

Happy, well done x

[Gemma1]

I've booked for next June, with the added loyalty discount my 3 week holiday is over £90 cheaper than this June

Wow, that's excellent Colette, it's not often prices come down When I looked at September it seemed quite a bit more expensive than this year and I object to paying a £50 supplement for the day flight if the time changes to 7am again - I'm sure the supplement wasn't so high this year. Not decided what I'm doing next year yet but I'd quite like to go island hopping in June so might not be able to fit in Symi as well. Had am email about my loyalty points but I'd not heard about them before either and some of them seem to have already expired.

[Kojak]

Just booked for May 2015. Strangely enough since I disputed the Olympic management decision that my usual room was now 2-3 beds instead of 1-2 and backed up my complaint with photos of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels notice on the door designating the room as 2 beds only, coupled with photos of the room showing that you couldn't possibly get another bed in, all the rooms have suddenly been designated by Olympic as 1-3 beds. As a result the cost of the May booking is much less than last year! Kojak 1 Olympic zero lol.

[Gemma1]

Well done Kojak Wonder if I could do the same and try and persuade them to let one person book the one bedroomed apartment at Anastasia again . Maybe not, as there is enough space for an extra person in the lounge - though Anastasia would have to drag an extra bed in from somewhere.

[snoopy2]

Just booked for May 2015. Strangely enough since I disputed the Olympic management decision that my usual room was now 2-3 beds instead of 1-2 and backed up my complaint with photos of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels notice on the door designating the room as 2 beds only, coupled with photos of the room showing that you couldn't possibly get another bed in, all the rooms have suddenly been designated by Olympic as 1-3 beds. As a result the cost of the May booking is much less than last year! Kojak 1 Olympic zero lol.

Very well done Kojak. I have been trying to book on Kephalonia - Assos - prices have gone up terrifically and self-catering is now being charged per person at horrendous rates. What are the Greeks thinking about - pricing themselves off the market!!

[Eliza]

Is it the Greeks or the Travel Agent I certainly would not put it past the Agent.

[Eleanor]

Well Done K. thats great news, still dont meet uo though x

[Kojak]

It's my delicate Anglo Saxon skin, Ellie. I can't take the heat in later months lol.

[Adriana]

Snoopy2, is that with an agent or direct with the accommodation? We know that the package holiday companies pay the accommodation owners absolutely peanuts for rooms which is why they are able to put together such cheap packages.

[snoopy2]

Is it the Greeks or the Travel Agent I certainly would not put it past the Agent.

Both. Tried booking package then tried independent and for a one bed through owner's direct was quoted £600 - £700 a week. Once flights, food etc are added on that comes to a lot of money. Nearly every property in Assos is now quoting per person whereas a couple of years ago it was per property. I think Germany still has a boycott on hols to Greece are they were a bit miffed at the Greek bail out and I have a feeling this is why prices have shot up - might be wrong.

[Andy W]

No boycott as far as Rhodes Airport is concerned, anyway, passenger arrivals on flights from Germany in July this year were up 25.6% over the same month in 2013, according to the "Rhodes Airport Aviation News". I suspect it's more like supply and demand!

[snoopy2]

Andy W - great to hear percentage is up. Last year on the way to Halki the taxi driver at Rhodes told us percentage figures were down and that because people were booking all inclusive euros were not going in to the Greek economy. However if what you say is right then good - I don't want to take my holiday business away from Greece but do find their prices have gone up quite considerably or I am looking in the wrong places!!!!

[Oor Willie]

Snoopy the cost of the apartment we go to in Symi has not gone up since we started using it in 2007, the flight costs on the other hand have almost doubled, so I guess it may be the airlines that are boosting the package prices.

[Andy W]

The price of aircraft fuel now is twice what it was in 2009. It would probably have an even worse impact on airfares in Europe if it wasn't for the fact that fuel is priced in US$ but fares are in Euros or £. Both currencies are much stronger now compared to the US$ than they were then.
Fuel is the biggest single variable cost an airline has.