Andrew Stanley, Group CEO and Founder of Golfbreaks, reviews the business for GBN and looks ahead to the prospects for 2025.
GBN: What was the original concept for your business plan?
Andrew Stanley: The original plan back in 1998 was organising Ryder Cup Style matches for groups of golfers. Taking two teams away on a weekend to play a Ryder Cup style match with a trophy, team polo shirts and everything organised.
I started by encouraging golf club captains to play against their vice captains, club pros to challenge another club pro etc. Within a year, I realised there was a far bigger opportunity in golf travel, starting with golf breaks in the UK…
I believe that you started by working from home; not quite as easy to do 25 years ago as it is now?
Setting up in my bedroom definitely helped to save costs – just me, a laptop, a printer and very intermittent Wi-Fi…!
In fact, I am thinking that technology must have made a huge difference to the travel business?
Undoubtedly. Makes me smile remembering how in the early years, we used to make and confirm every booking with our venues by fax. The systems we now have in place including our App and online booking portal make the booking process so much easier for our customers.
But you still need good people. What has been your recruiting strategy?
Recruiting ‘great’ people has always been my number one priority. I took on three co-directors/shareholders in the first two years, one being a cousin (Guy Proddow) and the other two were great friends (Steve Hemsworth & Daniel Grave). I am very proud that 25 years on, we still love running a business together!
Are you able to offer career opportunities?
Yes, we have just over 200 employees now working in the business, including 45 employees who have worked for 10+ years at Golfbreaks and developed their careers with us.
Each year we employ 10-15 university placement students to work with us and on average, we offer around five of them a full-time position to come back to Golfbreaks once they have finished their degree.
Our Head of Sales (Sam Barker), Head of Commercial (Nik Hayes) and Head of HR (Gemma Clements) all started as placement students with us 15+ years ago.
What has been the main basis upon which you have been able to grow your business?
Sticking to our original mantra of “Saving golfers Time and Money” by offering an unparalleled one-stop booking service and getting them the best available rate.
Additionally, we have always invested in our technology platforms to further improve the booking process and help us stay ahead of our competitors.
Does size matter?
Inevitably, it helps to be a market leader in terms of size and whilst we send over 200,000 golfers away on trips every year, our focus will always be on reputation as opposed to size – the reputation we have with our customers and the reputation we build with our suppliers.
Is the number of golf holiday operators/suppliers increasing?
Yes, golf and travel are still very much in vogue. Over the past 25 years, we have always had new entrants coming into the marketplace which doesn’t surprise me, as it’s an attractive industry to be in. Some have lasted, some haven’t…
Do you specialise in any particular markets or countries?
Our biggest single market is still golf breaks here in the UK, followed by Spain and Portugal, though we also offer hundreds of other golfing destinations around the world from Barbados to Vietnam. We have a comprehensive Tournaments programme including trips to The Masters, THE PLAYERS, The Open and the Ryder Cup as well as our own popular UK and European Pairs Events.
Additionally, we have two overseas offices, one in the US (Charleston, South Carolina) and the other in Copenhagen, Denmark. Our fastest growing market is in the US and our partnership deal with the PGA TOUR back in 2019 (they own a minority stake in Golfbreaks) has helped to accelerate our expansion over there.
And who are the main Golfbreaks customers?
It’s hard to define. We cater for all golfers, whether it’s a couple looking to go away for a night; a group of 12 mates having their annual get-together over a long weekend; a one-off group of 50+ golfers from a golf club or society going away for a week or customers going to The Open or The Masters on a tournament experience.
Which parts of the Golfbreaks market have been particularly successful and why?
Here in the UK, the market for Sunday night golf breaks is still huge as there’s always more availability for bedrooms and tee-times, which in turn means we are able to negotiate some very competitive price points and added value for our customers. Golf tours to places like Bournemouth, Bristol and Cardiff are increasingly popular.
In Europe, the short break market is still very popular with golfers, especially as flight availability has now returned to pre-Covid levels. Going further afield, we are currently sending record numbers of golfers to countries like South Africa, Mauritius, Dubai, Vietnam and USA, as golfers look to explore new destinations and play bucket list courses.
Does your business model involve working with golf professionals as travel group leaders? How do you communicate and incentivise these contacts?
Yes, we are the official travel partner for the PGA and have over 500 golf pros here in the UK that we help organise trips for. We also work with a similar number over in Scandinavia. It’s a great opportunity for golf pros to take select groups of members away for some golf, fun and of course, a bit of coaching.
What have been your main business challenges over the years?
The standout one was Covid for obvious reasons. I’m so proud of how our team pulled together and managed that situation. We made sure we continued to pay our suppliers on time and worked hard to rebook over 85% of our customers who weren’t able to travel – both were game changers for us.
And how is next year looking?
Next year is set to be another record-breaking year with more golfers than ever, already booked to take a break with us.
What’s your own idea of the perfect golf break?
Playing golf with great friends, on championship golf courses with stunning views under blue skies, with matches being decided on the 18th, followed by cold beers and a wonderful meal. Favourite places include: St Andrews, The Algarve, South Africa and Kiawah Island.
Andrew Stanley, thank you very much
For further information about Golfbreaks contact www.golfbreaks.com
