Club 18-30
Encyclopedia
Club 18-30 is a holiday company owned by Thomas Cook
that offers cut-price holidays for young men and women who seek a more lively holiday than those offered by many large package holiday providers. It takes around 110,000 guests each year with turnover of around £50m a year. The average age of guests is 19, and one third of customers are travelling on holiday without their parents for the first time. The guiding mantra of the company is: Nothing is sacred, if it's going to be a good laugh then we're in.
on the Costa Brava
. Horizon Group only received modest success and sold the company on to a management buyout in 1973.
Subsequently, during the 1970s, the popularity of these holidays was increased by cut-price air fares. Furthermore, an advertising campaign promoted attractions of people who were sexually active and could enjoy themselves in uninhibited, alcohol-fuelled ways. Despite its notorious image, the company was listed on stock exchange
in 1980. In 1982 it was acquired by International Leisure Group (ILG) and continued to grow and prosper . In 1991, ILG collapsed and was taken over as a management buy-out backed by venture capitalists County NatWest Ventures, Grosvenor Capital and Causeway Capital, in a transaction valued at £167,000. After being briefly rebranded as The Club due to regulatory rules precluding the use of the name for 3 years, it reverted to the original name in 1994.In 1995 the company was sold for c£9.75m as a part of a "bimbo" with various venture capitalists including Royal Sun Alliance and others and incorporated with Sunset Holidays and the newly formed airline Flying Colours.(Total deal £40m) In 1998,Thomas Cook acquired Flying Colours for £57.5m.
Club 18-30 was subsequently incorporated into Thomas Cook’s JMC (John Mason Cook) brand of travel companies which included the operating brands Flying Colours
, Sunworld, Sunset, Inspirations and Caledonian Airways
. In 2002, following a strategic review of the business, the management company UP Trips, was formed to ensure that Club 18-30 retained its dominant position in the youth market by providing a dynamic package offering. However, by 2008, the UpTrips Management company dissolved with Club 18-30 once more a key product within the Thomas Cook portfolio.
Their website was first introduced in 1997.
, being the second most complained-about firm of that year. The ads, designed by Saatchi & Saatchi
included Beaver Espana, the "Be up at the crack of dawn...or julie..or..." and It's not all sex, sex, sex. There's a bit of sun and sea as well . They were the subject of an activist graffiti campaign in Manchester which succeeded in gaining local and national media attention.
programme Club Reps
, made by STV Productions and narrated by Emma B
, and later Lisa I'Anson
, unearthed the murky underworld
of the life of a travel representative on Club 18-30 holidays. It kept the Daily Mail
awash with graphic stories. It also doubled bookings for Club 18-30 holidays.
In 2005, Channel 5 showed a documentary called the Curse of Club 18-30 made by North One Television. Club 18-30 were not happy with the documentary and complained to Ofcom
. Ofcom agreed that they had not been allowed to answer for themselves on the documentary but the other allegations made were not unfair.
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...
that offers cut-price holidays for young men and women who seek a more lively holiday than those offered by many large package holiday providers. It takes around 110,000 guests each year with turnover of around £50m a year. The average age of guests is 19, and one third of customers are travelling on holiday without their parents for the first time. The guiding mantra of the company is: Nothing is sacred, if it's going to be a good laugh then we're in.
History
The company was set up in 1970 by the Horizon Group to offer package holidays targeted at young singles and couples to travel without families or children. The idea for starting Club 18-30 came from Paul Latchman. Initial promotion was low-key, even austere. To maximise the use of aircraft, night flights were used. The first destination was Lloret de MarLloret de Mar
Lloret de Mar is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia and one of the most popular holiday resorts on the Costa Brava. It is 40 kilometres from Girona and 75 kilometres from Barcelona and therefore easily accessible...
on the Costa Brava
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'...
. Horizon Group only received modest success and sold the company on to a management buyout in 1973.
Subsequently, during the 1970s, the popularity of these holidays was increased by cut-price air fares. Furthermore, an advertising campaign promoted attractions of people who were sexually active and could enjoy themselves in uninhibited, alcohol-fuelled ways. Despite its notorious image, the company was listed on stock exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1980. In 1982 it was acquired by International Leisure Group (ILG) and continued to grow and prosper . In 1991, ILG collapsed and was taken over as a management buy-out backed by venture capitalists County NatWest Ventures, Grosvenor Capital and Causeway Capital, in a transaction valued at £167,000. After being briefly rebranded as The Club due to regulatory rules precluding the use of the name for 3 years, it reverted to the original name in 1994.In 1995 the company was sold for c£9.75m as a part of a "bimbo" with various venture capitalists including Royal Sun Alliance and others and incorporated with Sunset Holidays and the newly formed airline Flying Colours.(Total deal £40m) In 1998,Thomas Cook acquired Flying Colours for £57.5m.
Club 18-30 was subsequently incorporated into Thomas Cook’s JMC (John Mason Cook) brand of travel companies which included the operating brands Flying Colours
Flying Colours (airline)
-History:The airline began operations in the summer of 1996 with a fleet of Boeing 757-200 & Airbus A320 aircraft.Flying Colours had several operational bases outside of its Manchester Airport headquarters, including London Gatwick Airport and Glasgow International Airport...
, Sunworld, Sunset, Inspirations and Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity...
. In 2002, following a strategic review of the business, the management company UP Trips, was formed to ensure that Club 18-30 retained its dominant position in the youth market by providing a dynamic package offering. However, by 2008, the UpTrips Management company dissolved with Club 18-30 once more a key product within the Thomas Cook portfolio.
Their website was first introduced in 1997.
Destinations
- BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
(Sunny BeachSunny BeachSunny Beach is a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located approximately 35 km north of Burgas in Nessebar municipality, Burgas Province. It is the biggest and most popular holiday resort in Bulgaria, and is home to over 800 hotels with more than 300 000 beds. There are...
) - CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
(KavosKavosKavos is a former fishing village on the island of Corfu in Greece, in the municipal district and the municipality of Lefkimmi. It is now a lively resort heavily devoted to tourism, and popular with British package tours, young holidaymakers and Negus....
) - CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
(MaliaMaliaMalia could refer to:Places* Malia, Cyprus, a village in Limassol district of southern Cyprus* Malia, Crete, a town on the north coast of Crete, in Greece* Malia Vgethi, a volcano in the northeast Peloponnese, near the village of Kameni Chora, Greece...
) - CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
(Ayia NapaAyia NapaAyia Napa is a resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus, famous for its sandy beaches. In recent years, apart from being a family holiday destination, it has become a 'party capital' together with Ibiza, Rimini and Mykonos...
) - IbizaIbizaIbiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
(Sant Antoni de PortmanySant Antoni de PortmanySant Antoni de Portmany is a town on the western coast of Ibiza. It is the second-largest town and municipality in Ibiza; an island described by Time Out magazine as "arguably the clubbing capital of the universe"...
) - KosKosKos or Cos is a Greek island in the south Sporades group of the Dodecanese, next to the Gulf of Gökova/Cos. It measures by , and is from the coast of Bodrum, Turkey and the ancient region of Caria. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Kos peripheral unit, which is...
(KardamenaKardamenaKardamaina , is a small Greek town 7 km from Kos Island International Airport at Antimacheia, situated mid-way along the south coast of the island of Kos. It lies in the municipal unit of Irakleides, in the Dodecanese...
) - Majorca (MagalufMagalufMagaluf is a major holiday resort on the Spanish island of Majorca, primarily catering for the British, German and Scandinavian package holiday market. Magaluf is in the municipality of Calvià and is situated within a group of towns, primarily Torrenova and Palma Nova...
) - RhodesRhodesRhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
(FalirakiFalirakiFaliraki is the primary seaside resort village on the Greek island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese. It is situated on Faliraki Bay, on the northeastern coast, about 14 km south of the town of Rhodes and 10 km southeast of the airport...
) - TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(Gumbet) - Zante (LaganasLaganasLaganas is a town and a former municipality on the island of Zakynthos, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zakynthos, of which it is a municipal unit. Laganas is north of Keri and south-southeast of Volimes. The municipal unit of Laganás...
)
Special deals
The NUS has negotiated a deal where holders of the NUS Extra card get £100 off their holiday. Club 18-30 holidays are very popular with university students, and many work as club reps for holiday work.Advertisements
In 1995, the company's sexually suggestive billboard advertising ruffled feathers with the Advertising Standards AgencyAdvertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
, being the second most complained-about firm of that year. The ads, designed by Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
included Beaver Espana, the "Be up at the crack of dawn...or julie..or..." and It's not all sex, sex, sex. There's a bit of sun and sea as well . They were the subject of an activist graffiti campaign in Manchester which succeeded in gaining local and national media attention.
Club Reps on ITV
Since January 2002, the ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
programme Club Reps
Club Reps
Club Reps was a factual entertainment programme made for ITV by STV Productions . It ran from 2001 to 2004. The programme has been repeated on Sky Real Lives and Pick TV.-Main Series:...
, made by STV Productions and narrated by Emma B
Emma B
Emma Boughton , grew up in Canada and as a teenager in Birmingham, England.Better known as Emma B, she is a radio presenter in the UK. She became known as Emma B when she worked for Creation Records...
, and later Lisa I'Anson
Lisa I'Anson
Lisa I'Anson is an English broadcaster and VJ. Her unusual surname is believed to be of Scandinavian origin.-Radio Broadcaster:...
, unearthed the murky underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
of the life of a travel representative on Club 18-30 holidays. It kept the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
awash with graphic stories. It also doubled bookings for Club 18-30 holidays.
In 2005, Channel 5 showed a documentary called the Curse of Club 18-30 made by North One Television. Club 18-30 were not happy with the documentary and complained to Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
. Ofcom agreed that they had not been allowed to answer for themselves on the documentary but the other allegations made were not unfair.