Travel House
Travel House is a Wales-based independent travel agency operating 16 retail branches across South Wales, selling package holidays, cruises, escorted tours, and ancillary travel services to UK consumers, and now wholly owned by Hays Travel following its November 2023 acquisition.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersSwansea, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Travel House does
Travel House (legal entity: The Original Travel House Limited) is a UK-based retail travel agency established in 1992 and headquartered in Swansea, operating 16 branches across South Wales — the largest independent travel agency in Wales by branch count. The company sells package holidays, cruises, escorted tours, and city breaks sourced from third-party tour operators and cruise lines (including TUI, P&O Cruises, Cunard, Oceania, Fred. Olsen, Riviera, and Jason Edwards), with departures from Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, and London Heathrow airports. Ancillary services include travel insurance, foreign exchange (in-branch and online), the My Travel Card Cash Passport Mastercard (in partnership with Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Ltd.), and airport extras such as parking, transfers, lounge access, and seat selection.
The business operates on a commission-based revenue model: Travel House acts as an agent earning transaction-based commissions on holiday, cruise, and tour bookings, plus margins on currency exchange and insurance resales. The go-to-market is sales-led and hybrid: 16 physical branches provide face-to-face expert travel advice for the South Wales consumer market, supplemented by an e-commerce website and telephone booking. Customers are individual travellers and families seeking ATOL-protected, expert-advised holidays rather than self-serve online bookings, with price points ranging from under £300 per person for European city breaks to £11,699 per person for world voyages. Payment flexibility (low deposits and interest-free monthly instalments) is a core conversion lever.
The core technology stack is intentionally minimal — the company is described as operating "without significant proprietary technology" — consisting of a booking website, an email newsletter system, a Facebook social channel, and standard telephony. Following its November 2023 acquisition by Hays Travel Limited (UK's largest independent travel agency chain), Travel House now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary, benefiting from Hays Travel's ABTA membership (P8355) and broader supplier relationships while retaining the Travel House retail brand and South Wales branch network. No AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or proprietary software products are disclosed.
Travel House firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Travel House
- Legal name
- The Original Travel House Limited
- Website
- https://travelhouse.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Travel House is a Wales-based independent travel agency operating 16 retail branches across South Wales, selling package holidays, cruises, escorted tours, and ancillary travel services to UK consumers, and now wholly owned by Hays Travel following its November 2023 acquisition.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Travel House industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Travel Agency Services
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (561510), Travel Agencies (56151)
- SIC
- Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Transfer & Transportation Services (Port-to-City/Airport) (THAEAFAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cruise Planning & Booking (HSACAKAE), Travel Insurance & Protection Products (Cruise-Specific) (THAEAFAL)
Keywords
Where Travel House is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Swansea
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Travel House business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Travel Package Sales: Travel House acts as a travel agent selling package holidays, cruises, and travel services on behalf of tour operators. They earn commissions from these bookings. The company sells holidays from major tour operators including TUI, Riviera, P&O Cruises, Cunard, and various other providers. They operate as an agent for Hays Travel, benefiting from their ABTA membership.
- Travel Money Services: Foreign exchange services offering competitive currency rates for travel money. They sell currency online and in-branch, earning margins on exchange rates.
- Travel Insurance: Sale of travel insurance policies tailored to customer needs, earning commissions on policy sales.
- Holiday Extras: Additional services including airport parking, transfers, airport lounges, extra luggage, and pre-booked seats.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Package holidays ranging from budget city breaks to luxury long-haul experiences |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Travel House product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Travel House is a Wales-based travel agency that sells package holidays, cruises, escorted tours, and city breaks sourced from third-party tour operators and cruise lines (including TUI, P&O Cruises, Cunard, Oceania, Fred. Olsen, and Riviera). It complements these core bookings with add-on services such as travel insurance, foreign exchange (Travel Money), the My Travel Card prepaid Mastercard, and airport extras (parking, transfers, lounge access, extra luggage, pre-booked seats). Distribution is hybrid: 16 South Wales retail branches plus online booking and phone channels, generating revenue primarily through commissions on bookings and margins on currency exchange.
Product overview
Travel House is a Wales-based independent travel agency operating 16 branches, established in 1992 and now owned by Hays Travel. The company offers a unified portfolio of travel retail services centered on package holidays, cruise bookings, and escorted tours sold through its retail branches and website. The product suite includes the core booking products (package holidays, cruise bookings, escorted tours, and city breaks) alongside complementary add-on services such as travel insurance, foreign exchange (Travel Money), a prepaid Mastercard (My Travel Card), and airport extras (parking, transfers, lounge access, extra luggage, pre-booked seats). Holiday products span multiple travel sectors sourced from third-party tour operator and cruise line partners including P&O Cruises, Cunard, Oceania, Fred. Olsen Cruises, Riviera, and others, with departures from Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, and London airports.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Package Holidays Pre-arranged package holidays including flights, accommodation, and transfers, sold via 16 South Wales branches and the Travel House website for UK consumers (families, couples, individuals) seeking beach, city, all-inclusive, luxury, or last-minute breaks.
- Cruise Bookings Ocean, river, and fly-cruise holidays sold on behalf of multiple cruise lines (P&O, Cunard, Oceania, Fred. Olsen, MSC, Riviera), including hosted cruise departures, for individual UK travelers and couples.
- Escorted Tours Guided touring holidays operated by third-party tour companies (including Riviera and Jason Edwards) covering worldwide destinations (China, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, Europe), sold to UK consumers who prefer structured group travel.
- City Breaks Short-stay city break packages to European and international destinations (New York, Prague, Berlin, Rome, Reykjavik), typically bundling flights and hotel, for individual UK travelers and couples.
- Travel Insurance Travel insurance policies sold as an add-on to holiday bookings, covering trip cancellation, medical emergencies, and baggage loss for UK holidaymakers.
- Travel Money / Foreign Exchange Foreign currency exchange service available in-branch and online, offering competitive rates on major currencies (Euros, US Dollars, Turkish Lira, and others) for UK travelers preparing for trips abroad.
- My Travel Card (Cash Passport Mastercard) Prepaid Mastercard that allows customers to load and spend multiple foreign currencies abroad, offered in partnership with Mastercard Prepaid Management Services Ltd, with promotional free spending money on new card activations.
- Airport Extras Ancillary travel services including airport parking, airport transfers, airport lounge access, extra luggage allowances, and pre-booked airline seats, coordinated through the Travel House booking platform for departing UK travelers.
Companies that use Travel House
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Travel House technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Travel House partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Travel House competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- TUI UK: TUI is the UK's largest tour operator, combining vertically-integrated hotels, airlines (TUI Airways), cruise (Marella Cruises), and a substantial retail agency network. TUI competes directly with Travel House as both a tour operator whose inventory Travel House sells and as a competing retail brand with its own high-street presence.
- Jet2Holidays: Jet2Holidays is one of the UK's largest package holiday operators, combining its own airline (Jet2.com) with package holidays and a retail agency presence. It competes with Travel House both as a major package holiday supplier whose products Travel House sells and as a direct booking alternative for UK consumers.
Direct peers
- Trailfinders: Trailfinders is a UK-based independent travel agency known for high-end, expert-led trip planning with a hybrid online and branch model. It directly competes with Travel House for UK consumers seeking personalized long-haul, cruise, and escorted tour bookings with strong supplier relationships and ATOL-protected service.
- The Midcounties Co-operative Travel: Midcounties Co-operative Travel operates a multi-branch retail travel agency network across the UK selling package holidays, cruises, and tours from major suppliers. It competes with Travel House on the same high-street retail agency model targeting UK consumers seeking face-to-face service.
- Hays Travel: Hays Travel is the UK's largest independent travel agency chain and is now the parent company of Travel House following the November 2023 acquisition. It operates a similar high-street retail model selling package holidays, cruises, and escorted tours from multiple suppliers, with comparable ATOL/ABTA-protected services and a multi-branch UK footprint.
- Broadway Travel: Broadway Travel is a UK-based independent travel agency operating both online and through call centers, selling package holidays, cruises, and tours from major suppliers. It directly competes with Travel House on multi-channel travel retail with similar supplier portfolios and target customer segments.
- Fred Olsen Travel: Fred Olsen Travel is a UK retail travel agency chain specializing in cruises, including the Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines brand. It competes directly with Travel House for cruise bookings from many of the same supplier line-ups and serves a similar UK consumer demographic seeking expert cruise advice.
- Riviera Travel: Riviera Travel is a UK tour operator that sells both escorted tours and river cruises directly to consumers and through travel agents like Travel House. It is a key supplier of Travel House's escorted tour and river cruise offerings but also competes as a direct retailer, making it both partner and competitor.
- Bolsover Cruise Club: Bolsover Cruise Club is a UK cruise-focused travel retailer with multiple branches and a strong regional base. It competes directly with Travel House's cruise division for UK consumers seeking personalized cruise booking services with similar supplier relationships and ATOL protection.
- Iglu Cruise: Iglu Cruise is one of the UK's largest specialist cruise retailers, selling cruises from P&O, Cunard, Royal Caribbean, and other major lines through a digital-first model. It directly competes with Travel House's cruise business, including many of the same supplier relationships (P&O, Oceania, Cunard).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Travel House social profiles
Digital presenceTravel House financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Travel House leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Travel House funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Travel House M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Travel House
What does Travel House do?
Travel House is a Wales-based travel agency that sells package holidays, cruises, escorted tours, and city breaks sourced from third-party tour operators and cruise lines (including TUI, P&O Cruises, Cunard, Oceania, Fred. Olsen, and Riviera). It complements these core bookings with add-on services such as travel insurance, foreign exchange (Travel Money), the My Travel Card prepaid Mastercard, and airport extras (parking, transfers, lounge access, extra luggage, pre-booked seats). Distribution is hybrid: 16 South Wales retail branches plus online booking and phone channels, generating revenue primarily through commissions on bookings and margins on currency exchange.
Is Travel House a public or private company?
Travel House is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Travel House founded?
Travel House was founded in 1992. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Travel House based?
Travel House is headquartered in Swansea, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Travel House make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Travel Package Sales are the primary driver. The others are travel Money Services, travel Insurance and holiday Extras.
Who are Travel House's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are TUI UK and Jet2Holidays. Direct peers are Trailfinders, The Midcounties Co-operative Travel, Hays Travel, Broadway Travel, Fred Olsen Travel, Riviera Travel, Bolsover Cruise Club and Iglu Cruise.
Does Travel House have an API?
No public API is recorded for Travel House.
What industry is Travel House in?
Travel House's product category is Travel Agency Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAEAFAG, Transfer & Transportation Services (Port-to-City/Airport), with a secondary code of HSACAKAE, Cruise Planning & Booking. Its NAICS code is 561520 and its SIC code is 4731.