Travel Log: Mark Warner at 25
Travel companies often seem to have the shelf-life of a Chelsea Football Club manager.
Trading conditions in the package holiday business have been so tough that the list of failed operators stretches on like the Smiths in a phone directory.
A company that manages to reach its 10th birthday may be considered a doughty operator - one that hits 25, especially one that began its life in the terrifyingly volatile ski market - must have Houdini-like survival skills.
What's especially remarkable about 25-year-old Mark Warner is that it is still less than half the age of founder Mark Chitty who began at 20 with a business management qualification and a shed load of optimism.
Armed with a £1,000 loan from his mother in 1974, he hired a small chalet in Verbier for the season, took out a newspaper small ad and hoped for the best. His mother took the bookings from a phone in her kitchen while Mark remained in Verbier.
To his surprise - and probably to his mother's endless relief - the idea worked, the ad attracted 500 guests who were enthusiastic about the house party atmosphere he fostered. The name Chitty Travel - for some reason - was rejected; he christened the company Mark Warner (after the surname of his mother's second husband).
In 1981 Mark Chitty extended the company's operation to a year-round business when it launched its first summer holidays in Corfu with a programme of water-skiing, windsurfing, sailing and watersport tuition - offering that same house party atmosphere. It was the start of the now famous Mark Warner beach club concept.
Early bookings were no doubt boosted by the brochure designer who carelessly included an agency photograph of a group of attractive young ladies sitting playing cards. It was only when the brochure was printed that anyone noticed that none of the young ladies was wearing any clothes.
Next year Mark Warner will carry 50,000 holidaymakers, with just less than a third on skiing trips. The summer programme now features ten different club holiday destinations from Corsica to Turkey, with the average holiday costing around £700 for a week including flights, all meals, wine, watersports and even, occasionally, line dancing. Its ski programme features seven resorts in Italy, Switzerland, France and Austria.
The company's enduring success can be judged by the fact that 40 per cent of bookings are repeat business - and a further 35 per cent come via friends' recommendations. Chitty believes the secret of Warner's success is that 'we listen to what our customers want'.
He believes the key factor in its survival was launching into the summer market and the prime factor in its summer success has been its family-friendly holidays. There is childcare from four months to 17 years old (13 to 17-year-olds have their own 'Indy Club').
Parents are encouraged to enjoy a nightly programme of activities like staff talent nights and quizzes. Will Mark Warner still be here in 25 years time? 'Definitely - but perhaps not in its present form,' he says. Since he will be barely 70, will he be still at the helm? 'Oh, that's a very difficult question...'
o Mark Warner, 10 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL; 08708 480 480; www.markwarner. co.uk
Email Frank Barrett; askfrank@thisistravel.co.uk
