Summer Holidays
SUMMER IS A time when people will be outside enjoying their leisure time and spending the cash they’ve saved during the rest of the year. These opportunities are perfect for tapping into this market. They’re straightforward to set up and require little in the way of start-up capital.
If you have a love of the great outdoors and / or a talent for dealing with people, these ideas will suit you perfectly. Here are 20 lucrative, laid back ways for you’re to make money and enjoy the sun at the same time:
- Holiday shopping service
Many tourists arrive at their self-catering accommodation with and empty larger and no idea where to buy provisions. The holiday shopping service solves their problems and earns good money too.
Start by posting leaflets through the doors of holiday cottages giving your number and explaining your service. Offer to purchase and deliver any shopping locally for, say, a 25 percent commission, plus expenses.
You could even do their washing. Delivering home cooked meals is another good earner, enabling people to enjoy their holiday rather than having to slave over a hot stove.
Another possibility is to contact the owners of the accommodation and / or the booking agency and set up a deal whereby tourists can book your services in advance (pay the agency a commission on each booking). Customers could, for example, order a hamper containing the provisions needed during their stay.
- Hiring out portable swimming/padding pools
There are few better ways to cool off in hot weather than in an open air pool, so turn this to your advantage by hiring out portable swimming and paddling pools. People will pay highly for the luxury of being able to swim and relax in the comfort and privacy of their own garden.
Hiring out a few pools over the summer months should be enough to offset the purchase costs, and thereafter you’ll be in profit. You’ll find ads for portable swimming pools in trade magazines such as Exchange and Mart.
- Be a holiday entrepreneur
Forget the idea that you have to work hard while others play, because here’s a way to make money while you’re away on holiday.
In most foreign countries you can obtain wonderful locally-made clothes, trinkets, jewelry, gift items and novelties. These can be purchased inexpensively and sold in bulk back home. Regions such as Spain and southern Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America and Asia are well known for producing low-priced, hand crafted goods that represent far better quality and value than the factory-made alternatives available in British shops.
So while you’re away, cruise the markets and bazaars to hunt for stock, or approach factories direct. When you’ve found something and bought a few samples, simply negotiate a bulk price and draw up a supply agreement / schedule to order more if necessary (a standard agreement is to pay the supplier 50 percent cash up front and the balance on receipt of the goods).
On your return either get retailers to stock your items or sell them by mail order using ads in suitable publications. Get the price and marketing right and this can be massively successful, especially if you’re in apposition to supply more.
Remember that the profit mark-up might be in excess of one thousand percent! The other great thing is that you have an excellent excuse to go on holiday to search for new stock.
Before you leave, consult HM Customs and Excise (0171 620 1313) for advice on import licenses, regulations, duties and restrictions. Another useful number is the British Importers Confederation (0891 200250), who protect the interests of British importers.
- Renting out trampolines and bouncy castles
Buying and hiring out trampolines and inflatable ‘bouncy castles’ is a sprightly earner.
Simply set up at fairs, boot sales and other public events and charge people $1 a go – you’ll soon have queues forming. Or, hire a semi-permanent site in a local park, beach or place of interest.
Customers may also want them for parties in their own gardens. Bouncy castles around $2,000 (try Exchange and Mart and other magazines to get hold of one) but you can recoup well over $500 in earnings on any fine weekend.
- Organizing coach trips
Setting up coach trips is a big money opportunity that works well all year, but is particularly lucrative in summer. You just select a destination, book a coach and sell places on it. Once you’ve covered the coach hire and marketing costs you’re in profit.
Try to match up the destination with your target market – for example, OAP groups might be interested in visiting ‘traditional’ seaside resorts, touring attractive gardens, or going to a museum or beauty spot. Coach trips to large markets and shopping centers might interest parents with small children (attracted via posters in play groups, community centres, doctors surgeries, shops etc.), whereas young people might jump at the chance to go to Alton Towers or Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Hint: check your local paper for ads run by local coach operators – they will give you ideas on places where you can run trips to.
Promotional materials should include your address and telephone number so that customers can make a provisional booking by phone before sending on their payment. Aim to fill every seat on the coach so that profits are maximized.
Aside from taking bookings, paying for coach hire and coordinating marketing, your only task is to be there at the appointed time at the start point to check people onto the coach. You can then relax and count your takings.
- Resort marketing person
Here’s an example of superb ‘middle-man’ opportunity for anyone living near a holiday destination.
Bruce Hill, a longtime resident of a Cornish seaside resort, realized there were a number of enterprises in town desperate for custom. Not far away there were large chalet complexes, holiday centres and campsites containing holidaymakers with cash to spend but who knew little about the area.
With this in mind, he approached the town’s surf hire shop, swimming pool, museum, boat hire firms, riding school and canoeing school and offered to find them customers in return for a commission. Most agreed Bruce then went round the various tourist complexes handing out leaflets, putting up posters and giving talks on the various attractions available in the nearby town.
He was a great success, not only boosting business in the town but earning himself a substantial income based on his referrals. Bruce has since bolstered his business by getting his clients to advertise in a magazine which he sells to local tourists.
- Organizing adventure tours
People are increasingly looking for something a little more exciting than a package trip to Lanzarote, so it’s no surprise that adventure tours have become boom sector of the travel industry.
Now commonplace are holidays where you can trek across the Himalayas, canoe up the Amazon, or explore the Arctic tundra. If you’re worldly wise and looking for adventure this is something you could try.
Place ads in the travel section of national newspapers along the lines of: ‘Trek across Bongo-Bongo Land with experienced tour guide’. Another effective marketing ploy is to hold free audio-visual roadshows with a talk and slides.
You don’t necessarily have to go anywhere harsh of exotic, however. Some people may prefer something closer to home – backpacking across the Outer Hebrides for example, exploring the wilds of western Ireland.
- Holiday souvenir packs
The complete Anytown Souvenir Pack is something you can assemble at low cost and sell at huge mark up.
Just collect a range of local souvenirs – a selection of postcards, some sticks of rock, pens, pencils, badges, key rings, tea towels and so on – and package them together. A cellphone – wrapped shoe box covered in colored paper and an attractive label works well.
The packs are perfect for holidaymakers looking for last minute gifts for family and friends – they can give them as a single gift or split them. Get local retailers to stock your product, or set up a seafront / high street stall.
- Guided walk holidays
Taking walking tours across attractive countryside is an excellent money-spinner for anyone with strong leadership ability and organizational skills, not to mention a great way to earn a living.
You’ll need good knowledge of the local area, including campsites if you’re camping, and / or B&Bs, restaurants and cafes. Either offer day trips or longer tours of a week or more.
You can either charge for the basic tour or make the fee all-inclusive (to cover accommodation, food and so on). Don’t forget to negotiate a commission or discount with B&Bs, restaurants, museums, country houses and other places of interest encountered en route.
Use ads in newspapers and walking magazines to promote the service, and have a brochure printed featuring possible itineraries.
- Town guided walks
If you’re new to a town or city there’s no better way to see the sights than going on a guided walk.
Conducting local walks is an agreeable way to make money from interested day trippers, holiday visitors and shoppers who fancy something different.
Try to take in as many interesting sights as possible and give a running commentary incorporating local tales and folk lore. You could theme the walk: heritage walks and ghost tours are a novel spin on the concept.
Extend profits by negotiating a commission with gifts shops that you recommend along the way, plus the tea shop at the journey’s end. Selling souvenirs is another option, and you could produce booklets containing details of other local walks too – your tour customers are a captive market, and you can also get local retailers to stock them.
- Junior hotel
Summer camps for children are commonplace in America and on the Continent. While British parents are reluctant to part with their ‘little darlings’ during the holidays, there are signs that this trend is changing. You could exploit this by setting up a junior hotel.
Imagine the number of children who dread spending a wet week in a caravan or stuck in a cottage in Cornwall with just Mum and Dad for company. What if they could spend the time in special accommodation, doing fun sports and activities while making friends with other youngsters? Many kids would jump at the chance, most parents would love to offload their offspring for a week or two.
While a junior hotel would need to provide adequate supervision – you’d charge slightly more than the average hotel for this reason – it is by no means an expensive investment. Just hire part of a large hotel with suitable facilities. A campsite or school are good alternatives.
Remember that the traditional family seaside holiday is the decline: Following the US blueprint of enjoyable activities, education and independence for children looks like being the way to go.
- Sunshades
Here’s a nifty idea to copy if you live near any tourist resort.
James Ellis, a penniless student living in Bournemouth, came up with a cool way to earn extra cash one summer: selling sunshades. He collected cardboard boxes from local supermarkets and cut them into squares suitable for covering car wind-screens. On hot days the patrolled the car parks and sold them to motorists.
While this was more than enough for beer money, James soon found a way to expand his profits. By adding a few cuts and incisions in the cardboard (assisted by a bulldog clip) he fashioned a sunshade ideal for attaching to deckchairs along the beach and promenade. James had enough takers for his shades to keep himself more than solvent.
Profits could be increased by covering the sheets in acetate and charging local establishments to place ads underneath.
- Tandem taxi
This is another inexpensive way to relive holiday makers of their cash. Attach a sidecar to a bicycle (or to the back of three-wheeler), fix up an attractive sign, and start a novel taxi service ferrying tourists around.
Along the promenade, up to the shops, back to the hotel… there are sure to be plenty of takers in any busy resort.
- Selling discounted air fares
You may have heard of ‘bucket shops’ – agencies who sell discounted air fares. It’s a business that could make you rich, and summer is the idea time to get involved.
This opportunity exists because most airlines have excess capacity on their routes. Because they have an agreement not to undercut each other on prices, they appoint consolidators to sell the spare seats.
The consolidators’ philosophy is to sell as many seats as possible by drastically reducing the cost of fares. What many small operators have done successfully is to obtain cut-price air tickets from consolidators and sell them at a profit.
While many have thrived simply by placing classified ads in the national newspapers it’s far better for someone entering this crowded market to specialize: sell tickets for certain places and / or target advertising towards more specialized (and less expensive) publications.
Anyone selling discount flights is required by the Civil Aviation Authority to have and Air Tour Organizer’s License. Call the CAA on 0171 832 6600 for further information.
- Specialist travel agency
Starting travel agency is something anyone with organizational and interpersonal skills could do profitably. The tourism industry is massive and there is always room for new operators.
However, opening a traditional high street shop is open to widespread competition and high overheads. Far better to work from home providing a specialist service. Tailor your service to specific markets (eg. businesses, OAPs, Teachers, under-30s), to certain types of holiday (eg. cruises, skiing) and / or particular destinations (eg. the Far East).
- Travel club
Travel clubs are a sound alternative or extension to a standard agency. The idea is that by paying and annual subscription the customer get access to cheap fares, accommodation and food, plus preferential treatment when booking. All you have to do is book their travel tickets, accommodation and so on.
By negotiating commissions with the firms and establishments you use regularly there is plenty of scope for profit when you take into account income from subscriptions. Again, specialization is the key to success.
- Selling drinks
Hot people on beaches, in parks, and waiting in queues at summer shows and fairs are a perfect captive market for cold drinks.
Purchase a cool box from a camping shop (one that can be carried on your back if possible), insert as many cans as you can carry and seek out thirsty customers. A bike is useful when negotiating crowds and returning home to replenish your supplies.
- Renting outdoor equipment
The summer months will see hoards of people trying activities such as mountain biking, canoeing, rafting hiking, mountaineering and even skateboarding. While a few sporty types will bring their own gear, many prefer to hire it on the spot.
Purchased in bulk, your stock of bikes, canoes, skateboards and so on won’t be prohibitively expensive, and you can easily run the business from a garage or shed. Put the signs to attract customers and get some basic leaflets and posters printed – these can be placed in shops, pubs, tourist offices and so on, and handed to people in the street.
This is a fantastic earner in any area popular with day trippers and outdoor enthusiasts. Keep an eye on the fashions: grass skateboarding and in-line skating are the latest trendy sports and people will want to give them a try.
- UK resort marketing
Anyone well-versed in a particular foreign language or culture could earn a living by attracting foreign tourists to Britain. You would advertise in that country, perhaps using newspaper ads, live demonstrations or other media, and set up bookings in the UK.
Approach UK travel organizations / business / local authorities and explain the benefits of this service. It is up to you to convince them that you can bring in a significant amount of trade.
Although it is unlikely they will offer you a formal job doing this, working for them on a commission only basis could earn you a substantial amount of money. It may, of course, eventually lead to a lucrative job offer.
- Resort recruitment agent
Many overseas resorts are keen to attract quality British staff and provide UK-style entertainment, but are thwarted by the language barrier, poor marketing, and unreliable people. If you fancy spending most of the year making money in your favorite resort, approach businesses and tourist agencies there and offer your services as a recruitment agent.
Your role would be to recruit staff in the UK using the usual avenues (job centres, ‘situations vacant’ ads), backed up with one-to-one talks. When the recruits travel out for the new season you travel with them, help them settle and act as a trouble shooter.
By explaining the benefits to local businesses who pay your wages – you can effectively create your own well-paid job and have the ultimate in ‘busman’s holidays’.
