as previously mentioned a friend went on this trip with Travelsphere in November and he has kindly given me a map and also Travelspheres brochure on the full itinerary, which is very comprehensive with pictures of the holiday that we are about to embark on.

The brochure has a lot more information than the one we have received from Just You and I wondered why we did not get the same as Travelspheres brochure as it makes the holiday look even more exciting with lots of info on times of visits, excursions etc.

Please advise as I think it would be a great help to fellow travellers.

Cath H

First off, thank you for your feedback about the information we include in our brochures (and ultimately on the website too).

Our research has shown that our Travelsphere and Just You customers prefer to be talked to in a different manner. Where our Travelsphere customers want us to be quite detailed in our itineraries, our Just You customers have told us they prefer a more conversational tone, letting the words paint a picture of the holiday rather than a regimented structure.

However, as you may be aware, we do take all feedback from our customers on board, and I have forwarded your comments on to the relevant people here at JYHQ.

Kindest regards,

Julia

I am very surprised that the powers that be think that TS and JY customers would like a different style of holiday description! I for one would greatly appreciate more detail regarding the daily itinerary on each holiday, whether it is an early start, how much time it takes to get to the next destination etc. This would make it much easier in deciding whether a holiday is for me or not.

To be honest, I don't think there has been much difference historically between the TS and JY descriptions of similar holidays, although I noticed in the new revamped JY brochure the style is less detailed - with the days grouped together under the same location e.g. days 5-7 La Fortuna rather than a daily itinerary. I think this is a step backwards! I also think JY and TS undersell the optional excursions and more details of them should be given in the brochure. Often we have no idea what the optionals entail until after we have booked - or we ask you here on the forum! In the same way, add-ons e.g. Cambodia, Victoria Falls are desperately undersold in the brochure and on the website - these have been even better than the main tour in my experience and much more detail should be given!

All the best,

Bob

Thanks for your speedy reply but I must state that I have shown the Travelsphere itinerary to a friend who is also travelling to Costa Rica and Nicaragua in March and he totally agrees with me that Travelspheres itinerary is much more detailed and informative and that most travellers would prefer as much info as possible to enable them to plan and look forward to each trip on a daily basis.

The Travelsphere itinerary with pictures should be given to all travellers as I do not believe that Just You travellers wish to be treated any differently from your sister company, most companies now provide as much info on their trips as possible to help travellers decide which holiday would be of most interest to each individual.

I hope that Just You will rethink for all future holidays as most other companies that cater for solo travellers do.

Cath H

we really appreciate your comments. We made the changes to the brochure page style after doing a huge amount of research with our customers and also potential customers. We talked about the type of images, the type and amount of writing on the page, the excursion content - as much as we could in order to make sure we were giving everyone what they wanted.

I appreciate that some people will want different things from the brochures and I suppose there is always the challenge of not being able to please all of the people. I just wanted to reassure you that this wasn't a decision made by "the powers that be" but as a result of talking directly to the people that matter most, our customers.

We are always all ears when it comes to every aspect of what we do though, so if you feel strongly that we aren't serving you in the way you would like then please do say so. Hopefully you will all know by now that we always listen to our customers.

Hope that gives a bit more background?

Thanks

Will