Member Article

Solmar celebrates best ever year at UK’s top travel awards

Family-owned Solmar Villa Holidays is celebrating its best ever year after scooping a host of top prizes at the British Travel Awards.

Burton-on-Trent based Solmar Villas won nine awards including seven golds, one silver and one bronze at a glittering ceremony at Battersea Evolution in London last night (Nov 28).

Solmar chief executive Julie Blake said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be recognised in so many categories at this year’s awards. They are voted for by customers which is the best accolade we could ask for.

“We pride ourselves on the quality of our villas and our superb customer service to holidaymakers, and it’s lovely that so many of them have taken the time to vote for us as a result.

“We were up against some of the biggest names in the travel industry so to come away with nine awards is truly heartwarming. It’s a record year for us and we would like to thank everyone who voted.”

Solmar Villa Holidays won Best Travel Company for Villa Holidays and Best Travel Company for Family Holidays. It also took the top awards for Best Medium Travel Company for Summer Sun, Best Medium Travel Company for Winter Sun, Best Medium Travel Company for Tailor-Made Holidays, Best Medium Travel Company to East/Southeast Europe and Best Medium Travel Company to Iberia/Macaronesia.

Over the last nine years it has won a total of 36 British Travel Awards and the latest haul of awards comes amidst a rapid period of growth for the company.

Villas on the Ionian coast, Kos, Ibiza and the Peloponnese have all been added as new destinations this year to Solmar’s European portfolio. Florida has also been introduced as the company’s first long-haul destination.

Further growth is planned over the next two years and Solmar is preparing to start the 2024 holiday season with more than 2,000 properties in its portfolio.

It has a new senior leadership team in place and with the company acquiring more than 450 properties from James Villas following its recent collapse, Julie said the focus would be to position itself as the UK’s primary provider of villas with private pools.

She said: “It’s been a significant year for Solmar with continued investment and growth across all aspects of the business. We will continue on this trajectory throughout 2024 and beyond with plans already in place to increase our trade sales.

“Our success at the British Travel Awards really could not have come at a better time.”

The ceremony was hosted by sports presenter and actress, Charlotte Jackson Coleman. The event had a carnival theme with Latin American dance performances throughout and this year 1,660,863 votes were cast across all awards categories making the BTAs 2023 a record-breaking year for consumer votes.

BTA director of events and partnerships, Lorraine Barnes Burton, said: “This year saw more than one and a half million votes cast to determine the winners of the 2023 awards and competition was fierce. Solmar Villa Holidays is therefore to be sincerely congratulated on the achievement in winning seven gold awards.

“Ultimately it is the travelling public who decide the winners by voting for the travel companies they consider the best in the business. The British Travel Awards is the largest awards programme in the UK and to win is truly an achievement.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Melanie Boulter .