About Us
Hotelplan UK Ltd
In May 2010 Hotelplan UK, the parent company of specialist tour operators Inghams and Inntravel, is announced the acquisition of Enigma Travel Group, comprising Esprit Holidays and Ski Total, to create one of the largest specialist independent Tour Operators in the UK.
Esprit Holidays and Ski Total
Esprit was founded in 1983 by two ex-RAF officers who saw from their own experiences on ski holidays that there was a potential market for offering child care to UK families on holiday. Hitherto, children had to be left in local ski garderies and kindergartens where large numbers and language problems often caused upset and bewilderment. The concept was to employ qualified British nannies to look after babies and toddlers in the chalets, while parents enjoyed their skiing.
Over the next ten years the company developed its range of child care from a simple nursery provision to encompass, dedicated children’s ski lessons, after ski activity clubs, child collection and delivery services, baby sitting and evening activity sessions for older children. It became acknowledged as the leading family ski company and many, indeed most, other UK ski tour operators had adapted a similar model, by adding child care to their existing programmes. Few of any size, however, followed Esprit’s model to exclude adult-only bookings from their clientele, as Esprit did and still does.
In the late 1980s the company introduced a summer programme focussed on ‘soft adventure’ holidays in the Alps, still with an emphasis on family holidays, incorporating child care and a range of outdoor activities in the mountains.
Ownership changed in 2001, when Esprit was bought by Enigma Holidays and the following year another chalet operator, Ski Total, was acquired. Ski Total specialised in quality chalet holidays with a programme aimed mainly at the adult market, complementing Esprit’s focus on families. Following this merger, the combined programme grew rapidly, the company becoming the largest independent ski tour operator in the UK. A Lapland Santa programme was introduced in 2004, offering short breaks to Finnish Lapland to allow families to visit Santa in the run up to Christmas and also enjoy the pleasures of winter activities like reindeer and husky sled rides and snowmobile outings.
Inghams
Since 1934 Inghams has grown into one of the UK's leading specialist tour operators. We also belong to one of the premier travel groups in Europe. Our successful Swiss parent company, Hotelplan, is a distinguished brand on the continent and has its own offices in several European countries. Hotelplan in turn is part of the Migros organisation, the largest grocery wholesaler and retailer in Switzerland. The Inghams portfolio is made up of Inghams Ski and Snowboarding Holidays, Lake and Mountains and the sister company Inntravel.
Inghams has been at the heart of the worldwide ski industry since the 1930s and this has enabled us to build deep and long-lasting relationships with our partner hoteliers. These enduring partnerships and friendships are fundamental in ensuring the best ski holiday for you. Today this shines through in the trust between the hotels and our resort reps, and the warm welcome that is always extended to Inghams guests on arrival in resort. For more information, read about our reps experience and expertise here.
So how did Inghams start?
Walter Ingham, born in the UK moved to Vienna in the 1920s. As a boy the Austrian mountains were his playground and he developed a passion for skiing, ski mountaineering and walking. He returned briefly to the UK as a junior salesman for Remington Typewriters but the appeal of the mountains lured him back.
In 1934, Walter advertised a private ski party in a British national newspaper, asking participants to join him on a Christmas adventure. The trip was a success and five more followed that season. The business grew fast with skiing and ski mountaineering in the winter and walking in the summer where overseas reps were recruited from previous customers.
In 1962 Walter decided to hang up his skis. After all, he had built up a reputable company over 28 years carrying 14,000 skiers a year with an enormous volume of repeat clients. It had all started from Walter Ingham's love of skiing and the mountains and his huge success meant that he no longer spent enough time in the mountains. He sold to Hotelplan, a Swiss company, and enjoyed the remainder of his days living on the island of Elba.
Walter's legacy lives on and Inghams continues to go from strength to strength. In this new era the company has gone through it's most substantial developments, taking Inghams to enviable market positions for Ski and Lakes and Mountains holidays as well as developing a substantial accommodation only offering though our specialist Just France and Inghams Villas programmes. Innovation and dedication strengthened our position in our main markets with offices in Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Andorra and Canada. Bladon Lines was purchased in 1995 boosting the ski programme with the addition of quality chalets and club hotels in top ski resorts. And more recently, in 2008, Inghams purchased the award-winning specialist walking holiday tour operator, Inntravel who are the UK's leading provider of self-guided walking and cycling holidays throughout the unspoiled corners of Europe and beyond.
All of these businesses have benefited from the financial strength and central infrastructure of Inghams. Product knowledge and strong, long lasting relationships are the key to our success and Inghams' discerning clients appreciate the advantages of booking their holiday with a reputable specialist tour operator. Inghams provides a wide choice of products, accommodation and services, all of which have been carefully selected and vetted by our experienced staff. Inghams provide a guarantee of quality and a holiday experience second to none.
Responsible tourism
As a leading specialist tour operator, Inghams have taken positive steps to make the business more sustainable. This includes improving the operation in relation to the environment and society, as well as developing greener procedures within the head office.
To help the hoteliers develop sustainable business practices, Inghams have joined the Travelife Sustainability System. All the hotel partners will be invited for assessment and the top performers will be awarded with a Travelife accreditation of Bronze, Silver or Gold. While encouraging suppliers to be more environmentally responsible, this scheme will help you make more informed choices about where to go on holiday.
Inghams registered in England and Wales as Hotelplan Limited. No 350786. Registered office address: 10-18 Putney Hill, London SW15 6AX.