The holidaymaker is not loyal, everyone books for a tenner somewhere else.
While building a business from scratch and acquiring another may have presented challenges, Judith and her team successfully tackled them on their way to success. What her next venture will be is a matter of time, but if history is any indication, it will certainly be ambitious.
combine data
After completing various studies in Rotterdam and Essex, Judith Eyck worked for various e-commerce companies. She started digital marketing at Sunweb Group in 2011 and quickly started combining data to improve her marketing campaigns. Inspired by the possibilities of combining data with marketing or other business processes, Judith founded Vakanties.nl in 2017 with Sunweb founder Joost Romeijn as an investor.
"I look back with pride on what Elwin Kamp and I have learned and achieved in recent years. I am extremely grateful for all the special people I have met."
In the following two years, Judith ensured that Vakanties.nl grew rapidly. In July 2020, the company took over competitor Zoover. Judith successfully integrated both teams into one strong organization in just 4 months. The online travel agency took over all shares of Zoover Media BV. With this acquisition, the Rotterdam scale-up wanted to become the market leader in the online travel segment in the Netherlands and Belgium.
In the summer of 2017, when Sunweb CEO Joost Romeijn asked Judith Eyck whether she would like to set up the site Vakanties.nl, a domain name that the company had owned for some time, Eyck was not immediately thrilled because she knows that the online travel world is a huge fighting market and the bar is set very high.
killer environment
The online travel industry is a killer. “The holidaymaker is not loyal. Everyone books somewhere else for a tenner,” say Elwin Kamp and Judith Eyck. The travel industry can be an extremely competitive environment, with many companies constantly struggling to survive and compete in a market that is constantly changing. There are a number of key factors that contribute to the cutthroat nature of the travel industry, which we'll discuss below.
Firstly, the travel industry is subject to fluctuating supply and demand. People decide to travel for a variety of reasons, from vacations to business trips, and their preferences and needs may change from time to time. This means that travel companies must constantly adapt to the changing supply and demand of travel products and services. This can lead to high pressure to reduce costs and to compete on price, which in turn can lead to low margins and difficult conditions for travel companies.
Another important factor is the ever-increasing competition in the travel industry. With the rise of online booking platforms and the increased ease of comparing travel products and services, it has become easier for consumers to find cheap deals and to switch between different providers. This has led to an increase in competition between travel companies, which in turn can lead to lower margins and more difficult conditions for companies.
A third factor is the ever-increasing regulation and compliance requirements in the travel industry. Travel companies must comply with a range of laws and regulations, such as consumer protection, data protection and passenger transportation laws. This can lead to higher costs for travel companies and can further reduce margins.
Finally, the travel industry can also be unpredictable due to external factors such as natural disasters, political instability and health crises. These events can lead to cancellations and chargebacks, which in turn can lead to loss of revenue for travel companies.
Sunweb Travel
Sunweb Reizen is a Dutch travel organization that offers holidays to various destinations in Europe and beyond. They offer both flying holidays and car holidays, and have a wide choice of hotels and apartments in different destinations. Sunweb Reizen focuses on holidays for families, couples and groups of friends, and also has a range of winter sports holidays.
