British holiday-makers are heading abroad with a spring in their step thanks to attractive exchange rates and more choice than ever when it comes to how they carry currency around ? cash, prepaid cards and credit and debit cards.

But there is one choice they will be offered abroad that could end up costing them, if they aren?t educated to choose wisely.

As the distribution landscape becomes increasingly complex and fragmented, hoteliers in all segments are faced with the need to measure net contribution from each channel, and make the right revenue management decisions in order to optimize channel mix and overall profitability.

All travel businesses need to get serious about true compliance to the ten year old global PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) because of the introduction of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will become pan European law in March this year and will become enforced in early 2017.

Since Britain joined the European Union (EU) in 1973, the number of trips by Britons to the Continent has grown four fold. Over the past 43 years, higher incomes, falling travel costs and closer integration between the two parties on matters as wide ranging as banking to health care, have enabled this steady rise in not only holidaymakers but second-homeowners choosing mainland Europe as their destination of choice.

In the travel industry we often hear how competition from challenger brands is shaking up the market and that travel agents need to compete against each other to ?stay ahead of the game?. If you don?t outshine your competition, you?ll be left behind. Right?

I can?t remember the last time I spoke to a friend who was going on holiday and they didn?t mention that "that hotel has received great reviews? or ?a friend of mine went there last year and told me it was amazing?. I myself scour the Internet for months reading reviews about destinations, activities and hotels before booking my precious two weeks of escape.