The Lucky Travellers

Grey, angry clouds loomed large across the sky while torrential rain pelted against my windows with such force that I genuinely thought the glass panes might shatter into pieces. It was a typical July morning in wet and windy Wales, and as usual we were stuck indoors. My two grumpy toddlers let out angry wails of pent-up frustration, for we had been cooped up in our tiny house for what seemed like an eternity. It was almost as if the dull, gloomy weather reflected my emotional state; lingering postpartum OCD, feelings of isolation and a lack of money had left me feeling just as grey and angry as those looming, rain filled clouds.

Looking back, it was hardly surprising that I so often escaped into a fantasy world of mojitos on the beach, kids paddling in warm, turquoise waters, and alfresco dining under an uninterrupted, golden sun. Alas however, these fantasies were often short lived, and daily life had a habit of jolting me back to cold, hard reality. Opening the bare fridge, embarrassing moments at the supermarket checkout, or the arrival of an overdraft statement; these kinds of things served as frequent reminders that visiting a far-off paradise, was for me, about as likely as winning the lottery, which incidentally, I couldn’t afford to play.

But then Audrey came into my life and sparked a passion that would change everything!

My one-year-old was having her morning nap and my three-year-old was happily playing with her Pepper Pig toy set. This meant one thing and one thing only, it was time for a strong coffee and my daily dose of daytime television. As I settled back into my comfortable sofa, the television presenters introduced their next guest, a competition addict called Audrey. Audrey referred to herself as a ‘seasoned comper’ and went on to wow viewers with what she enthusiastically called her 'comping' successes. As Audrey began to reel off the prizes that she had won from online competitions, my jaw dropped to my knees. Cars, holidays, clothes, kitchen appliances, vouchers; you name it, she had won it. And the best bit, these competitions were completely free to enter, all you needed was an internet connection and some time and motivation.

That evening, once the kids were quietly tucked up in their beds, I whipped out my laptop and began searching for competitions. However, I didn’t focus on any old competition, oh no, there was only one thing on my mind, and that was winning a holiday for my family!

Every night, without fail, I would search for new holiday competitions. That’s not to say that I didn’t have doubts. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I didn’t think I’d ever really win. Thoughts like ,

“I’ll never be that lucky”, or “People like me don’t win holiday competitions” regularly raced around my mind.

But the truth is, I actually really enjoyed entering these competitions. It wasn't just about the winning either. Entering these competitions lifted my spirits and gave me something to channel my obsessive thoughts into. Every time I found a new holiday competition, I would become lost in a glorious daydream where myself and my family would jet off to the paradisiacal prize destination. I would spend my evenings looking up the hotels and locations featured in these competitions and imagining what it would be like to win. These contests made me feel like my fantasy of going on a family holiday was that little bit more possible. Nevertheless, the realist in me knew that my new hobby was nothing more than a fantastical form of escapism; a form of escapism that was about to turn into bitter regret.

Scrolling through my Facebook feed, a holiday competition post jumped out at me. I avidly clicked on the competition link. It took me through to a ‘text to win’ contest, so as always, I carefully read the competition terms and conditions. These stipulated that unlimited text entries were allowed and that these would be charged at my standard network rate; and standard rate text messages are included in your mobile phone bundle, right? WRONG! As I found out to my horror when a phone bill for £95 landed on my doormat, a massive £75 more than I expected. I was distraught and my partner was irate. How could I have been so stupid? In my desperation to win a family holiday, I had texted this competition hundreds of times thinking that it would be free on my mobile plan. It was a complete disaster, we just didn’t have that kind of money to gamble away.

But then it happened: It actually went and flaming happened! I had THE phone call; the one I’d been fantasising about for months; the phone call saying that I’d only gone and won us a LUXURY ALL-INCLUSIVE FAMILY HOLIDAY TO TENERIFE!!!!!!!!! As you can imagine, all was forgiven; I mean £75 for a holiday like that was nothing. This was absolutely amazing news, even if it did mean increasing our overdraft for the next few months. It turned out that entering a text to win competition hundreds of times wasn’t so stupid after all; well, not in this case anyway.

We were ecstatic, absolutely over the moon, walking on cloud nine for months, and so incredibly excited for our first family holiday abroad! And it did not disappoint! Tenerife was a truly wonderful holiday: splashing around in the hotel swimming pools; paddling in the warm Atlantic waves; a fun filled pirate boat trip; a visit to an amazing water park; cocktails under the sun; delicious cuisine in the hotels numerous themed restaurants, and quality family time spent away from the humdrum of daily life. It was all we imagined it would be and more. We made the most of every minute, convinced that we would never get to experience anything like it again. Oh, how wrong we were!

When we returned from Tenerife, I had what many in the competition world often refer to as 'the comping bug’. I was hooked. I spent every spare minute hunting down travel contests. I taught myself how to find low entry competitions on social media platforms and search engines. These were contests that weren’t shared on competition websites or forums so my odds of winning were greatly increased. Supermarket shopping took on a whole new meaning as my eagle eye was constantly on the lookout for products that were running ‘win a holiday’ promotions. The creative competitions were my favourite though. These were usually low entry and meant that I could often get the kids involved in my newfound passion. We made cardboard photo props, dressed up, drew pictures, wrote poems, baked cakes and went on days out to take creative photos.

All our hard work soon paid off and the next year we were sunning ourselves on an all-inclusive family holiday in Cyprus. In the years that followed we won holidays to some incredible places. We went island hopping in Croatia, pony trekking through the Swiss Alps, visiting ancient, mythological ruins in Greece, snorkelling off Bulgaria’s stunning Black Sea coastline, and we bathed in hot, bubbly Icelandic springs.

Although promoters offer a vast array of different types of prizes, I have only ever focused on holiday contests and competitions that offer experiences. Don’t get me wrong, I would absolutely love to replace our unreliable, rusty, old banger with a nice, new, shiny car; and winning vouchers or a new washing machine would be much more practical than winning a family holiday. However, for me, entering competitions has never been about winning the material things in life. It has been about fulfilling a burning desire to travel, it has been about providing my family with amazing experiences that we would never be able to afford, and it has been about taking my children to the far-off places that I only ever dreamt of going at their age.

As my holiday wins mounted up, my friends and family were in awe. They couldn’t believe how lucky we were and always asked for my competition tips. As word spread about my comping successes, more and more people approached me for advice on entering competitions. There was something incredibly satisfying and fulfilling about sharing my competition knowledge and good fortune with other people. With such high demand for my competition expertise, I set up a Facebook group where I shared all the competitions that I’d hunted down, as well as tips and guidance on how to become a successful 'travel comper'. Over the last few years, I have helped numerous friends and family members win their dream holiday, and I can honestly say that this feels just as fulfilling as winning one for myself.

If you have managed to get this far, then I guess you are probably wondering how a passion like this can be monetised, right? Well, I am here to tell you that it absolutely can be. Competition gurus are a real thing here in the United Kingdom, and from what I’ve seen, they do pretty well out of this niche market. But here’s the thing, there doesn’t appear to be anyone who focuses solely on travel competitions. This seems bonkers to me because there are so many holiday competitions out there, especially if you know where to look. Not only this, but holidays are one of the most sought-after prize categories: everyone has a holiday at the top of their comping list.

As well as holiday competitions being an enticing way to attract an audience, there has also never been a better time to tap into this market. A travel competition explosion is on its way. Post Covid, travel companies will use competitions to entice people to holiday with them again. Not only this, but companies in different industries will want to capitalise on the travel interest boom that is guaranteed when people feel it is safe to resume their globetrotting ways. Travel competitions will undoubtedly be seen as a great way for businesses to promote their products and services.

Post Covid is also going to mean a return to a hectic, fast paced lifestyle for a lot of people, meaning that they simply won’t have the time or energy to search for holiday competitions themselves. This is where I come in! I am someone who can hunt down all those epic holiday competitions and low entry gems, and then send them directly to people’s inboxes, along with my proven comping tips for success. Yep, I would say that there is definitely a gaping gap in the market for someone like me.

"So why hasn’t she filled that gap already?" I hear you asking.

If dreams were actions, then there is no doubt that I would have become the UK’s leading travel comping guru by now. Over the last few years, I have thought about little else. I even went as far as naming my own blog and designing a logo, but truth be told, it is those pesky doubts rearing their ugly head again. Every time I think about how amazing it would be to turn my passion into a regular source of income, that little voice in my head shouts,

“You don't have what it takes. You’re not tech savvy enough" or "You don’t know the first thing about growing your audience beyond friends and family.”

However, when I truly reflect, I think to myself,

"Imagine all those wonderful experiences that my family and I would have missed out on if I had surrendered to those doubts at the beginning of my comping journey."

And so maybe, just maybe, I am ready to embark on the next chapter in my travel comping story, because if winning all these holidays has taught me anything, it is that dreams really can come true!