Mark Warner is an independent

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

tour operator founded in 1974 by entrepreneurs Mark Chitty and Andrew Searle. Based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, it originally specialised in singles' and couples' ski holidays in just one chalet in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

but has since expanded into family and beach resort holidays.

Overview

Mark Warner's summer destinations include beach resorts in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, with facilities including tennis and water-sports centres. Its winter ski programme includes 11 chalet hotels, one chalet and apartments in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Mark Warner has a childcare programme but certain ski properties are reserved for adults, in keeping with the original idea. In 2012, the Levante Beach Resort on

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, a 5-star resort built to Mark Warner's own specifications, was added to the portfolio. In 2010 ex- Savills director Giles Gale launched a new associated business - Mark Warner Property - to specialise in the sales and marketing of ski property developments in Austria. In 2012 the business was expanded into Switzerland with a particular focus on Grimentz and the

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

region. In 2014, Mark Warner Holidays was a three-time winner in the British Travel Awards (Best Family Tour Operator edium size Best Activity & Adventure Operator edium sizeand Best All Inclusive Operator edium Size. It was Best Ski Operator according to the Telegraph Travel Awards.

Controversies

In 2007, three-year-old Madeleine McCann was allegedly abducted from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, which had been booked through Mark Warner.Caroline Gammell
"Madeleine McCann: Apartment was not made crime scene for two months"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 August 2008. The company later launched legal action against its insurers to recover earnings lost after holidaymakers stayed away from the Praia da Luz resort due to media coverage of the disappearance, and in 2015 closed its Ocean Club resort in the town. Mark Warner's childcare services were criticised in the BBC's ''Whistleblower'' programme in February 2008. It was discovered that staff were working illegally in Egypt, using tourist visas instead of work visas. The company subsequently issued a statement saying: "It is company policy that all childcare staff employed by Mark Warner must supply two references and submit a form to check their criminal record. There were clearly two occasions where we failed to do this." It apologised and said it would tighten up its procedures. In December 2016, Mark Warner wrote to all of its customers holding live bookings, adding a £50 per person surcharge citing the Pound to Euro exchange rate. The company insisted it was within its rights under booking conditions to make such a charge.

References

External links

* {{UK Hotels Hospitality companies of the United Kingdom Hospitality companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in England