Coach Hire Comparison hits milestone moment

Coach Hire Comparison has unveiled a re-brand to mark its tenth anniversary and has embarked on an ambitious plan to double in size.

The coach hire price comparison website was founded in July 2010 by husband-and-wife team James and Laura Stokes. It began by providing quotes from 20 independent coach firms in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and now has a national presence offering price comparisons from more than 220 operators with nearly 2,800 vehicles on the roads in total. Now the business, which is based in Shirland, Derbyshire, is looking to double in size over the next few years.

Fluid Ideas, a creative agency based in Derby, has been brought onboard to help bring the couple’s plans to fruition. The agency has designed the rebrand alongside technical and visual improvements to the website to improve the customer journey, and new social media and digital marketing strategies. New features for the website are planned and a social media strategy is set to launch.

Coach Hire Comparison handled 30,000 quote requests in the six months to December 2019, of which 80% were fulfilled. The operators which use the site are typically small, owner-driver businesses with up to five vehicles, ranging from eight-seater minibuses to double-decker coaches. They pay a monthly fee to be listed on the website.

James said: “There are around 4,000 operators nationwide who fit our target market, so there is huge untapped potential for Coach Hire Comparison to expand, providing a significant new revenue stream for operators and saving travellers time and money.

“We have used lockdown to invest in our re-brand and website development to come out of this period even stronger and hit the ground running as the market gradually returns to normal.”