A day with… Sunlounger Travel in King’s Lynn, Norfolk

Staff at the agency tell Samantha Mayling about winning at the AAAs and bouncing back from the pandemic

It’s an exciting time to visit Sunlounger Travel: the brand started in 2019 but has already won regional awards and trade honours.

Three of the King’s Lynn team visited London in July for Travel Weekly’s Agent Achievement Awards – where assistant Sian Freestone won Young Agent of the Year.

The brand was named in the top five in its region and manager Courtney Empson was ‘highly commended’ in the Leisure Manager category. The team also recently had an amazing time at Courtney’s Dordogne wedding for three days, while their Facebook posts show they participate in events such as Race for Life, Macmillan coffee mornings, and Halloween trick or treat trails with other shops in the Vancouver Quarter.

Expansion

Between five of them, the shop opens seven days a week – so I don’t meet travel consultant Evelyn Frost – but the four on duty are eager to share their dedication to travel. “It’s a passion, this job, you have to love it,” Courtney tells me. “I could not imagine doing another job.” She began, aged 16, as an apprentice at the Thomas Cook ‘Discovery’ store in Peterborough.

But at 2am on September 23, 2019, she discovered the travel giant had collapsed and she’d lost her job.

We all have our own personality

By February 2020, she’d started with Sunlounger Travel at its first branch in Wisbech – then Covid struck. However, she was kept on and opened the second branch of the Advantage Travel Partnership agency in King’s Lynn, in 2020. The brand opened its third shop in Milton Keynes last year, then a Gloucester branch earlier this year. “We all have our own personality; we don’t have to be a robot to sell a holiday – we are independent,” Courtney explains.

When time allows, she attends conferences, such as Advantage’s AMS [Advantage Managed Services] in Majorca and Jet2holidays in Turkey, plus roadshows and World Travel Market in London.

She particularly loves selling and taking cruises – and is planning a Japan sailing for her honeymoon. Courtney and Sian also won cruises with Virgin Voyages at the AAAs. Sian tells me the AAAs event was “nervewracking, overwhelming and amazing”. “I spoke to Jordan North [DJ and event host] and was interviewed by Travel Weekly on Facebook Live – there was lots of adrenaline,” she recalls.

“Someone from Audley Travel was next to me and it was good to talk about different businesses. Everyone’s so friendly. “We put news [about AAAs] on our Facebook page and customers and reps commented – and some brought in bottles of bubbly.” Sian was shortlisted for the 2023 AAAs and only applied this year at the last minute.

We retain our loyal customers with our customer service

“After last year’s disappointment, I had nothing to lose,” she says. “This year I spoke [to judges] about making a difference in the community. I’ve matured and have more knowledge. We retain our loyal customers with our customer service.” Sunlounger is her first job – she started in December 2020, after the store opened in October 2020. Lockdowns meant she studied at home but started selling when restrictions eased in April 2021.

Sell on service

Fam trips to Corfu and Ayia Napa have built her knowledge and she has travelled widely on her own holidays, across the Med, and to Iceland, Paris, Vienna, Budapest and Prague. The agency sells a wide range of products, from last-minute, beach packages and staycations to luxury and business travel.

We sell on our service rather than discounts

“We also have a big online presence and sell a lot of Maldives,” says Sian. “People who booked with us in 2020 still come back; we get lots of referrals. “People on the King’s Lynn community Facebook page recommend us and we get great reviews.” Abigail Wenn, store supervisor, also joined in 2020 after redundancy from another agency. She notes how she’s been selling more to younger clients, which suggests they are not so confident booking on their own.

“We also advise about airport parking, currency and passport rules, and send out a checklist to clients – we sell on our service rather than discounts,” she adds.

Judging by the glowing online reviews – proudly displayed in the shop window – it’s no surprise they’re a winning team who always pass their sales targets.

Sam’s day at Sunlounger Travel

With its curved frontage, the shop has a prominent location in the Vancouver Quarter shopping centre, amid national retail brands. Sian’s AAAs trophy is proudly displayed at reception, and the pink decor, coffee machine, drinks fridge, stylish window displays and foreign currency booth create a welcoming, professional atmosphere. The motto above the brochure racks asks invitingly: “Where will you go next?”

I speak to apprentice Kelsey – just 10 months into her first travel job but already looking forward to a Mexico fam trip, thanks to positive feedback from assessors. Sian joined as an apprentice in late 2020 and trained at home during lockdown but hit the ground running when she could sell holidays and quickly rose to assistant manager.

Store supervisor Abigail chats next about her career, and how she handles admin as well as selling everything from bucket-and-spade seaside breaks to tailor-made holidays, cruises and city breaks. Finally, I meet manager Courtney, who’s been busy with clients. With their camaraderie, friendship and expertise, it’s likely they’ll collect more awards in future.

Up close and personal

Kelsey Heffernan, apprentice sales consultant

What are the highlights of your apprenticeship?
The first dynamic package I arranged included first-class flights for a customer travelling on their own to the Maldives. I flew with British Airways in September for a fam on the Riviera Maya. I will finish my apprenticeship this month and I will become a travel consultant.

What would do if you weren’t in travel?
If not travel, I’d be in events management and weddings.

Evelyn Frost, travel consultant

Most memorable bookings?
They include a self-drive Canadian road trip for more than 20 people, plus a multi-centre US trip for two families. My favourite destinations are the US and Rhodes, and Hawaii is on my bucket list.

What would do if you weren’t a travel agent?
I have always had an interest in fashion and animals, so it would be either of those two. I started at Sunlounger in May 2023 and this is my first job in travel. Previously, I worked in H&M and The Perfume Shop.