Agent Diary: Booking a surprise trip for friends involved cloak and dagger secrecy

Going to great lengths to keep a surprise Kenya trip under wraps led to tears of joy on Christmas morning, says Spear Travels Wolverhampton’s Kim Kent

In our industry we meet many different people, some of whom we have known for many years, but we only book their holidays, so we don’t really know them.

But I do have one couple who have booked with me many times and we have become friends. They are members of a local amateur dramatics society – something I’ve always been interested in – and I’ve been to see many of their performances, which have always been great fun.

I do have one couple who have booked with me many times and we have become friends

It happens to be their 40th wedding anniversary this year and Stephen, the husband, came to see me to say he wanted to take Debbie back to Kenya where she grew up. I always enjoy booking special-occasion holidays, so I was delighted about this. I had no idea Debbie had grown up in Kenya but apparently she was not only born there but lived there until she was 19. She remembers it well and apparently often talks to the family about her teenage years.

Secret agent

As this trip was to be a surprise for her, it was all a bit cloak and dagger as Stephen didn’t want their children to know. He had to be very careful not to let the cat out of the bag and even more careful when meeting me for updates. He had a rough idea of where she would want to go back to and what she would want to see and do, but we still needed a little more information to put an itinerary together.

His intention was to present this to her for Christmas. Over the next couple of weeks he did more research, then came in to see me with the final details. I know Africa reasonably well and have been several times, but these were places I had never heard of and very much off the beaten track, so I definitely needed an expert to help put it together.

These were places I had never heard of and very much off the beaten track, so I definitely needed an expert to help put it together

We use many different suppliers for Africa and I always get a couple of quotes just for comparison, but on this occasion it turned out that the Africa team at Lusso were my best option. They also knew the destination very well and had heard of all the out-of-the-way places on the list. It wasn’t long before we had an itinerary and a price. Although this was slightly over Stephen’s budget, it was good value, and he agreed it included all that he had expected.

Television show

Now for the tricky bit: I was not able to send any emails to him as the family have access to his email address, which meant it all had to be communicated by text message. We then managed to load the digital itinerary from the tour operator on to a USB stick so he could present this to Debbie using the TV on Christmas Day. I laughed when he told me he had bought her a very cheap book on Kenya and wrapped it as her main Christmas present – she thought that was all she was getting!

[She] gave me a massive hug to thank me not only for all the work putting it together but also for my patience in assisting Stephen in such a discreet way

Stephen told me there were tears of joy on Christmas morning during the big reveal on the telly and that Debbie was over the moon with her gift. When she came in to see me, she had tears in her eyes and gave me a massive hug to thank me not only for all the work putting it together but also for my patience in assisting Stephen in such a discreet way.

It was a lovely gift and one I was delighted to help with. I can’t wait to hear all about this amazing trip.

Does this sound familiar to you?

I had an enquiry recently for an active family holiday in Thailand. They wanted a beach stay, water sports, diving, white‑water rafting and zip-wiring, plus a trip to Bangkok for a cultural experience. I contacted Asia specialist Bamboo Travel to help put the itinerary together and the quote they came back with was perfect, with everything included.

I was excited to send it over to them – but less enthused when they came back saying it all looked too exhausting and they had changed their minds after reading it! I am pleased to say they did book with me eventually, but instead for a basic holiday to a remote Cambodian island with no tours at all. Bizarre!