Agent Diary: Every booking counts and could mean hitting targets

Booking a spa weekend or dining experience could be the difference between hitting or not hitting targets, says Hays Travel’s Colin Burns

So, are we all ready for the quiet months in retail? You know the ones: those pre-Christmas winter months where all of your daily jobs are done by 11am, there are hardly any customers coming in and you eventually get fed up of playing I spy with your colleagues.

Not on your nelly. It’s not like the olden days anymore when footfall began to slow down. I remember times when we would sit and play games, have extended lunch breaks and sneak off home early. I even remember one of my colleagues bringing in their Brussels sprouts to shell between calls! Things are different now and there is always so much for the whole team to do, no matter what the time of year.

Generating sales

It’s cruise launch month, and we’ve been attending training sessions where suppliers update us with all the information we need about their product offerings. We have offers and proposals coming out of our ears, but it is helping to generate sales we might not have otherwise had.

Summer 2026 – and even some 2027 – is there to book now, so we are calling customers to generate new leads, as well as looking back at older enquiries from advance bookers to try to get them sorted. This works especially well for those bucket list or special occasion celebratory holidays that need extra planning to get right.

Of course, calls don’t always result in an enquiry or booking, but it’s very rare that any of the customers we contact show the slightest annoyance at being disturbed – they are generally happy to hear from us and have a chat. Those who do book can be lucrative for us, and with the option of monthly direct debit payments, special trips can become much more affordable for customers.

Social media is busy too and we are getting enquiries and bookings from new customers way outside of our usual catchment area. It is not unusual for us to be spending a few hours each day sourcing deals, posting them to our pages and dealing with the comments and messages we receive as a result.

It’s also a time to remind the team that every booking counts, no matter how small. Even if it’s just a spa weekend or dining experience that someone is buying as a gift, it could be the difference between hitting or not hitting our targets through November and December.

Conference catch-up

I’ve also spent some time this week preparing for the Hays Travel Retail Managers Conference, taking place in Turkey next month. I can’t wait to catch up with colleagues from around the country, along with our supplier friends. As always, drinks will flow and we will all eat too much and sleep too little, but hopefully come back energised and full of ideas to take into the new year.

Oh, and a heads-up for all attendees – my next Travel Weekly piece will be due just after we return from the conference. I therefore might have a little scout around while we’re away and search for some gossip, so I can report back to the rest of the industry! Let me see now, I spy with my little eye…

Back to earth with a bump

On the subject of gift ideas, our Harvie bought her mum one of those gift cards that can be used for a number of outlets and experiences – all you need to do is select which one you require and validate it. On their shopping trip, the cashier in the store told mum that the code was invalid. Harvie was a bit annoyed, convinced the till must have been wrong.

That was until she checked the app and discovered she had accidentally selected ‘parachute experience’ instead of Primark! We all thought that the picture of a man plummeting to Earth was a bit of a giveaway, but Harvie must have missed that…