Agent Diary: ‘It has been a great start to the year and shows agents are valued’

Smaller and more flexible operators can be fantastic at fulfilling the needs of independently minded travellers, says Spear Travels’ Kim Kent

I am delighted to say we have started the new year with a flood of enquiries. I knew we were going to be busy when we received emails from clients before we had even returned to work after the Christmas holidays, but my expectations have been surpassed.

One thing we have noticed is that many of these enquiries are not straightforward; we are seeing a real variety of destinations and holiday styles being requested.

I knew we were going to be busy when we received emails from clients before we had even returned to work after the Christmas holidays

An example of this is a complex trip around the Scottish Highlands. The clients want to drive themselves and then travel by ferry and stay at various islands. Such a holiday will have to be tailor-made to suit their requirements. Luckily, we found McKinley Kidd, which is a small, specialist tour operator that is passionate about this area. They took a week to prepare a quote but the clients are happy and want to book it, so it was worth waiting for.

It’s really encouraging to be booking many different holidays as our focus at the start of the year was to advertise unusual trips to try to inspire clients, and it seems to be working. Another observation is that we have many new faces coming through the door, which is great.

All in all it has been a great start to the year and demonstrates that agents are valued for their expertise and knowledge

We have also been monitoring our cruise sales following an advertising campaign put together before Christmas by my new colleague. We noticed some great offers with many features included, which were superb value for money. This has been a massive success and our cruise figures have doubled. It goes to show how social media and window offers can reap rewards.

All in all it has been a great start to the year and demonstrates that agents are valued for their expertise and knowledge. The internet can be a minefield if you don’t know what you are looking for.

Smooth operators

I recently attended the Aito conference in Hinckley, Leicestershire. It’s a fabulous event where you can meet some niche tour operators – McKinley Kidd being one of them. The knowledge you can gain is invaluable if you have an independently minded traveller who is looking for something specific or creative.

I started the weekend by attending a marketing workshop. It was a great way to remind us how to promote our business. It was also great to see friends I have known for many years and to chat about what is happening in their worlds. We had a lovely dinner with games after and a fun time was had by all.

We pride ourselves on customer service and strive to meet clients’ needs no matter how unusual or detailed they might be

On Sunday, we attended a marketplace where we met 30 Aito tour operators. They told us about what was new and how they have tackled the aftermath of the pandemic. It was a very informative session with these companies as we collected their contact details and new brochures at the same time.

We pride ourselves on customer service and strive to meet clients’ needs no matter how unusual or detailed they might be. We are always here to help, and having these smaller, more flexible companies to call on is a fantastic way to ensure we fulfil their needs.

We never seem to stop learning in this industry and there is always new information to absorb.

Hopes high for a cruise boost

Part of my business plan this year was to increase my cruise sales as I felt we needed to improve our market share in this area. In addition to launching a cruise-focused social media campaign, we joined Clia, which offers so much information about this ever-expanding product.

I asked my staff to complete as many of the Clia training sessions as they could during the quieter months leading up to Christmas, which will give us a greater advantage with new enquiries. We’re looking forward to seeing cruise sales continue to grow as we head further into 2023.