Your Stories: Why the pandemic proved a good time to set up a high street agency

Mel’s Travel founder Mel Robson says her business has enjoyed a great peaks and is flourishing after the challenges of Covid

Q. When did you set up Mel’s Travel?  
A. I launched it on September 3, 2020. Assistant manager Maria Blackett joined me and we started working from my dining room table at home. Pandemic restrictions meant we couldn’t open a shop until April 2021. The first booking was a shopping trip to the world’s biggest Primark in Birmingham with Acklams Coaches, which made £5 profit. That was cause for celebration. The first year was a whirlwind. We book all kinds of holidays: luxury honeymoons, safaris, groups and tailor-made itineraries. Cruise sales have grown massively, and our biggest market is European family package holidays.

The first booking was a shopping trip to the world’s biggest Primark in Birmingham with Acklams Coaches, which made £5 profit

Q. How did you cope during the pandemic?  
A. The pandemic was horrific. It was stressful and very challenging. I felt like we had to relearn our jobs every day as the rules regarding travel were constantly changing. We tried to remain positive and keep up to date with all the changes.

Q. What is your background in travel?  
A. I studied travel and tourism and secured a Saturday job with First Choice in Boldon Colliery in Tyne and Wear. I got a full-time role when I finished the course. After a year, I moved to Thomas Cook in Spennymoor, County Durham, to be closer to home. I worked there for almost three years before leaving to have my first child. I got back into travel in 2018, joining Hays as a homeworker.

The pandemic was stressful and very challenging. I felt like we had to relearn our jobs every day as the rules regarding travel were constantly changing

Q. How are bookings at the moment?
A. We are busy and had a great peaks – I am very happy with our performance and results. Our most popular destinations are Spain, Turkey and Greece. For long‑haul, they are Dubai, US and Mexico. A lot of people prefer to use an agent now because some online companies were not processing refunds very quickly during the pandemic. Consumers also saved money by not travelling and now they want to book bucket-list trips. We have also seen an increase in larger family groups wanting to travel and people travelling more often.

Q. What are your own travel plans?  
A. I am so excited about my trips this year. I am sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas in July from Rome. We will visit Spain and Italy and stay in Rome for two nights at the end. I am home for a few days, then I fly to Crete for a week, and I am going to Florida in October. I also won a three-night trip to Hurghada, Egypt, in December with Classic Package Holidays.

A lot of people prefer to use an agent now because some online companies were not processing refunds very quickly during the pandemic

Q. How has Hays Travel Independence Group helped you?
A. Hays IG supports us any time we need it. We have regular catch-ups over phone and email and they visit us in store. They’re always willing to join any events we have planned. They helped us with an Elf day in December, which raised money for Alzheimer’s Research.

Q. How was the Hays IG conference in March?
A. I closed the shop and took all my staff to the conference in Portugal. It was nice for them to create connections with suppliers and hear the latest updates. Conferences are always really motivational and inspirational.

Hays IG supports us any time we need it. We have regular catch-ups over phone and email and they visit us in store

Q. What sort of marketing do you do?  
A. Our biggest marketing base is Facebook. We keep our page active with lots of offers each day. We also post on Instagram, in our store window and the local paper. We recently launched a bookable website, which also has special offers. Social media is our biggest tool and we get a huge amount of our business from there.

Q. How many staff do you employ?
A. We have two full-time staff, one part-time and one homeworker. We recently opened a foreign exchange bureau too. We’re advertising for five more homeworkers to help us expand. Since opening, we’ve had more than 6,000 passengers and sales totalling £4 million.

Our biggest marketing base is Facebook. We keep our page active with lots of offers each day. We also post on Instagram, in our store window and the local paper

Why did you set up your own business?

I’d always wanted my own agency, but never thought it would happen. At the start of the pandemic, I was a Personal Travel Consultant (homeworker) for Hays Travel. As this was commission-based, I had to return payments for travel that was cancelled during Covid. The stress meant I couldn’t continue and terminated my contract with Hays in May 2020, but I soon regretted it.

I contacted Jonathon Woodall-Johnston [Hays chief operating officer] in July 2020 about setting up on my own and he set the ball rolling for me. I thought: “It can only go one way; it can’t get any worse when you start at rock-bottom.” Having a high street presence is important. We have many customers who like to put a face to a name and see us in store. It was especially important during the pandemic as many people needed reassurance from us in person about health forms and booking Covid tests.

Ferryhill was local and there weren’t any other agencies in the immediate area. My husband was also looking to relocate his mobility aids shop, so we decided to share the building and open as separate stores. We won the ‘best new business’ award at the Hays IG conference in Tenerife in March 2022.