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talking shop WISE COUNSEL Giving credit where credit is due Well, that’s Christmas done and


dusted for another year! And as this month is traditionally a bit of a come down I’m going to fill this column with happy fuzzy things and positive messages to warm your frigid January! After being nominated as ‘The Most Helpful TC’ for the fifth time by my fellow Travel Counsellors, I have decided to launch my own new monthly award to share the joy of winning – and I need your help. From time to time in this column I mention my ‘Most Helpful Tour Operator’ and give a particular person credit for a job well done. Now I’m going to make this a monthly accolade but thought it would be nice to open up the nominations to you lovely readers as well. My email is at the bottom of the page, and I would welcome your nominations each month for your ‘Most Helpful Tour Operator’, along with their name, how they helped and what they did to provide outstanding service.


Conference Call I attended our annual conference in Birmingham recently and have to say a big thank you to our fantastic head office team for arranging such an inspirational event. Every year I am amazed at just how far ahead we are of our competition in terms of technology and the amazing support we get from our suppliers and head office staff. We laughed hard with Michael McIntyre, acted like ‘younger ladies’ when Blue belted out their hits and were inspired by the speakers.


Lucky Knickers It would appear that my increasingly famous ‘lucky knickers’ will soon have to be retired because they are working overtime: they landed me not one but TWO prizes at the conference weekend. The first was a week’s villa holiday courtesy of those nice folk at Villa Parade, the second a whole CRATE of wine to get me through the festive season thanks to GW Travel. Those of


Clockwise: Barbara at the TC Conference Gala Dinner; The Venetian, Las Vegas; Blue on stage; Barbara has wine options; Makadi Spa Hotel;


62 January 2012 • www.sellinglonghaul.com


"Finally, in Sharm el Sheikh my husband got to witness fi rst-hand how hard we agents work on educationals!"


us in travel really are spoilt: what other industry offers such fantastic prizes?


On Location I spent a week at the new all-inclusive Makadi Spa Hotel in Egypt last month. It was a holiday but coincided with a Red Sea Holidays educational trip which left on the same flight as me and was staying at the hotel next door. It was the first time I have seen a fam trip


from the other side and it felt a bit odd, but as I lay by the pool with my husband on day five I saw the fam on a hotel inspection. Everyone was still white as ghosts as they had been working so hard visiting the properties of Hurghada, taking an epic road trip to Luxor for a Nile Cruise taster, flying to Sharm el Sheikh then back again to Makadi Bay. Finally, my husband witnessed first-hand how hard we work on educationals!


BIG THEM UP! Don’t


forget to make a note of who your Most Helpful Tour Operator is during January and pop me over an email with your nomination by February 8 – let's put a smile on someone’s face.


SALES SUCCESS I took


a great booking to the USA for a bank manager client. I came up with so many good suggestions for him he persuaded two friends to go with him – and they all upgraded to Premium Economy! I combined The Venetian in Las


Vegas and The Lenox in Boston with two nights in New Hampshire, with car hire, and recommended stops for some nice seafood chowder! Paris also got a look in – fi rstly as a surprise for a wife and secondly as a treat for two grown-up children and two grandchildren heading to Disneyland Paris.


YOU WON’T BELIEVE


IT BUT... This month I had a real challenge. Two days before their departure my client informed me her daughter was allergic to biological washing powder and asked me to make sure the hotel and cruise ship they were booked on would not use this product in their laundry! After numerous overseas phone calls and long conversations with house-keepers, laundries and Access Compliance offi cers I was fi nally able to confi rm the hotel would use brand new unwashed sheets and the cruise line would boil in plain water!!


BARBARA CHARLTON


Regular columnist Barbara was voted Most Helpful Travel Counsellor of the Year for two consecutive years


Contact Details


BARBARA CHARLTON Travel Counsellors UK 0845 0587 290


Barbara.charlton@travelcounsellors.com www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/barbara. charlton


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