talking shop WISE COUNSEL
Rain Rain Go Away What on earth has happened to our summer? With the exception of one glorious week in May we simply haven’t had one. Our garage roof leaked water, which caused all the boxes stored after our house move to dissolve. Two dry days in mid-June allowed us to dry out but some more sunshine is needed! With all this rain, many families had
their half-term staycations ruined and I’m expecting a bumper ’lates’ this summer. If you are not already signed up to get
Selling Long Haul each month or still to register with Travel Uni, put it on your ‘to do’ list to ensure you don’t miss any training evenings or events.
Away From Home Whilst it is always fabulous to get away on a short break, after spending four days on the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia in May we really wished we had booked for longer. We had one glorious day, a cloudy day, a windy day and one very ‘so-so’ day with big hailstones, believe it or not! A few weeks later we popped over to Dublin for two days and, surprisingly, enjoyed much better weather.
BARBARA CHARLTON
Regular columnist Barbara was voted Most Helpful Travel Counsellor of the Year for two consecutive years.
E:
Barbara.Charlton@
travelcounsellors.com T: 0845 0587 290
It’ll rain with summer ‘lates’
CONGRATS! With so many nomi- nations from different agents, those three helpful ladies at Pre- mier Holidays – Kay- leigh Dolan, Natasha Chapman and Karen Alldread – are joint winners of this month’s 'Most Helpful Tour Opera- tor.' All three will get a certifi cate to show that their hard work and understanding is appreciated.
“Too many people are thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, when they ought to just water the grass they are standing on”
— AMAR DAVE Travel agent Ginny wrote: “I had three
lovely clients booked to travel to Jersey with Premier Holidays. The lady had a pre-existing and recurring medical condition which could not be covered by travel insurance. The total holiday cost was £3400. Unfortunately she had a relapse and the cancellation charges were 100%. The client told me to give the holiday away to someone who would pay to change the flights/names, etc, so at least someone would enjoy it. “Undeterred, I spoke to Karen,
Shining Stars What it takes to be a top supplier means different things to different people. It could mean that the operator is always available to assist before, during and after travel. Or it could be that their relationships with hoteliers and airlines are so strong that normal rules can sometimes be overcome. This month I've had a large number of nominations for Premier Holidays – not just for Natasha Chapman and Kayleigh Dolan in reservations, but also for Administration Manager, Karen Alldread.
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Premier’s Administration Supervisor and after liaising with the hotel she managed to get a 50% refund on the costs which, at £1700, made the client unbelievably chuffed. Thank you Karen! Classic Collection's Elosie was nominated by Sue Claridge. With Eloise’s help Sue managed to match a web deal. Moreover, Sue noticed that the passport Office had listed the infant’s year of birth
incorrectly! If her client had booked on the web there would have been trouble, but Sue saved the day. Helen Knowles nominated Kayleigh at
Premier Holidays, who helped her book seven adults on a Thai beach and Bangkok holiday. Helen commented: “Their budget £1500pp but they had quotes for a five-star hotel. I emailed Kayleigh to see what we could do and she came back with seats and hotels around budget and noticed that their preferred hotel was actually full and on stopsell. After lots of back and forth and patience and product knowledge on Kayleigh’s part we secured the booking at just under £12k. She always turns around a quote in double-quick time and totally understands how I work." You just cannot beat the human touch.
Top: A Thai paradise for seven please - secured by Kayleigh from Premier Holidays for 12K
It underlines again that it’s always important for agents to impress to new clients how we are different from other booking channels. Of course, if the tour operator is singing from the same song sheet it's much easier. The last finalist place in this month’s
IS SUMMER COMING? Come rain or shine I’m looking forward to the summer schedule of training and promotional events. I have a few such events lined up for July, and shall be getting out my summer dresses, even if I have to team them with a poncho.
LAST MONTH’S WINNER Africa Collection’s Becca Spurgeon, our Most Helpful Tour Operator featured in last month’s issue (June). Becca landed her nomination for her patience, helpfulness and follow- up support in putting together two complicated African itineraries
‘Most Helpful Tour Operator’ goes to Ana Albiol from The Private Travel Company. Ana was nominated by agent Helen Sampson who wrote: “Caribtours and The Private Travel Company are the most agent-friendly tour operators I deal with. Ana helped me with a business client who travelled out to Malaysia this year. "She was so patient with us and put in
place road transfers throughout Malaysia, which went like clockwork. She even remained calm when we changed times prior to travel – just one of the impressive experiences I have had with The Private Travel Company.” Who do you know that has proved
they are a shining star? Please email me with your nominations and a few lines on why they surpassed expectations.
Happy Selling!
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