FRONTLINE
I decided to set up with Advantage Travel Partnership and there are now eight of us working at Travel Den.
Q. What did you learn from the pandemic? It was a massive learning curve, but a real opportunity because of how I dealt with my clients. Sometimes I even refunded them before I got the funds from the supplier, because I wanted to keep everybody happy at such a stressful time. People appreciated the value of that personal touch and, if anything, it enhanced my client relationships and got me more referrals.
Q. What is your most memorable booking? My first big booking was for a £10,000 trip to Pumba Private Game Reserve in South Africa. I used Major Travel and dynamically packaged elements on top. I remember sitting in the pub with my friends on the edge of my seat waiting for the phone to ring to say the booking was confirmed. It was huge, but then I had to cancel it because of Covid. However, those customers have since rebooked with me and have referred many clients to me.
GILLI KNIGHT The Dorset-based founder of
Travel Den tells Ella Sagar about setting up her own agency and her ambitions to grow the business
Q. How did you get into travel? I began my career in financial services and climbed up the ladder to head up the financial centre for an estate agency. I gave up work for a bit when I had my children, but once they started school, I felt I needed to do something. I started Travel Den in 2019, just before Covid hit, which was great timing! I have always loved travel. I went backpacking around Africa when I was 24 and have been on different holidays with my girlfriends, including tours of Sri Lanka.
Q. Which organisation did you start with? I started with InteleTravel because its lower start-up costs made it more accessible. If you’ve never worked in travel before, then paying up to £10,000 is a big investment if you’re not 100% sure whether you’re going to enjoy doing it. I then joined Club Voyages, a Hays Travel Independence Group company, after meeting [founder] Sam Ballard at the Clia RiverView conference. I loved having the extra suppliers, but I didn’t particularly like the lower commission splits, outside his control, that are prevalent in the industry. So
22 12 FEBRUARY 2026
Q. How do you find your customers? I rely on recommendations and my existing client bank. The conversion rate is 85% for a referred or repeat client, compared with 25% for someone shopping around on the internet. I also sponsor my daughter’s football team, which has resulted in an increase in clients.
Q. What is trending in bookings right now? About 40% of what we do is dynamically packaged and we use our Atol all the time. The US is our biggest seller, with standout destinations including Texas, Yellowstone, New York and California. There is a growing trend of people flying out to Miami for cruises, which is cheaper than going ex-UK and you can get very reasonable flights. Canada and South Africa are also popular. Plus, two of my agents are prolific with Disney bookings.
Q. What have been your favourite fam trips? Not In The Guidebooks took me to Costa Rica in 2024, which was amazing. We got the chance to have authentic, immersive experiences in different communities. Last year, my favourite fam trip was with the Antigua tourist board, which was absolutely brilliant and I’ve done a few bookings since. It is so important to understand the end goal when you go on a fam trip. There is a huge misconception it is just a jolly, but you have to be clear what you are going to achieve out of it.
Q. What is your advice for someone wanting to set up their own business?
Do your homework, know your business plan, make sure you choose the right opportunity to start, read the agency contract properly, do not overcommit financially, take risks – and enjoy it. I know those things are quite contradictory, but you have to have all of them in place to be able to grow.
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE?
It has never been my intention to become a big agency. I want to keep my small, elite and close-knit team of
like-minded individuals, and increase to a maximum of 10-15 agents. I would like to reach £10-£15 million in turnover and continue paying my agents 30% of
their commissions up front; if they hit certain parameters, they get paid 75%. I don’t do monthly fees or credit
card charges either. I’m very conscious that I’m not going to reach those headcount
and revenue goals overnight – it needs to happen quite organically. It is important to look after my agents, cashflow and structure. In our first year we did about £2.5 million in sales; this January, we look set to have taken £1 million already. We have grown much faster than I ever expected. Ultimately, I want to be surrounded by happy individuals who work harder for me because they get handsomely rewarded. I almost want to get to the point where people within the industry say they would love to work for Travel Den but are not sure they would get in.
Gilli on board Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady
travelweekly.co.uk
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