h SPECIAL EDITION
Family holiday enquiry leads to £180k booking
Andrew McQuarrie
A Staffordshire travel agent has spoken of being “astounded” after an enquiry for a family of four turned into a £180,000 group booking for a wedding with more than 70 guests. Lisa Phillips, who works through
Personal Travel Consultants in partnership with Blue Bay Travel, completed the booking last month for the two-week stay at Dreams Dominicus La Romana in the Dominican Republic, departing in October 2027. The client initially enquired
about the price and availability for two adults and two children, before promising to come back with additional numbers. “Not in a million years did I
think he was going to come back to me with 73 people,” said Phillips, who joined Blue Bay Travel’s homeworking division in August. She took the enquiry from the
agency’s central pool of leads and imagined it would be a straightforward booking. “I picked it up on the assumption it was a really easy holiday for two adults and two children. Six weeks later it manifested into this group booking and the number [of travellers] is massive,” she said.
On hearing the number of people
involved in the booking, Phillips “tried to remain calm”. “I put the phone down and
thought, ‘OK, let’s get a plan’. I like to be quite organised and luckily the customer is like that too,” she said. Phillips said she received valuable
help from Tui’s Corrie Edwards, who works in the operator’s trade relations team, and from Deborah Eardley, who assists Personal Travel Consultants agents with admin work. “Without Deb, [the booking]
would not have come off as quickly as it did. She’s been amazing and kept me sane,” added Phillips.
Oceania Cruises and Regent name global leadership team
Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises have unveiled a new global leadership team to “strengthen support for travel advisors”. Regent has promoted Wesley D’Silva from chief commercial officer to president, while Nathan Hickman and Shawn Tubman become chief sales officers for Oceania and Regent respectively. Steve Odell will transition to an ambassadorial role.
8 12 MARCH 2026 After the price was confirmed late
on a Friday afternoon, Phillips was still speaking to the client via video call at 11pm to ensure the details were correct. She added that there was still
“a lot of work” to carry out before the departure date, including arrangements such as aircraft seat allocations, but said she enjoys the challenge of large group bookings. “I’m not frightened by a big
group booking. There’s a lot to get out of it, including the sense of accomplishment in getting it over the line – and you also earn a bit of money,” she said.
Tui and Scenic Group reveal plans for new river vessels
Tui River Cruises and Scenic Group have unveiled plans for new ships. The 138-berth Tui Elara will become Tui’s fifth vessel in Europe when it sets sail in summer 2027. Scenic Cruises will add a new vessel on the Douro and one on the Mekong, while sister line Emerald Cruises will add a third ship to its fleet, also on the Douro.
Lisa Phillips
Glasgow fire shuts Barrhead and Hays stores temporarily
Barrhead Travel and Hays Travel were forced to temporarily close stores in central Glasgow this week due to a major fire next to Glasgow Central railway station. The fire on Sunday caused a
19th-century building to collapse at the junction of Union Street and Gordon Street. No injuries were reported. Both Barrhead Travel and Hays
Travel closed their Gordon Street stores on Monday, with the latter shut “until further notice”. The fire, which started in a
nearby vape shop, destroyed a number of businesses. Some of the affected Hays Travel
staff were relocated to a branch at Rutherglen six miles away. Barrhead Travel president
Jacqueline Dobson said: “We are deeply saddened by the impact the fire has had on the many local business owners and our thoughts are with everyone in the local community at this difficult time. “At this stage, we do not yet have
a confirmed timeframe for when the Gordon Street store will reopen. “We will continue to monitor the
situation and share further updates when more information is available. “The safety and wellbeing of our
staff is our top priority. Our team members are either working from home or supporting operations from alternative locations.”
Sales director Simon Garrido leaves Specialist Holidays Group
Specialist Holidays Group’s UK and Ireland sales director Simon Garrido has left the business. The company, which operates brands including Citalia, American Holidays and Sovereign Luxury Travel, said Garrido had played “an integral role in the integration of the Specialist Holidays Group brands and people” since its acquisition by Travcorp Holdings in July 2025.
travelweekly.co.uk
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