Admiral opens fifth shop and plans further growth
Andrew McQuarrie
Admiral Travel has its sights set on further high street expansion after opening its fifth branch, in Wilmslow near Manchester, on Sunshine Saturday (January 4). In addition to shops in
Altrincham and Cheadle, the company also operates Craig Travel branches in Workington and Cockermouth, both in Cumbria. The new shop in Grove Street got
off to a good start, with manager Sue Rosell working on its first booking – an £8,000 trip – as the ribbon was being cut. Admiral Travel director Craig
Weatherill said: “It’s a case of hitting the ground running.” The opening event, which
attracted about 25 people, took place before wintry weather fell upon the town and surrounding areas, with snow and ice causing disruption on roads and rail. Radio DJ Mike Toolan performed
the ribbon-cutting duties, while other guests included representatives from Jet2holidays, Quark Expeditions, Rush Insurance, Premier Holidays and Hays Travel. In addition to Rosell, four agents
will work in the new premises. Weatherill said: “We saw a
Manager Sue Rosell (right) and team at the new Wilmslow store; left, Craig Weatherill
gap in the market in Wilmslow. It didn’t have another agency and it’s a really nice area.” He added that a number of
existing clients live in the town and highlighted that the shop would be open seven days a week. “We’ve got experienced staff
who are trained on the systems, so we’ll let them get on with it and, with a bit of guidance, it will work,” said Weatherill, who is based in the Altrincham shop. The agency aims to open one new
store a year, depending on the state of the market. “We have grown the business
year on year – which has given us the Travel recruitment in December
reflects high job-seeker demand The number of candidates being placed in new travel jobs rose by 30% year on year in December, according to C&M Travel Recruitment. This was the first December increase since at least 2011. December’s placement figure was also 20% higher than November’s. This came as the number of new candidates seeking jobs in the travel sector hit the highest December total for eight years.
8 16 JANUARY 2025
opportunity to open in Wilmslow – and we have a vision to grow further in the future,” said Weatherill. The business, which is a member
of the Hays Travel Independence Group, was set up by Andrew Nelson, who remains a director. Weatherill joined the company
as an agent six months after it began and worked his way up to his current position. “During Covid, we were four days
from closing the business, but then the skies cleared,” he said. “We promised ourselves that we
would learn from it all and never take for granted how lucky we are to be part of such a fantastic industry.”
Jet2holidays ranked top travel firm for customer satisfaction
Jet2holidays has been rated the highest of six travel firms featured in the latest top-50 listing for customer satisfaction. The operator was ranked 14th in the twice-yearly report by the Institute of Customer Service.
Jet2.com and Premier Inn were joint 19th, Trivago 24th,
Booking.com 30th and Airbnb 35th.
Involved Holidays targets 25% trade sales by next year
Involved Holidays is hoping travel agent bookings will account for 10% of sales within a year following the appointment as sales director of former Newmarket Holidays trade sales boss Richard Forde. The walking specialist, which
has an Atol for 2,000 passengers a year, is now proactively targeting sales through agents. Forde said: “I’d be delighted
with 10% of bookings from agents in year one and 25% in year two.” He promised ‘generous’
commission for agents selling Involved Holidays, which offers 40 holidays out of 19 airports, including 12 with no single supplements. Forde plans conversations with
agency consortia, but said: “I’ve already had calls from agents keen to sell us. One asked for flights out of Teesside airport and as a result we’ve added them. It’s great to be able to react straight away.” He added: “My job is to get the
Involved Holidays name out there. “Last year we had business from
a handful of agents but I want to grow that as much as I can.” The operator offers ‘relaxed’
guided walking holidays, which include rest days, in the UK and Europe, in groups of up to 24 people. It has just launched its latest brochure, which agents can request, and accepts agent bookings online.
EasyJet holidays outlines plan for more city-break packages
EasyJet holidays is to create more city-break packages in a bid to win market share away from the dynamic packaging sector. Kenton Jarvis, the new boss of parent easyJet, indicated the plan was part of a broader strategy to extend the reach of easyJet holidays beyond its beach breaks focus. The move is seen as a challenge to rivals such as Ryanair, Tui and OTAs.
travelweekly.co.uk
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