A DAY WITH... ASCOT TRAVEL HOUSE, ASCOT, BERKSHIRE
Juliet Dennis visited Ascot Travel House, the only travel agency in a town best known for its race course
FROM LEFT:
Lisa Fuller, Tony Williams, Sarah
Busby, Tom Murphy and Simon Everett
Just after the financial crash in 2008, Ascot Travel House sent letters to regular clients warning it would have to close. “We got to the point where business had
dived, and everyone was booking online to get the cheapest deal,” recalls UK manager Simon Everett.
But eight years on, the agency is thriving. UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
TOM MURPHY SALES CONSULTANT I’ve worked for Ascot Travel House…for two years. I did a travel and tourism course and then I was an apprentice at
Thomas Cook for two years. When I was at school I thought I would join the army. My favourite destination is…Japan, although we don’t get that many enquiries for it. I sell a lot of…tailor-made holidays. One of the highest-value bookings I’ve had is a Disney package for a big family trip that cost between £15,000 and £20,000. The hardest part of the job…is working out what people want if they are vague and don’t give you much detail to work with.
SARAH BUSBY BRANCH MANAGER I have worked for Ascot Travel House…for about 13 years, but I’ve been in travel for 30 years, since I was 16. My favourite destination
is…Greece, because I go for my family holidays there, but I love the Indian Ocean and Canada too. What I love most about my job…is selling, especially tailormade holidays. The more complicated the itinerary the better! The strangest request I’ve had…was a lady who wanted to take her dogs to Switzerland. I didn’t know if she was being serious or not! It involved booking ferries, trains and taxis, but she got there.
“At the time, customers came in and asked
us not to shut, so the owner, Peter Mackness, decided to give it another year,” says Simon. “He is very proud of the business and said let’s just plug away. It was just two of us back then and we carried on. Then business picked up.” But, like many high street businesses, the agency has been forced to adapt.
“We have had to be better at encouraging people to come in,” adds Simon. “But I think, people have slowly realised that booking online is not necessarily the best way.”
Broadening horizons Six years ago, the agency switched from being a US and Canada specialist to selling all destinations and holiday types. Branch manager Sarah Busby says: “We were
missing out on a lot of other business.” The agency’s roots in the US and Canada are
derived from the parent company’s origins as a US and Canada tour operator, one of the first dynamic packaging specialists, founded in 1981. NAR (UK) (North America Representatives)
still operates as a ground-only specialist selling hotels, tours and attractions through Ascot Travel House and other independent agents. Its trade-only arm Travel Trade Tickets & Tours specialises in US attraction tickets and tours. By becoming a general agent, the shop, a
Worldchoice member, has been able to broaden its product range and customer appeal. “Now we sell everything from a Warner break
to a £40,000 tailor-made holiday,” says Sarah, who is a hands-on manager. She handles the agency’s booking enquiries with sales consultant Tom Murphy, while administration manager Lisa Fuller completes all the paperwork. Simon focuses on the
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travelweekly.co.uk 26 April 2018
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