A DAY WITH... TRAVEL WEEKLY ON THE ROAD
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FAR LEFT: Miss Ellies consultants, from left: Andrea Murphy, Kerry Lewis and Emma Palfrey
LEFT: With the store’s Statue of Liberty
ABOVE: Short-haul beach holidays make up about 60% of bookings
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Like people have their favourite hairdressers, they have their favourite travel agents.” Business is going so well that in peak booking periods there are queues outside on a Saturday morning. Even this summer, when there was talk of slow sales due to the heatwave and World Cup, Andrea says – in a subtle Mancuncian twang – that it was “proper busy”, although booking values were not as high as a year ago, owing to currency pressures.
All in the name Doherty sold to Peter Healey, founder of travel technology firm The Vertical Group, 10 years ago. It is one of two high street agencies he owns. Andrea recalls: “Peter used to be our IT guy, coming in and fitting the systems we’d use. Now he’s the boss.” But the name Miss Ellies, or Ellies “as it’s
affectionately known”, is here to stay. “The name is really important,” says Andrea. “We will get some people who knew the Manchester branch and see us in Google results and drive from the other side of Manchester.” Customers also hail from farther afield, like Liverpool – and even Scotland. Short-haul beach holidays make up around 60% of sales, but the agency makes bookings in all sorts of arenas. “You can do a quick booking to Benidorm and the next enquiry will be to the US or Australia,” says Andrea. She explains that a coach pick-up point for the
likes of Shearings, Alfa Travel and Robinsons Holidays is by the nearby Nag’s Head pub, helping drive sales of the operators. Jet2holidays and Thomas Cook are both popular as they have large operations out of Manchester airport, and a quick browse of the bountiful brochure racks shows the wide range on offer – with the likes of Prestige Holidays, Travelpack, APT, Beachcomber, If Only, Japan Links and First Class Holidays on display. Andrea says the store does a lot of bookings with Jetset and Gold Medal, and has seen a rise in demand for escorted tours. “People are getting more adventurous these days,” says Andrea. “Most of our customers are 50-plus, and have done the beach holidays. They want to do something a bit different, and can afford to. What we’re good at is making sure we book them on all those different holidays over the years.”
Customer referrals As an independent agency, and Midcounties Co-operative consortium member, Ellies gets a lot of custom via word of mouth. Andrea says the buzzing high street in Urmston, packed with local businesses, helps, as shops look out for and recommend each other. Even the local press have taken interest, with agent Bekki Moran now a regular expert on Hits Radio, giving holiday recommendations for different budgets. And
Ben Jaxen Ireland @ben_ireland_11
Been curing my Northern Ball hangover with the team at @miss_ellies in Urmston, They make a good brew!
BEN’S DAY AT
MISS ELLIES TRAVEL Laughter is infectious, which is why
I was very chirpy for the rest of the day after spending an afternoon with the team at Miss Ellies. It was clear from the moment I
walked in that the jovial bunch, some of whom have worked together for 20 years, love their jobs. And they’re all obviously great mates. That comfort to work in an
environment where personalities are allowed to flourish has rubbed off on their customers (and designated journalists) too. During my visit, one happy customer left a tenner for the team to buy a bottle of wine. All the holidaymakers who popped in while I was in the shop talked openly with the agents, as if they were discussing their holiday plans with a trusted friend. Friends go above and beyond to help their pals get what’s right for them and the same honesty and level of care can be seen in the way the team at ‘Ellies’, as I was told it is affectionately known, treat their clients.
Ellies has used the Jet2holidays pop-up stands at Manchester’s bustling Trafford Centre shopping mall to get its name out there. It’s clear that this is a shop that more than flies the flag for independent travel agencies – echoing the independence represented by the US statue that greets customers in the store.
27 September 2018
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