Gold Medal Travel Group has reported record bookings for its Pure Luxury brand, which is on track to double sales over the course the next three years.
Simon Applebaum, managing director, said the upmarket brand has grown “significantly” this year, surpassing 2019 levels, as customers continue to book despite the cost-of-living pressures.
He told a Travel Weekly webcast that sales this year have grown by “double digits” in comparison to 2019.
“I don’t think these are customers who are going to be particularly impacted by some of the headwinds that other customers face…every month, we’re setting new records for that business line,” he said.
“Our business has, thus far, been really resilient…we’ve not had to manage our own internal expectations of the recovery at all.”
He said if the group does see demand softening it can slow the pace of hiring new recruits – currently 55 new people are expected to join in the next nine months.
“Trading yesterday was really strong,” he added. “I really believe travel has more pent-up demand than we anticipated. People are thirsty for it and they will give it up through very gritted teeth.”
He said Gold Medal will remain as the group’s flagship brand, offering premium tailor-made holidays – but there will be a greater focus on developing Pure Luxury and the other sister brands, called Incredible Journeys and Cruise Plus.
He said Cruise Plus will be a £20 million-plus business, while Pure Luxury is double that figure.
Pure Luxury has new hotels in the pipeline, including boutique properties, and extra staff have been recruited for a post-booking team to better manage changes to schedules.
The luxury brand also has increased its number of ambassadors – dedicated experts who ensure the experience for clients is seamless.
“When an agent puts that booking with us, we have to really take good care of that and make sure that everything from start to finish is a reflection on the travel agent,” he said.
“The ambassadors who sell that product really know it.
“One of our team is based in the Caribbean. When she’s not serving a customer, she’s out there, looking at the product and sending feedback to us.
“We’ve got boots on the ground in terms of really understanding that marketplace.”
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