Aspire Travel boss asks clients not to ‘ghost’ agency after quotes

The owner of luxury agency Aspire Travel has asked clients not to “ghost” her and her colleagues after the team has spent time producing holiday quotations.

 

Kelly Baldwin, who has branches in Cambridge and Thrapston, posted the plea on Facebook, detailing the amount of work that goes into each enquiry – and how important it is for clients to respond and say if they can or cannot book.

 

She said 596 people contacted them to talk about holidays last month: “That’s 596 conversations – face to face in store, over the phone, by email, WhatsApp and social media.

 

“Every single conversation telling us what you want, what you don’t, what you’re dreaming of, and what you’re unsure about.”

 

She said they listen carefully to feedback about increasing holiday costs, the cost of living, how some clients are just browsing, and how others need to check with family, friends or work before committing.

 

“All completely understandable. What many people don’t see is what happens behind the scenes,” she added, noting how the average consumer spends about 10 hours researching and processing a holiday booking on their own.

 

“Now consider that we’ve already booked over 200 holidays this year – and many more are still being worked on,” she said.

 

“Every enquiry we receive involves hours of work: researching destinations, checking live availability, rerunning prices, speaking to tour operators, airlines and hotels, comparing options, and tailoring holidays to your preferences.

 

“Because we work with live pricing and real-time availability…a quote you received yesterday may already have changed, meaning the work starts again.”

 

More: Aspire Travel boss wins Inspirational Women in Business award

However, the agent doesn’t get paid unless a holiday is booked – and won’t be paid until after the client travels.

 

“We can be doing all the hard work today for holidays travelling in 2026, 2027 even 2028 – yes, some clients are already discussing 2029,” she posted.

 

Currently the team is juggling 320 open holiday enquiries on top of an average of four to six new enquiries per consultant, per day.

 

“We truly love what we do. But for us to help you properly, we need your help too,” she said in her post.

 

She requested that clients who have a pending quote respond, even if the answer is “not right now”.

 

“If our options aren’t for you at this moment, please don’t ghost us,” she continued.

 

Baldwin explained how knowing a client won’t be booking allows the agent to release held availability back to other clients, focus on those ready to book, and continue “delivering the level of service we’re proud of”.

 

She also highlighted how clients, once booked, will receive the ‘Aspire Travel Difference’, which includes support, access to real humans, advocacy if something goes wrong, guidance through changes, disruptions, or uncertainties – and peace of mind before, during and after travel.

 

“We’re not a website. We’re not an algorithm. We’re real people, investing real time, care, and expertise into every enquiry,” she posted.

 

“So if you’re ready – we’re ready. If you need time – just tell us. And if now isn’t the moment – that’s okay too.

 

“Helping us close enquiries helps us continue doing what we do best: looking after our clients properly.

 

“Thank you for understanding - and for supporting your independent travel agent.”

 

She told Travel Weekly: “Across the board, we hear it’s getting worse, yet our team are controlling this quite well by tailoring questions at pre-qualification stages.”

She said her post was about educating clients, adding: “Consumers simply don’t understand how we work, how hard we work, and what it takes to generate a quote and the follow-on service – therefore we are trying to educate consumers and not just post offers to sell at them all the time.”

 

Main picture, front row, from left: Leeanda Johnson, operations manager, and Clare McVey, sales manager. Back row from left: Hayley Law, senior travel consultant; Amy Richardson, senior travel consultant; Libby Tucker, travel consultant; Kelly Baldwin; Milly Burrows, travel consultant; and Lowri Crocker, travel consultant. The 10^th member of staff, Mia Gamble, senior travel consultant, was off when the photograph was taken.

 

Below: the Aspire Travel team plus Kelly’s daughter Harper, their junior inspector