‘I never say no’: Oasis Travel’s IT guru Charlie Brown on winning at AAAs

Oasis Travel’s IT department – aka Charlie Brown – said the “excitement was off the charts” when he won the Agency Support Team Member of Year honour last month.

 

He picked up the award during Travel Weekly’s Agent Achievement Awards ceremony in London, with Oasis Travel also collecting the regional award for Northern Ireland and the national honour as High Street Agency of the Year – Medium.

 

He said he won the honour because he never says the words “That’s not my job”.

 

“If something needs doing, be it techy, tricky or downright bizarre, I’m on it,” he said.

 

“I keep the digital world spinning. I install and update systems, train staff in our eight agencies across Northern Ireland, fix things that shouldn’t be broken, and create digital signage and promo videos that make our holidays look irresistible.

 

“If it plugs in, switches on, or mysteriously stops working five minutes before a big booking – that’s my department.”

 

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After leaving school at 16, he started at long-haul consolidator Fareline in Belfast, before discovering a knack for computers and being the ‘Travel Tech Guy’.

 

His career evolved with roles at Tarsc/Vertical Systems, Worldspan and Travelport.

 

Covid meant he was made redundant but Oasis Travel “scooped me up – and I have been happily causing controlled chaos ever since”.

 

“I’m the entire IT department, tech support hotline, digital signage guru, and quite often, office furniture mover,” he said.

 

“I pride myself on getting the job done, whatever it takes, and that naturally means going above and beyond when the situation calls for it…whether that’s fixing systems at 11pm, rescuing a booking from digital doom, or recording and editing a video that needs to go out within the hour.

 

“Always stepping into roles outside my remit, or finding solutions on the fly, the Oasis team know they can rely on me completely.

 

“I’m not great at saying no… which is probably how I ended up winning this award.”

 

He was “stunned” by the honour and never expected to be nominated, let alone win the award.

 

Brown found out he’d been nominated by managing director Scott McCabe “completely out of the blue”.

 

“I pretended to be angry about it, but really, I was grinning like a tech guy who’d just been given a new laptop,” said Brown.

 

“There were cheers, hugs, maybe even a tear or two and a few celebratory drinks were had,” he said about the ceremony.

 

“Our socials were glowing. Oasis Travel won three awards that night, so the excitement was off the charts.

 

“I think my face has been shared more times than our top-selling holiday.”

 

He said Oasis Travel is a “brilliant” place to work and he loves being part of the team.

 

“The owners and staff are a fantastic bunch who’ve rightly earned the recognition they’ve received,” he added.

 

“My role lets me support them in bringing those dream holidays to life for our customers, and I’m proud to play my part in making that happen.”

 

He doesn’t have much spare time at home with his wife and two sons, aged 17 and 13, as he has plenty of DIY and dad-taxi duties.

“When I’m not driving, building or fixing something, you’ll find me behind a drum kit, usually buried in a theatre pit somewhere making a glorious racket,” he added.

 

Every year he volunteers at a Christian summer camp for kids.

 

“It’s a full week of fun, chaos and big conversations, with children from all sorts of backgrounds getting the chance to just be themselves,” he said.

 

“They have an absolute blast, and we do our best to give them a bit of direction for whatever comes next.

 

“Somehow, even in the middle of a field, someone still tracks me down with ‘Charlie… the computer’s broken and the Wi-Fi is down’!”

 

Commenting on the trio of award wins, agency boss McCabe said: “We work hard to deliver great service, expert advice and a personal experience, and because these awards are supplier-voted, it means a lot to know that our trade partners recognise that.

 

“It’s great people, strong relationships, product knowledge and a genuine focus on our customers. We are always looking at how we can improve.”

 

He said the night of the AAAs was “incredible”.

 

“To win one award would have been fantastic, but to come away with three was amazing,” he recalled.

 

“There was a huge sense of pride across the team, and we certainly enjoyed celebrating together afterwards.

 

“We’re very proud of the recognition and have shared the wins with our customers, suppliers and wider trade network.

 

“They’re great recognition for the whole team and provide independent validation of what we’re doing. They also build confidence with customers and partners and give everyone at Oasis something to be proud of.

 

“We won’t become complacent. We’ll keep improving, keep investing in the team and hopefully be back on that stage next year. For us, there is no finish line.”