Former high-profile travel agent Bryony Hordern has come out of retirement to become a Travel Counsellors agent – and has taken to it like a duck to water.
Hordern retired in 2015 when she sold her high street travel agency Tickets Anywhere in Thame, Oxfordshire, to Spear Travels after half a century in travel.
Now 70, Hordern decided to return to travel because she continued to receive requests to book holidays.
“Everyone kept asking me where to go on their holidays and I thought I might as well go back to doing it on an ad hoc basis around my social life!” said Hordern, a former director and vice-chairman on the board of Advantage Travel Partnership.
Hordern graduated as a travel counsellor this summer after a three-week training course and plans to specialise in luxury short and long-haul holidays and cruises, as well as to start a blog with holiday tips and recommendations. She has signed a five-year contract to work as a travel counsellor.
“I’ve found it easy to get back into,” she said. “The only new thing I’ve come across is GDPR. I love the research and the planning and I’m hoping to do some nice chunky bookings.
“I’ve done a couple of bookings for friends and I’ve a few bubbling under. I’m using my 50 years of experience. I like to book every holiday as if it’s my own holiday and I want the best deal for my clients.”
But Hordern, who has travelled extensively since retiring three years ago, said the new job won’t put all her travels on hold. “I can buddy up with another travel counsellor if I’m away or I can work remotely,” she said.
Hordern, who has two grandchildren aged three and six, added: “People are surprised I’m back, but I’m going to do it until I get bored.”