Use this time to look at how to streamline your businesses, says Haslemere Travel owner and Aito chair Gemma Antrobus
If you had never heard of the Surrey town of Haslemere two weeks ago, chances are you probably have now. Sadly, that’s not because it was home to several famous authors and poets (Lord Tennyson, Conan Doyle, George Bernard Shaw and George Eliot) – and home today, of course, to a fabulous travel agency – but because the first patient to contract coronavirus inside the UK resides in the town. We hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons and the perception of our lovely town was one of mass hysteria and fighting over the last avocado in Waitrose.
I was overseas when the news broke. Everything I read in the press or could see on the news led me to believe that, come Monday morning, I’d be having to negotiate road blocks and supply a copy of my passport to gain access to my business. Sky News and the BBC were camped out for a short while but, as soon as they realised that actually there was zero hysteria in Haslemere and the town was very much ‘business as usual’, they hotfooted it to the next ‘corona-ravaged’ location.
Be honest
So, has business slowed over the last week? I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t, but by no means is it doom and gloom. At Haslemere Travel we deal only in facts and are very honest with our clients. We say, when asked questions we may not be able to answer straight away, that we will speak with our suppliers, be as flexible as we can be and help our customers however we can.
My grateful thanks go to our tour operator partners who have been beyond amazing in recent weeks. We’ve been very fortunate and had only one cancellation and one postponement. Both bookings were with Aito operators, whose flexibility with booking terms and guarantees to assist, where possible, have been admirable and really highlight the importance of the relationships you build.
Don’t give up
As I write this, news is coming in of the collapse of Flybe and I’m absolutely gutted for the airline and the people who worked there.
Could we have done anything to avoid this? Possibly not, but that never makes it any easier. When times are tough, as they have been for quite some time in the travel industry, we really do prove that we are the phoenix which rises from the ashes.
Use this time, when you might be a little quieter, to look at how to streamline your businesses. Think about some innovative marketing ideas. Look at who you are working with and ensure that every single partner really is someone who will work with you when times are tough and not just take your bookings when times are good.
Spend time with your teams, listening to their ideas. Maybe they have insight that you have not considered. But, most of all, don’t give up. We’ve come through worse and we’ll do so again this time.
Oh, and one piece of good news: there are still plenty of avocados for sale in Haslemere’s Waitrose. Phew! But we need, of course, to think of climate change and the food miles involved when buying goods that are airfreighted in from Latin America. But that’s another column entirely…