An agent has left her career in travel on a high, making a whopping £85,000 booking for a family to go on a Prestige Holidays trip.
Clare Fitzpatrick, of Brunlea Travel in Burnley, Lancashire, booked the £85,695 holiday for the family of four to go to Toronto for seven days, followed by two weeks in Bermuda.
Fitzpatrick, whose last day in the travel industry was Friday October 26, after 20 years in the business, said it was one of the biggest bookings she had ever made.
But she added that the family, who have been booking with her for the past 12 years, usually had holidays which cost a similar amount.
Her customers had booked twice before with Prestige, she said, and Brunlea Travel liked to work with the company because they were both independent businesses.
“We like to put business their way,” said Fitzpatrick of Prestige Holidays. “They are the experts, without a doubt. They know exactly what they are talking about.
“With every room request, they confirm straight away with the hotel. Nothing is too much trouble.”
Amid the high discounting culture that inhabits the travel industry, Fitzpatrick said building good relationships with customers, like the family she has worked with for 12 years, was the key to Brunlea Travel’s longevity.
“We have been an independent travel agent for 30 years,” said Fitzpatrick. “That’s why we are still standing, because of the level of service and the relationship we have built with our customers.
“People stay with us and I think that’s how we’ve survived.”
Fitzpatrick has decided to leave travel and work in a school because she has two young sons, and needed the holidays times that school staff have.
“That’s the only reason,” she said. “I would never leave travel for any other reason.”
She said she had a “fantastic team” at Brunlea Travel, adding that she was very sad to leave.
Commenting on the £85,695 booking, Prestige Holidays chairman and managing director John Dixon said: “It’s one of our biggest ever bookings.”