A Spear Travels homeworker has made a £50k booking while in Antarctica – the most ‘remote’ sale made by the travel agency.
Sally Dixon was on HX Hurtigruten Expeditions’ Fridtjof Nansen on December 27 when she received an email about the same ship.
The clients – who are among Spear’s top-10 bookers – wanted to go on HX’s Northwest Passage Cruise in August 2026.
After being asked to look at suites the customers were interested in, Dixon checked availability and rates via the agent login page from her cabin and contacted the hotel manager to do an inspection. By doing so, she not only found a better cabin but also secured further savings worth more than £3,000 for the 26-day cruise from Greenland to Alaska.
She said: “They showed me various suites. I didn’t recommend the suite the clients had chosen as others offered more privacy.
“Having decided on a different grade and position of suite, and agreed the price I could book it for on the HX agents’ site, I spoke to the future cruise manager on board to see if he could offer anything further.
“He agreed a further 5% discount, low deposit and £400 onboard credit, while maintaining my full commission. I even saved my clients £3,000 by booking it on board!”
Within a few hours, Dixon had made the £50,000 cruise-only booking. The clients then got in touch to say a friend wanted to join them, adding £25,000 to the sale.
Nathaniel Sherborne, HX vicepresident and managing director for Europe and global sales enablement, said: “We are committed to providing agents with valuable resources, tools, and support to help them succeed.”
It is not the first time Dixon, who until recently worked in Spear’s Boroughbridge branch, has made sales abroad. In 2024, she made bookings while in South Africa, Dubai, the Galápagos Islands and Greenland. The last two were also on HX agent rate expedition cruises.
Dixon added: “If there is internet, I can book from anywhere. Antarctica is by far my most remote booking location, especially given I was sailing the Drake’s Passage in six-metre-high waves and struggling to stay upright!”
Spear managing director Peter Cookson said: “Sally’s encyclopaedic travel knowledge means she can deliver wherever she is in the world.”
Dixon joked: “Ironically, the only place I struggle to work from is the UK – on the Norfolk Broads or travelling round Scotland when the Wi-Fi is non-existent!”