Carving your niche as a home-based agent

Why did you choose to specialise in cycling holidays?

Because I love them! There are just a few key destinations that have the right combination of good weather, nice roads and varied terrain (Majorca is number one) and I’m an expert on them all because I’ve ridden there myself. I’m able to offer route guidance and even cafe and restaurant recommendations. When you plan routes in your spare time just for fun, doing it for a client doesn’t feel like work.

How is business?

It’s a mix of family holidays, honeymoons and road trips. Specialist cycling holidays account for about 50% of what I sell. Travel Counsellors has a great commercial team. They always have time for a chat about niche products and we work closely together to grow the business. I only launched in August 2024 and I’ve put a lot of work into my first year to capture bookings for this cycling season. I’m pleased to say it’s looking really good.

Do you tailor-make all your trips?

Although I’m looking to work with more cycling-specific providers, I tailor-make most trips. We have some really good suppliers that understand the requirements of travelling with sports equipment, offering specialist transfers and cycling-friendly hotels. Making sure the hotel has a big enough buffet to cater for a group of hungry cyclists is often a fun challenge!

How do you promote yourself?

By riding my bike. I try to get out twice a week with local groups to ride and talk all things travel. I’ve picked up a few non-cycling bookings that way too.

Jane Chadwick

GoCruise & Travel

Specialises in: Cruising

Why did you choose to focus on cruising?

I have cruised all my life. My first cruise was when I was just three years old, so cruising is in my blood. This year I am celebrating 30 years in travel and the past 19 of those have been with GoCruise & Travel. I always wanted to run my own cruise travel business and GoCruise lets me run my business the way I want.

Do you sell anything else?

I focus on cruise only and choose not to sell other holiday types. Cruise is where my speciality lies. My clients trust my opinions and know that I will find the right fit for them.

What’s the key to success?

Understanding your client and their needs. Booking the wrong client profile onto the wrong cruise type could be a disaster.

How do you promote yourself?

Social media (GoCruise with Jane on Facebook) is always popular with my clients and followers. They love to come along with me on my cruise adventures. While I’m not pretending to be an influencer, it does work for me. I say it how it is and blog my day-to-day experience on board, and it works. 

How do you keep up with all the changes in the sector?

Training with GoCruise is ongoing; hardly a day goes by without online training being offered by a cruise line or tour operator. We are given lots of ship visit opportunities, but having been in the industry for so long it’s rare for an opportunity to come along that I haven’t experienced in one form or another. But I’m always looking for new ways to learn.

Sophie Shrubsole

Simplexity Travel

Specialises in: Wartime heritage tours

What exactly do you sell and what is a typical itinerary?

Sophie’s Great War Tours is a specialist tour operator and travel agent (Simplexity Travel is helping me grow my presence as an agent) that helps guests uncover and connect with their family’s military past. We research their relatives’ wartime history, then design personalised tours that allow them to walk in their footsteps. Through our research, we take guests to villages where their relative would have camped, following their journey into battle. If their relative was killed in the First World War, we can visit their grave or see their name inscribed on a local memorial. It’s a deeply meaningful way for people to understand not just where their family came from, but what they went through.

How did it all start?

It’s all my dad’s fault! While other families were off to Spanish beaches, we were exploring battlefields. Thankfully, I loved it. That passion led me to study history at the University of Birmingham. After graduating, I noticed during my travels that there was a real gap in the market for high-quality, deeply researched and responsibly run historical tours. So in 2013, I took the leap and started the business.

Do you face much competition?

There isn’t a great deal of competition, because what we offer is truly specialist. We don’t just book battlefield tours, we carry out detailed research into each guest’s family military history, often uncovering stories and records they’ve never seen before. That level of depth and personalisation sets us apart.

How does Simplexity support you in this field?

Simplexity Travel – a Virtuoso agency – has global reach and strong industry partnerships, which allow me to secure exclusive benefits for my clients. As demand for my tours grew, it became clear I needed to be affiliated with an agency that could commercially support the volume of bookings I was handling, and Simplexity provides that.

Laura Featonby

The Holiday Village

Specialises in: Luxury travel

Why did you choose to focus on luxury?

Before setting up my business, Laura’s Travel, some 13 years ago, I worked on the high street for Going Places. I knew I wanted to aim higher and rather than focusing on quantity, I wanted quality.

What exactly do you sell?

I sell a lot of Sani and Ikos Resorts and the Maldives, but to say I sell only five-star holidays would be incorrect. I have some real treasures of properties that certainly aren’t five-star, but they are just gorgeous hidden gems. Luxury is different to everyone. What is luxury though, is my service. Tell us more. I offer private consultations, allowing clients to discuss their budgets in complete privacy. I’m very discreet. Customer experience is paramount, so I provide concierge-style aftersales support, pre-departure assistance and in-resort care as part of my standard service.

How do you get to know your customers?

I have a fabulous office in Sale, Manchester, decked out with old Thomas Cook airline seats. It’s a great spot for me to chat and listen to my clients. I build trust with them – and I’m honest. Very often I’ll challenge them if they tell me they want to go somewhere that I just know won’t suit them. Many of my clients become friends and I arrange all their holidays – often before they’ve even returned from their last! Building relationships is key.

How do you market yourself?

I started using social media even before it became a ‘thing’ – particularly Twitter (before it became X). Sale is not a big place, but it is an affluent area. Word of mouth is powerful. 

How does The Holiday Village support you?

I was one of the first agents to join The Holiday Village, so I’ve seen the company grow. It’s a family-run company and you really feel that. They’re so supportive and have a great back-office team. We all feel part of the family.