Agent Diary: We could be in for a late family holiday booking frenzy

It finally feels as if we are returning to some level of normality within travel. Customer confidence continues to grow despite ongoing global uncertainty, and enquiries are strong once again. Conversations around avoiding the Middle East have almost become second nature when discussing options with customers, but thankfully, it has not dampened the appetite for travel overall.

What has surprised me most this season is where the demand is sitting. Like many agents, I expected the lates market to be heavily focused on Mediterranean family holidays. Instead, we are seeing strong sales in tailor-made itineraries, cruise, long-haul and good-value premium holidays.

One thing making me slightly nervous, however, is how late families are leaving their summer bookings. There simply hasn’t been the early rush I had expected. I expect many of us are preparing for a very intense July and August once schools break up and customers realise availability is tightening. We could be in for a late-booking frenzy.

New face

Away from sales, we recently welcomed a new member to the team. Recruitment is never an easy process in travel. Finding someone who matches your company culture, fits in well and has the passion and hunger to learn is difficult enough, before you even start to consider sales ability.

This time, I decided to recruit someone with no sales experience and train them from scratch. Sometimes, I question why I choose the more challenging route, but I know from experience it pays off in the long term. About 90% of my current team have been trained from the ground up, which creates a team that understands your values, customer approach and standards from day one.

Hiring someone with no sales experience has also reignited my own passion for the industry and reminded me why I fell in love with travel in the first place.

EES saga

The biggest topic of conversation in store continues to be the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the concerns around airport queues.

We recently flew to Italy with a group of 24 clients and passed through surprisingly smoothly, but the experience clearly varies massively from passenger to passenger. Biometric checks on our trip seemed inconsistent, and with reports it could take up to two years for the EES to fully settle, it is something we will all have to continue managing expectations around. 

On a more positive note, one of my favourite events of the year is nearly here: the Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards. We were delighted to be nominated in the Central England and Wales category – simply being shortlisted is a huge achievement.

Seeing agencies across the country sharing their excitement online has been fantastic and is a reminder of how supportive and passionate our industry is.

The Travel Weekly team always puts on an incredible evening. After the challenges the industry has faced over recent months, it feels more important than ever to celebrate the people and teams continuing to push forward. I cannot wait for the evening and wish the very best of luck to everyone shortlisted.