Magical Traveller co-founder Kieran Eccles-Miller tells Josie Klein how switching to homeworking suits him down to a tee
Q. What is your background in travel?
A. I began my career as a corporate events producer and used to work at conferences and dinner parties all over Europe so it wasn’t a traditional entry into the industry. My big passion has always been Disney – I have been to Disney World more than 30 times – so my friends and family used to ask me for advice and I suddenly had this lightbulb moment where I realised there was a way to make money out of it. My husband was also in the corporate events business at the time and he was also keen to get out of it, so since we both loved travel, it felt like a really exciting step for us to take together.
I never wanted to work in retail, but when I discovered the opportunity to do homeworking and understood how Atol bonding and protection worked we just went for it. In 2019, we joined Not Just Travel and set up our Magical Traveller business specialising in Disney and cruise. We spent about three years at NJT, which overlapped with Covid, which was an awful time. We lost 90% of our business in the first three weeks of the pandemic and at one point I thought I was going to give up but in 2022 we moved to the Merlin Group and it has been absolutely amazing and suits both Phil and I so well.
When I discovered the opportunity to do homeworking and understood how Atol bonding and protection worked we just went for it
Q. Who are your customers?
A. We predominantly sell to couples as we can share our own experiences from holidays we have taken together. We share a lot of stuff on social media about drinks packages, cocktails and dining options as opposed to kids’ clubs and facilities for babies, so that resonates more with couples. However, we have started making more multi-generational bookings, which have come from people who started off as couples and then had children, so that has been a nice evolution. Our customers are incredibly loyal – I have one client who booked her first cruise with me last year and has now booked five. Repeat business is really important to us and it’s amazing to see how many customers come back to us time and time again.
We have started making more multi-generational bookings, which have come from people who started off as couples and then had children, so that has been a nice evolution
Q. What is selling well?
A. When we first set out in the industry our plan was to be specialists in Disney, but during the pandemic we did a lot of seacations around the UK and strengthened our relationships with lots of cruise lines, so that has completely taken over as the main part of our business. Virgin Voyages is by far our highest-selling product, with bookings leaps and bounds ahead of other lines. Our second highest is Royal Caribbean and we also sell some P&O Cruises so it’s a mixture of ex-UK and fly-cruises. We would like to sell more Celebrity Cruises and offer more fly-cruise bookings because they have so much more added value than ex-UK sailings as you can upgrade on flights and pre or post-hotel stays.
During the pandemic we did a lot of seacations around the UK and strengthened our relationships with lots of cruise lines
Q. What are your growth plans?
A. We never set this up with the intention of building a massive business, we did it to give us a better quality of life and to let us enjoy what we do. However, we definitely do have the potential to grow and that could be by going down either the retail or OTA route. If we do expand, it has to be the right time and for the right reasons. It isn’t in our current five-year plan, but I would never say never. We are a very small business, but we are getting more and more confident as the business gets better and I know that we have a big impact for some brands so I can see us growing over time.
I get to focus on what brings me joy and I don’t have to sell anything I don’t want to just because someone in head office says I do
Q. Do you enjoy being a homeworker?
A. Homeworking suits me down to a tee; I love being my own boss and getting to build relationships the way I want to. I get to focus on what brings me joy and I don’t have to sell anything I don’t want to just because someone in head office says I do. It gives me the freedom to brand the business however I see fit, which is amazing because loads of our customers have come to us because they have seen our brand and love it. They know that if they come to us they will get a magical travel experience.
How do you drum up business?
At the start of the year, I launched a podcast called Magical Cruising, which has had more than 4,000 downloads so far. I host it with Sarah Christie, a family travel blogger, and we talk about cruise lines, ships, drinks packages and cabins to try and educate our listeners and share our experiences. As a homeworker, I knew I had to do something to stand out and the podcast felt like an authentic way to prove my authority within the industry.
We have invited several special guests from the trade to come on and talk to us about their experiences, which has been great as it gives listeners the chance to hear a real person behind a brand. I’ve got roughly £40,000 worth of bookings off the back of the podcast, some of which have been multigenerational trips, which just goes to show listeners value what we’re saying and recognise I know what I’m talking about. I spend roughly six hours a week recording and editing each episode, so it is time‑consuming but it is definitely worth the effort.