We love ‘exploring’ the world with clients as we plan their trips, says Arundel Travel director Helen Parry.
The Dalai Lama once said: “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” I, of course, couldn’t agree more.
Over the past few months, the Arundel team and I have been lucky enough to ‘travel’ the world with our customers as they discuss their dream holiday plans with us.
It’s safe to say our clients’ appetites to travel and see the world is definitely there, even if some of [their] ideas were only pipe dreams
We’ve had so much fun! We’ve been vicariously transported away to places we would never have thought of going to ourselves and been shown experiences that will surely make everlasting memories.
Cooking holidays in the Italian mountains, diving trips on Pemba Island, Interrail tours of Europe, sleeping on the Great Barrier Reef, skiing in Japan, boat stays on the River Kwai, whale watching in the Azores – it’s safe to say our clients’ appetites to travel and see the world is definitely there, even if some of these ideas were only pipe dreams.
Looking ahead
Our customers are clearly looking ahead and trying to find something to excite them, which fills me with a lot of hope for 2023. And who can blame them? They have been waiting nearly three years for the chance to be able to explore our world again.
But sometimes it feels like customers aren’t aware that we can book almost any holiday they want for them. We are often asked if we can book a certain destination or holiday or whether they will need to go online for it, and the answer is almost always ‘Yes, we can’.
I have always been a huge fan of embracing the various brands and showing off the operators we work with, and why not? We are lucky enough to work with some of the best-known, award-winning travel companies and we are happy to shout this from the rooftops.
We are often asked if we can book a certain destination or holiday or whether they will need to go online for it, and the answer is almost always ‘Yes, we can’
I am a big believer that encouraging people through our door by flying the flag for these brands is what helped us stay afloat through the pandemic. Now, with the cost-of-living crisis and the uncertainty around energy bills for our shop, it is more important than ever to keep this ethos alive.
We don’t regard having to offer price parity as a barrier but as an opportunity. Yes, we’ll book a city break to Palma that we may have to price match, but our new customer will walk away with their Arundel Travel loyalty card as well as the new‑found knowledge that we can book their next cruise, their flights to Australia or their dream tour on the Bernese Railway.
Our new customer will walk away with their Arundel Travel loyalty card as well as the new‑found knowledge that we can book their next [trip]
We are thankful for every customer who walks through our door with the aim of booking with us in our shop. We want to educate our community about what we can do, and in return we make lots of new friends and learn lots along the way.
Always learning
This month, I celebrate 27 years working in the travel industry and yesterday I smiled to myself as I ran into the back office to research holidays to Eswatini on Google. This is why I love the interaction with our customers: even after all this time, I’m still learning new things every day!
This month I celebrate 27 years working in the travel industry and yesterday I smiled to myself as I ran into the back office to research holidays to Eswatini
All this talk of adventures is making me excited for my own. I’m heading to Halifax, Canada, next week and can’t wait. The trip will involve sailing, wine tours and visiting lighthouses. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it next time…
Our apprentice is a whizz!
Talking of learning, our new Modern Apprentice, Abbie, started a couple of weeks ago and she is a whizz! I forgot how quickly these young adults pick things up. It’s lovely to see her enthusiasm for the job already. She hasn’t travelled the world (yet), although I’m sure it’s on her list, like it was for me when I first started at 16. Abbie has been to a handful of destinations and can chat about holidays to these places with our customers with ease, telling them about trips, beaches and her favourite restaurants. Plus she is a dab hand when it comes to anything involving technology, which is a big bonus. Abbie is a star travel agent in the making!