Your Stories: Husband and wife team on leaving the police to join Not Just Travel

Q. How did your agency start?
Col: Working for the police, we booked trips for the social club and large groups. I was a detective sergeant in CID and Rachael was the helpdesk manager. We started with Not Just Travel part-time in 2013, with a view to building something for the next seven or eight years, but it got too busy. We juggled both for three years, then I left [the police] early. Rachael took a year out, then resigned.

Rachael: NJT was chosen after due diligence, and we liked the owners Steve Witt and Paul Harrison. We live in Lindley, near Huddersfield, and there used to be a shop here called Jetset – they closed years ago, so we thought it would be good to use the name. I got my first diagnosis of cancer as we signed up for NJT. In 2021, I was diagnosed as stage four. The treatment makes you quite poorly, and I have scans every few months to make sure the cancer is still at bay. 

 

Q. How did you cope during the pandemic?
Col: We had clients all over the world, including six couples in Australia – my mum and dad among them. They were on the last flight out of Hong Kong to the UK, and made it by 20 minutes. We found out in Covid how good and how bad some suppliers were. I also had a heart attack during Covid.

Rachael: I thought, ‘What a mistake we’ve made’. I’d resigned in April 2019, and then in March 2020 Covid struck. But the customers who stuck by us are the same customers who use us now.  

 

Q. Why move into a shop in November 2024?
Col: We had a big office in the garden at home but were struggling space-wise, when premises in the middle of the village came up. Local business owners book holidays with us: the Italian restaurant across the road, the bookshop, florists, the pub next door. If anyone says the high street isn’t buzzing for a travel agent, they’re in the wrong game. There are now five of us. I coaxed Sharon, who’d been a detective on my team, out of retirement because she’s travelled long-haul widely. We took advantage of the Jet2 apprentice scheme so Emily joined us and works with Andrea, who does the concierge side.

Rachael: We were really busy at home and had looked at renting, but it was expensive so we decided to purchase this shop – the mortgage is the cost of rent. We sell everything and, since coming into the shop, we’re using lots of new suppliers. Sales are booming – we hit our ambitious 2025 target in August. We have lots of elderly customers who want to be looked after. We’re already outgrowing these premises so may look at a second shop. Retirement? We’re too busy!

Col: A new shop may be something for next year and we’d get a good manager to run it. After Covid we nearly bought a shop half a mile away. I’m glad we didn’t, because we’re absolutely in the right place. We’re near a hospital, so we have doctors and nurses coming in. 

 

Q. Tell us about reaching Not Just Travel’s ‘Diamond Director’ status this summer.
Col: It means our business has generated more than £1 million in commission. It was a milestone for us, having started from nothing. It gets us new opportunities, such as more help with marketing and access to business development managers. Our BDM Natalie Singleton is fabulous – she helped us with the shop. 

 

Q. What about your own travels?
Col: I’ve done the US, Formula 1 in Barcelona, the Rocky Mountaineer, Abu Dhabi, Mexico and Mauritius on fams. Canadian Affair took me to Canada, and they’ve been repaid 100 times over. It’s all about trying to give suppliers something back on their investment. I’ve not missed an England football game for 25 years, and have probably visited every European city to watch them. It’s good as an agent to see these places and watch my team. I’ve already booked five weeks in Orlando for the World Cup next year; we’ll be able to commute to games from Orlando.

Rachael: I went to the Maldives with Sun Siyam last year. To visit five properties there was incredible. 

 

 

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Why do you fundraise for defibrillators?

Rachael: In 2023, I suffered a cardiac arrest and my son’s girlfriend kept me alive through CPR. My son retrieved a defibrillator from a factory, which saved my life. I’ve now raised money for six defibrillators in the community, with a GoFundMe page and another waiting to go. The first was paid for within 24 hours, the next around four days. After that, it did slow down. It costs about £1,700 for a good one. We have tried to put them in places where they’re needed – and they have been used. Mum and Dad have one on the side of their house, and that’s been used many times. There is one by the Jo Cox Community Wood, because a lot of old people go into the park, and one in the pub next door. There is one at Scammonden Reservoir, another at a community centre and one in Halifax. This is a lovely community – we take part in the scarecrow festival by placing a scarecrow pilot in the window, plus we help sports clubs with kit sponsorships and the school with raffle prizes. We sponsored a hospice event and have given gifts to a cancer care centre for a raffle.