Your Stories: Barrhead Travel's Tina King shares her top cruise-selling tips

Q. How did you get into travel? 
I started in travel when I was 16, straight after leaving school. Initially I wanted to be a nurse because that’s what everyone around me at the time was doing, but I realised I wouldn’t be any good at it. I started with an independent agency called Allander Travel in 1986 where I did my training, then moved to Thomas Cook. After that I joined King World Travel, which was acquired by Stewart Travel, where I was cruise and long-haul manager for six branches. 

Q. When did you set up your own business? 
I opened this franchise 21 years ago with a colleague from Stewart Travel in Falkirk. It was Barrhead Travel’s first-ever franchise, and when I set up, they only had six branches. In December 2024, I had a big party with all our regular customers and family in the town hall to celebrate. I also took my staff away to Tenerife for three nights to celebrate. To anyone thinking of setting up on your own, I would say bite the bullet and do it. It’s the best thing, providing you are with the right company. You do not need a big high street or town if you have the right tools and the right people.

Q. How do you find new customers and promote your business?

We get a lot of repeat business. A lot of it comes from the town, social media, other places we’ve worked or people we’ve met on board ships. I will try anything to get new customers because you can never have too many. It helps to be embedded in the community as anything can help get your name out there. I am one of the main sponsors for a ball my friend’s daughter organises to fundraise for a charity after she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She’s a former Pride of Britain winner and I am so happy for her. I also organise short local trips for loyal customers, like weekends Christmas shopping in Liverpool, which have sold out in just 24 hours. 

Q. What tips do you have for selling cruise? 
I have found that escorting trips is a great way to sell cruise. We take a group on board MSC every year and we have 42 booked for July. I have another group of 22 on Silversea in February. When you advertise a cruise as escorted it helps sell it as people know they are going to be looked after, and focusing on a particular departure works too. We have got two groups booked on the Mekong and Douro with APT through that method. Also, I would always encourage people to complete training modules in quieter moments to boost their knowledge.

Q. What was your most memorable booking?
One of the biggest bookings I ever did was 30 years ago with a gentleman from Troon who booked a 60‑plus night world cruise on Regent Seven Seas Cruises for £75,000. That is a lot of money now, never mind then! When I worked at Thomas Cook, we had something called the World Travel Service Lounge in Glasgow, where well‑known people, including footballers, would book. I booked big trips and often these were worth more than my mortgage at the time. I learned a lot and that’s probably when I got interested in cruise.

Q. What is trending in bookings right now? 
About 40% of the business is cruise and for the last two years we have focused on river and luxury, which we want to continue. The 2027-28 season launches are driving a lot of demand for us. We do a lot with Royal Caribbean and it’s great to know they are keeping Legend of the Seas in the Mediterranean. We are also putting in a lot of advance bookings for New York and I have seen an increase in Dubai departures with people spending more to upgrade to swim-up rooms. Tenerife and Turkey are the two short-haul destinations we sell most in the shop.

What is it like being a Silversea Advocate? 

I have been a Silversea Advocate for the past three years and in January 2024 I managed to get 24 bookings in one day for the line through an event we held in the shop. When Amanda [Middler, regional sales manager for Scotland and Ireland] arrived and looked at the small town we are in, she said she would be happy if we got one or two bookings. I had put a lot into the day to prepare and at the end of it she said she had never seen anything like it!

The people who booked on that day have gone on to book second and third cruises with Silversea as well. It’s amazing when you get repeat business. Those customers can become your salespeople in a way, as new-to-cruise or new-to-brand customers will listen to them. My takeaway from that day is that if you’re going to commit to something, then get right behind it. It is not enough to have a training session and then not do anything with it; instead, contact your customers or organise an event afterwards. The pressure is now on to do as well for Silversea in peaks!

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