The founder of an LGBTQ+ specialist agency has built up a clientele of reality TV stars from California after targeting celebrities looking for luxury holidays.
Adam Silgram-Franks, managing director of LGBTQ+ specialist Sashay Away Travel, said most of his clients are now based in Los Angeles after a determined effort to break into that market.
He has also sealed a partnership with private jet charter firm Volanteus, which has major US clients such as Hollywood film studios, as well as key customers in the EMEA region.
The collaboration means Volanteus and Sashay Away will recommend each other’s services to their clients, and will enable Silgram-Franks to offer a “more streamlined and productive service” when his customers need private jets.
Client confidentiality means that he cannot reveal the names of his customers but said some of them are current members of the reality TV shows Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.
Social media and perseverance were essential elements in his drive to build a clientele of celebrities, he added.
“I live by the rule ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’,” he said. “I now work with a lot of celebrity PAs who refer me on.”
His travel career began in 2014, working in sales at Virgin Atlantic’s head office in Crawley. Silgram-Franks then worked for American Express Global Business Travel in Croydon before becoming a homeworker with Travel-PA.
He set up Sashay Away in 2019 and joined Global Travel Collection (GTC) to build his business.
“Global Travel Collection have been fantastic. Their huge leverage and impact in the travel industry gives me the resources and momentum to really build Sashay Away Travel into its own brand,” he said.
More: Your Stories: Adam Silgram Franks on plans to build LGBTQ+ specialist agency Sashay Away Travel
He is still based at home but also works from the GTC office in St Martins Lane, London.
The past six months have been very busy for him because many US-based clients have been coming to Europe for luxury summer holidays, requesting services such as private jets.
His most recent booking was for a VIP celebrity family based in LA who visited London, St Tropez, Capri and Ibiza. Another was looking at villa hire for the Coachella festival in California with a budget of $100,000 for a few nights.
Money is no object for his clients, as he has not heard any say “that’s too much”, he added.
However, the work load can be very demanding, especially with the time difference, and plans can change “in a heart beat”, said Silgram-Franks.
Now he has developed his US clientele, he plans to move further into the corporate travel market, helping to arrange business trips for existing customers.