A travel boss who closed down a store after struggling to recruit staff is now set to open a new branch – and the shop has already taken six bookings.
Dave Batley, chief executive officer of Savvi Travel, said he hopes to welcome customers to the branch in Oundle, North Northamptonshire, in mid-May.
Batley told Travel Weekly: “It’s the area we wanted to be in – it’s very affluent and fits in with the rest of the portfolio.”
Savvi closed its Ampthill store in Bedfordshire at the end of 2021 after five years of trading, with the one remaining staff member transferred to the premises in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
Savvi’s other branches are in Olney, Buckinghamshire, and Oakham, Rutland. The latter, opened in 2012, was the first launched by Batley and his wife Kay.
The couple’s soon-to-open shop on Oundle’s West Street, formerly occupied by a butcher, is currently undergoing a refit including a new air conditioning unit, a couple of new walls and a fresh lick of paint.
Two staff members will be employed initially, said Batley, with another potentially added in the future.
Kay Batley and husband Dave, founders of Savvi Travel. Photo supplied by Dave Batley
Asked why Oundle was chosen, Batley said: “It’s down to location – we always follow Waitrose and John Lewis [because that’s where our clientele shop].”
Even before the new branch’s opening, it has secured six bookings. This is off the back of its phone number being added to Savvi’s website as well as some social media posts, Batley said.
“People are speaking about us and phoning us and asking: ‘When are you opening?’,” he added.
Among the six bookings are a couple of ski trips, including one to Sweden, a woman visiting her son in America, and a family holiday to Orlando.
“We’re looking forward to opening [in Oundle],” Batley said. “It’s a good area – it’s an area we’ve looked at since 2014.”
A travel agency used to operate in Oundle, Batley said, but it closed in 2022.
Savvi’s Ampthill store shut its doors at the end of 2021, having struggled to recruit enough staff.
Batley said it had once employed three people, but agents left the travel industry during the Covid-19 pandemic and the store was unable to attract replacements.