Tag Archives: Holidaysplease

Travel Homeworking Personal

Posted on August 15, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Personal

Despite the advance of tech, by keeping travel homeworking personal I believe that travel homeworkers have a great future ahead of them.

A recent opinion column I wrote for TTG talked about being wowed by a new robotic restaurant in Boston.

Whilst the point of the piece was to challenge travel to be more inventive and ambitious in our use of tech, there can be little doubt how much technology already has and continues to change our industry.

Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, robots can all now be found in retail travel, call-centres and airports enhancing the customer experience via inspiration and improved efficiency.

Nevertheless, to suggest that the future of travel lies solely in the hands of technology is foolhardy. Travel itself is all about personal experience. From looking to booking, to travelling, returning, and sharing each moment across every social channel along the way, the whole journey is “mine”.

Which is why people will always have the opportunity to play an integral part in the booking process turning holiday dreams into reality. However, the only people that will be able to grasp and profit from that opportunity will be those that bring more to the customer than a computer can.

That means truly outstanding personal service and knowledge from the very first interaction a travel sales person has with a customer, through the sales process to pre and post departure and beyond.

If you as a prospective homeworker are not prepared or equipped to bring more to your customer than a computer…..walk away now, travel homeworking is not for you!

The success of Holidaysplease over the last 15 years has been founded on the principle of the old and the new. Old school travel agent knowledge, service and sales skills married to new technology, new ways of doing things, smarter, faster, and always customer-centric. Everything we do starts and ends with the customer in mind.

The robotic restaurant is a reality. Can I envisage a robotic travel agency built around artificial intelligence, 100% I can! It will succeed because it will be quick and cheap due to efficiency savings and of course no staff salaries.

At the same time the “human” travel agent that continues to evolve by embracing the new and enhancing the old will also thrive. And in my mind travel homeworkers are in a unique position to be the ones that fill that space.

Focus effort and energy on keeping travel homeworking personal by being innovative when building relationships and always providing more to customers than a computer can, and you may just end up with a highly successful travel homeworking business!

Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Personal

Posted in Blog

Tagged , , ,

Travel Homeworking : Executive Backing

Posted on May 16, 2014 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking : Executive Backing

This morning I’ve spent sometime following the Advantage Conference in Dubai via Twitter. It’s as good as being there!

I was particularly interested in a discussion that involved two travel industry heavy weights, the Chief Executives of ABTA, Mark Tanzer, and the Guild of Travel Management Companies, Paul Wait.

The discussion grabbed me because both Tanzer and Wait were extolling the virtues of the philosophy that we at Holidaysplease have been following since we started out back in 2003!!!!

Here is an extract from a TTG article posted this morning from the Conference in Dubai…..

“The customer does not want choice – we used to give the customer loads of options but now they need to have guidance to help them get quickly to where they want to go.” said Tanzer.

Wait echoed Tanzer’s thoughts, adding: “If I was a travel agent I’d be focusing on promoting and convincing the marketplace of how good I am at something that’s going to take them a lot of time – there’s a lot of people that don’t know where they want to go, myself included.”

Wait added that agents should not believe the “price propaganda” and think more about adding value with their service than they do about undercutting the competition.

“Guidance” means taking control and displaying the value of your expertise which will save the customer time, anguish and even money. This is key to how we work with our customers at Holidaysplease.

“Focus” on a particular marketplace has been a key factor in the growth of our business over the years, and adding value has always been a way that we have secured business whilst maintaining a solid margin.

To be frank, many have talked this talk before, the fact is that most travel agents do not have enough belief in themselves to act upon the talk. That’s a shame because our 9.8 out of 10 Trust Pilot score repeatedly proves that when we believe in ourselves and deliver outstanding service……our customers believe in us and book!

It is fair to say that every prospective Travel Homeworker needs to have a strong belief in their own talents and expertise, and be confident in conveying this to their customers. Do this well and the growth of a super-successful Travel Homeworking business could well be the end result.

Check the latest reviews from Holidaysplease customers at – https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.holidaysplease.co.uk

You can read the full TTG article HERE.

 

Comments Off on Travel Homeworking : Executive Backing

Posted in Blog

Tagged , ,

Travel Homeworking : Awards and Accolades

Posted on March 14, 2014 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking : Awards and Accolades

Since Travel Homeworking first hit the scene back in the mid 1990’s, there have been many Travel Company’s that have looked to develop teams of Travel Homeworkers.

Not all have succeeded!

Those that have tried and failed generally underestimate the effort that is required to build a Travel Homeworking Company and support a team of Travel Homeworkers to enable as many of them as possible to be successful.

At Holidaysplease we recruited our first three Travel Homeworkers in the 2nd half of 2003 and two of those pioneering originals remain with us over a decade later.

We now have a Homeworking Team approaching 60 in number, many of whom have been with Holidaysplease for a good few years.

Over the last 10 years Holidaysplease has won many awards and accolades from suppliers and been twice named Online Agent of the Year at the Agent Achievement Awards.

These awards are always appreciated and treasured of course. Nevertheless, from my personal perspective, they were all trumped yesterday with the news that Holidaysplease  has been nominated as Homeworking Agency of the Year in the 2014 Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards.

I vividly remember my first nerve-racking conversations and meetings with prospective Holidaysplease Homeworkers back in 2003. They were very brave people to trust their future in such a young business! Thankfully they did, and I have loved building such a fantastic Travel Homeworking team ever since.

Holidaysplease has been up against exceptionally tough competition just to be nominated for the Homeworking Agency of the Year Award, and the other Finalists are all highly successful, amazing Travel Homeworking Companies.

All of us at Holidaysplease are extremely proud to have been named as a finalist. It would be very nice to win though…. Fingers crossed!

Comments Off on Travel Homeworking : Awards and Accolades

Posted in Blog

Tagged , , , , ,

Travel Homeworking : Welcome John McEwan

Posted on July 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking : Welcome John McEwan

This week started in a big way for Holidaysplease!

John McEwan - Holidaysplease new Non-Executive Chairman

The announcement that John McEwan, one of the most well known and respected personalities in the UK travel business, was joining the Management Team here at Holidaysplease certainly captured plenty of attention.

We are obviously delighted to welcome John to the Board of Holidaysplease as our Non-Executive Chairman.

As the ex-President of ABTA, Chief Executive of Advantage and MD of both Lunn Poly and Thomas Cook, John brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our business.

On his appointment John said “Holidaysplease has built a fantastic team, IT platform and customer loyalty. They have the potential to go far and I intend to help them achieve significant growth.”

Every prospective Travel Homeworker will be keen to ensure that the partner they choose has credibility in the market place and good people at the helm. You are sure to agree that John’s presence at Holidaysplease further ticks those two vital boxes.

In little over 10 years Holidaysplease has grown into a multi-award winning, hugely respected, much copied, profitable travel company.

John McEwan will provide further energy and expertise as Holidaysplease embarks upon it’s second decade!

Comments Off on Travel Homeworking : Welcome John McEwan

Posted in Blog

Tagged , ,