When the pandemic first hit, consultant Illesh faced losing a large group booking – but there was a silver lining to come…
Initially for 38 people, the group wanted an all-inclusive holiday in Izmir, Turkey.
With access to hundreds of suppliers, including household brands, Illesh was able to offer a fantastic Jet2 holiday package at a price that worked for them.
Then the pandemic arrived and the holiday had to be postponed – or possibly cancelled altogether.
But despite the delay, the passengers knew Illesh would be able to get them away on their holiday eventually.
Thanks to his tireless efforts to keep the group updated on travel changes – as well as regularly checking in to the group’s holiday chat on WhatsApp – Illesh was finally able to ensure he got the rearranged booking completed.
But the story doesn’t end there
A massive silver lining to the delayed trip was just around the corner.
Excitement amongst those heading on the trip meant that the WhatsApp group kept growing. More friends and family decided they’d love to go.
Eventually the holiday grew-and-grew to a total of 116 passengers.
That’s ⅓ of a plane full of people from Illesh’s booking alone!
At over £65,000, the booking had become very lucrative for Illesh. It had also become more complex, as many of the passengers didn’t actually know each other in person prior to going away.
So Illesh decided to go above and beyond, meeting the group at 2.30am at Stansted Airport to ensure they all got away without a hitch.
He even provided personalised lanyards for everyone so that the group could easily identify each other.
He told us that everything went perfectly to plan and the customers were delighted with the service.
“We checked into the Radisson Stansted yesterday afternoon. Then at 9pm we met some of our clients who were staying at the same hotel in the bar for a few drinks.
After just 2 ½ hours of sleep it was straight to the Jet2 check in counters by 2.30am. By 4.30am everyone had arrived, checked in and were going through security.
We waited at the airport until 5.30am just in case anyone had a problem going through security or with passenger locator forms etc…
They’re all at the hotel now, checked in and enjoying day 1 of their holiday!”
Being a personal travel consultant means going the extra mile
Anyone can book their own holiday online – but more and more people are choosing not to.
People want the ideal holiday for them, with personal touches from the itinerary right through to when they arrive home.
They also want to feel reassured that you’ll be there to support them if anything changes – and that their money is protected.
In fact, research shows people are 69% more likely to book through ABTA bonded travel companies.
As a Not Just Travel consultant, your customers will benefit from our ABTA protection as part of your franchise.
It’s all part of the ready-made travel business you have when you join.
And it’s fast to get started. Your initial training takes just 1 week, with the ability to make bookings immediately after it finishes.
