A day in the life of a travel agent

By James Felton of Felton Travel

A typical day? There is no such thing as a typical day for an independent travel agent. Just as no two clients are the same, no two days are ever the same and I love it.

My firm, Felton Travel, is a small agency established in 1973. We’re based in Barkingside in Essex and I employ a total of five people. My working day starts at home when I check my emails and handle the various business issues such as banking that need to be addressed. Once in the office, the first thing I do is check my post and discuss any important matters with my staff. The rest of the day is spent with clients helping to find the perfect holiday for them. Of course, not all holidays are necessarily booked and confirmed on the spot so much of my time is spent obtaining quotes and fine-tuning clients’ holidays.

My company also has a number of business clients who can be fairly demanding, especially when they have complex itineraries and a strict budget to stick to! The rest of my time is divided between my accountant, the bank and dealing with all the necessary paperwork to keep this a well-oiled machine! ABTA quarterly reports, accounts and bonding and year end reports all demand a lot of my time. In theory our office hours are 9am to 5.30 pm. But who works office hours!

I wouldn’t change jobs for the world, and I certainly wouldn’t want to work for a large multiple site agency which is linked to a tour operator. Being an independent agent means that I can always offer my clients the best quality and choice for them and not have to sell one operator over another.

Over the years we have forged relationships with a number of smaller tour operators who offer specialist products such as Cadogan Holidays, Sunville Holidays, Tapestry Holidays and Whitehall Leisure. They are all experts in their chosen areas and offer a quality product at a sensible price. Whitehall Leisure, for example, is our first choice for holidays to Lanzarote. They are very knowledgeable and offer exceptional advice. Unlike larger companies, they are very flexible if you want a short stay, an extended break, five-star luxury or self-catering accommodation.

I really do enjoy working with smaller tour operators because I know they will offer the best products for my clients. They are also usually more inclined to back the independent travel agent. In a climate when more and more operators are proactively chasing direct bookings, companies such as Whitehall Leisure are very supportive.
That is not to say that I’m downhearted about the industry. I don’t think independent agencies are really under threat from the growth of larger chains. On the contrary, as long independent agents and operators continue to offer expert professional advice, quality service and that something extra the multiple chains can’t, the future is bright.

For further information about Felton Travel, please contact James Felton on 020 8550 1850 or visit www.feltontravel.co.uk More information about Whitehall Leisure can be found at www.whitehall-leisure.co.uk. Alternatively, please contact David Moore on 020 7340 1030.