‘I was told I was too old to work in travel – that was 37 years ago!’
Katherine MastersContinuing our series of agents still serving at 70 to mark TTG’s own landmark 70th anniversary, we meet Sandra Colbourne, founder of Charter Travel in Newbury, who is thought to be the UK’s first travel agent homeworker
Sandra Colbourne first started out in the industry back in July 1988, from her kitchen table, writes Sarah Heginbottom, senior sales advisor at Charter Travel.
We actually believe Sandra, with what was then Sandra Colbourne Charter Travel sole trader, was the first homeworker in the UK – six years ahead of Travel Counsellors, widely regarded as the founder of modern homeworking in 1994.
This was despite Sandra, then 38, being told after contacting a few local travel agencies that, because she had no travel experience and wasn’t Abta trained, she could not and would not get a job in travel and that she was “too old” to be employed in the industry. Funnily enough, the very same person who said this ended up as her postman many years later!
Back in the late 1980s it was all bucket shops for discounted airfares (remember Teletext, anyone?). But undeterred, Sandra opened Charter Travel from her kitchen table. She worked solidly for two years building her business without a break then employed a part-time hire, Viv Banbury (Sandra and Viv remain friends to this day). They worked alongside each other in Sandra’s spare bedroom, and Sandra later added an office to the side of her house. A connecting door to the kitchen had to be shut whenever they were on the phone as Sandra’s budgie would start chirping!
After training Viv up, Sandra embarked on her first round-the-world trip, taking 12 flights in 28 days. She flew from London to New York, then on to LA, with the old Trans World Airlines (TWA) then Fiji, Hawaii and the Big Island, on to Sydney, Cairns, New Zealand and then back to LA, with Qantas. Sandra recalls that Qantas economy was amazing, better than any other economy back then. She cites this trip as one of her top lifetime experiences, especially taking off from New Zealand at 10pm in the evening and landing in LA the same day but in the morning – living that day twice!
STILL GOING STRONG
After checking records, we truly believe Sandra started the first homeworking company based in the UK, and has since expanded to have many US and worldwide self-employed specialist homeworkers operating under her banner of Charter Travel.
She’ll be celebrating her 75th birthday in 2024, notching up 37 years in the industry. With experience and knowledge to call upon and many, many stories to boot (the Gulf War, the Falklands, the 9/11 terror attacks, and the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud which closed European air space in 2010 to name but a few), Sandra still believes in the industry and finds it as fulfilling and rewarding as when she first started out all those years ago.
The majority of our staff have been with us for over 20 years. Sandra’s daughter and granddaughter work alongside her, and it feels like we are an extended family. We are all in this together, a work ethic that keeps our clients coming back time and time again.
Charter Travel continues to grow from strength to strength – we are Abta, Atol and Iata-bonded and we are so proud of what we have achieved. The company actively recruits – sometimes we struggle to keep up with the demand of enquiries because our clients keep on recommending us.
Read more: Still serving at 70 – the travel veterans who won’t quit the industry they love
Sandra's tips for success
“When you are booking the fourth generation of the same family, you know you’re doing something right. There will always be a market for a good agent, for our knowledge and assistance, and having us readily available... that will never go out of fashion.
“Treat each big newsworthy crisis as a hurdle to overcome so that your business can move forward. My daughter and I were in Orlando when the Icelandic volcano erupted in 2010 and we went to the airport to reassure stranded customers. We gave our business cards to anyone affected, not just our clients. If you help people when they need it, they will always remember you.
“I’m always very honest with clients. It’s something we teach our sales advisors from day one. If there’s a problem, you put your hands up and admit it. If you can’t solve it, you tell them you’ll go higher up the ranks to do so. When people trust you, they will keep coming back.
“It’s also part of our ethics that there is enough business to go round. You don’t grow your business to the detriment of another company. If you can’t get that business in an honest way, then let it go. Karma always comes back to bite you.
“It’s important to put yourself in your clients’ position and take the opportunity to travel. I’ve been to many countries, and took my two eldest grandchildren to Australia and to the Outback. I wanted them to see there was more to the country than the big coastal cities. Travel in that way is transformational.”
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Katherine Masters
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