Spear Travels, Boroughbridge

The seven members of staff at the Boroughbridge shop have an impressive combined travel experience of more than 150 years and have built up a loyal group of long-standing clients.

Although the branch sells all types of holidays “from Butlins to a £250,000 round-the-world trip”, the agency specialises in luxury travel – particularly long-haul and tailor-made Europe trips.

The shop’s interior underwent a refurbishment 15 months ago to create a “trendy and minimalist appearance”. A world map was installed covering one of the walls, which allows agents to point out destinations to customers using laser pens.

There has also been a dramatic reduction in the number of brochures racked, which has been reduced to around 50 - all from preferred independent operators.

Although staff members already have their own strong client bases, the agency is very active in marketing in its local area.

This includes hosting regular client evenings, sending fortnightly deal-driven emails to customers and advertising on a local radio station in partnership with upmarket operators, such as Hurtigruten, Classic Collection and Anatolian Sky.

Client evenings take place every two months and focus on a specific destination, sector or operator.

Spear seeks to partner with other local independent businesses for these events. For example, a wine merchant attended a recent South Africa event which allowed clients to take part in wine-tasting as well as learning about the destination.

Customer service includes contacting hotels two weeks before travel to make sure the resorts know they are “VIP clients”.

On returning home, agents contact clients through a welcome home postcard or phone call and invite them back to the shop to tell staff about their trip.

Staff training is a priority for the agency with one-hour sessions with suppliers held every two weeks to keep their knowledge up to date.

• speartravels.net