Designer Travel, Ramsbottom: North West's Top Agency

Clients walking into the shop today are greeted by an open, refined space where managing director Amanda Matthews says her five-strong sales team can really focus on the business of putting together perfect holidays.

The other key eye-catching change to the business last year was the introduction of the new Designer Awards customer loyalty scheme. The programme offers its members a £10 discount for every £1,000 spent by new customers they refer to the agency. Of the 400 members currently, about 100 are very active on the scheme, which has no doubt helped drive the repeat booking rate of about 90%.

But that is just one way customers are kept onboard, with a good old-fashioned focus on service being key. In the past year the agency has booked two holidays for extended families dealing with terminal illness, while the attention to detail on bookings by some of their biggest spenders is impressive.

Even the agency’s non-bookable website is designed to inspire as opposed to take orders through the use of blogs and news updates, while there are many opportunities for customers to make an online enquiry that can be followed up by a consultant.

Staff are kept up to date by taking an educational trip each year to destinations that will benefit the agency. A couple of hours’ weekly in-house training is designed the keep the agents up to scratch too, and much is made of their experience – with the three full-time staff boasting more than 25 years in the industry between them.

Amanda is also keen to give something back to the local community. A number of £200 tokens were handed out to schools and charities last year for raffle prizes, while a local children’s hospital also received gifts for its patients in the run-up to Christmas.