Holidaysplease: UK & Ireland's Top Online Agency

A third-party live chat widget has been replaced with in-house technology that has greater functionality and has halved average response time.

Rather than simply generating enquiries, the website is now bookable for the first time, with 450 hotels already live. Once booked, a client receives a phone call from a homeworker to confirm the booking, and offer additional services. The company hopes to make £500,000 in revenue from this new channel by the end of 2019.

Individual consultants have been working hard this year to launch and curate their own social media accounts, using weekly content suggestions from head office, which has seen 20,000 new followers gained across the team, and put the focus on their personal relationships with clients.

Most Holidaysplease consultants have many years in travel under their belts before they join the company, and are adept at offering extraordinary customer service. Recent examples have seen one homeworker detouring from her personal holiday to take photos of potential wedding venues in St Lucia for a client, and another driving more than 220 miles to organise China visas.

Head office assists further, offering a 24/7 emergency phone line, a concierge desk to make special requests and a honeymoon gift list service. It’s no wonder clients love to tell others about the company – referrals make up 15% of business, with customers thanked for the recommendation with a bottle of champagne.

Head office looks after its network of consultants as well as consultants look after clients, with initiatives ranging from interest-free loans to help employees get on the housing ladder to free use of the company’s Spanish apartment.

And the team loves to come together to support charitable causes, which recently included amassing 600 bags of clothing and other items for the homeless to support a Bags for Brummies initiative.