Baldwins Travel, Tunbridge Wells

Baldwins Travel, Tunbridge Wells
One of TTG’s Top 50 Travel Agencies 2020

The flagship store in the Baldwins Travel empire, Tunbridge Wells branch sits in the busy central shopping area of the town, and is run by manager Kim Lacey, supported by a team of seven sales consultants and two in foreign exchange and admin support.

A spacious shop with a huge frontage allows for eye-catching and regularly changed window-displays to inspire passers-by, and the store also has a private room, which is used for staff training but also to welcome clients making a special booking – when a bottle of fizz may well come out.

The team here is incredibly experienced and well-established: almost no staff have left during Kim’s 19-year tenure, and two of the team have been with Baldwins for a remarkable 40-plus years each.

Having been named the South East’s Top Travel Agency by TTG in 2019, the Tunbridge Wells team has pushed hard to maintain and expand product knowledge in the last year, undertaking an exhaustive list of educational trips, in-store training and supplier events.

As important as gaining destination updates at such events is building contacts at individual hotels: Kim boasts a 90% success rate in being able to secure treats and upgrades for the store’s VIP clients by emailing ahead.

A few months ago, the store started encouraging customers to review their service on Google Reviews, and has received all five-star ratings so far – testament to the high levels of care and expertise demonstrated on every booking.

Repeat business stands at an impressive 80% for Tunbridge Wells branch, but the team is also reaping the benefits of a new back-office system which helps to analyse the effectiveness of different marketing activities, so they can focus on the most effective ways of finding new customers.

With Baldwins Travel dating back to 1895, it’s no wonder the agency is actively involved in the local community too, from collecting toys for the Mayor’s Christmas appeal to building a vehicle to compete in the Crazy Jean Soapbox Race to raise money for local children’s charity Taylor-Made Dreams.

baldwinstravel.co.uk