Limavady Travel, Limavady

Limavady Travel, Limavady
One of TTG’s Top 50 Travel Agencies 2020

Just days after being told of their impending redundancy from Co-operative Travel, as part of a raft of shop closures in 2013, Hazel Simpson rallied her colleagues and set about launching as an independent business. “Things just fell into place,” she recalls.

Now, almost seven years on from opening, Limavady Travel is flying high. Its shop, a street over from the old Co-op store, has enjoyed a shiny refit with a private upstairs area for in-store events and more discreet appointments added. Undoubtedly Limavady’s most important asset is its five-strong team, a close-knit unit given staff’s shared experiences, and they are looked after well, given a £500 travel voucher each year to put towards their own holiday in order to boost their destination knowledge.

Limavady’s expertise is highly valued in the rural market town with the team booking lots of families whose own children later then book their honeymoons. Away from work, there’s plenty of fun along the way with the staff BBQ (and sleepover) at Hazel’s house an annual highlight.

However, it’s not all face masks and pedicures: staff laced up their trainers last year to take part in a six-week fitness challenge in aid of Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, raising nearly £2,000.

Customer service is key with the team always striving to go above and beyond. During a cruise onboard P&O’s Britannia in December, a diabetic customer with mobility issues was struggling to change their dining time to an earlier sitting. Unable to secure their own change onboard, the Limavady team on behalf of the client procured the email for the restaurant’s maitre d’ – who saw to the guest’s needs.

Hazel sometimes helps out when she’s not even in the country, after hunting for (and finding) a pig Christmas ornament in Prague during her own break after a customer had accidentally smashed theirs. She managed to source exactly the same one and bring it back for her – much to the delight of the client.

limavadytravel.com