Reflections on an Australian Adventure

As I type I am sitting in a Business Class seat aboard a Qantas Boeing 787 flying from Perth to London Heathrow experiencing the 4th longest non-stop flight currently operating in the world – a massive 17 hours 8 mins according to my entertainment screen.

How did I end up here and particularly how did I end up in Business Class? I must admit I am asking myself the same question, but I will try to explain this turn of events. The Business seat is easy – I was upgraded at the gate as I boarded – but how did I end up in such a position?

For this I must (in part) thank you as the reader of this blog as you may well be one of my clients who has booked a long-haul trip with me. Many of those trips have been placed with a supplier called Gold Medal and as a result I was offered a place on their “Mega Fam” to Australia. The flight back from Perth represents the final element of this Mega Fam and if there is one thing I have learnt this week it is that suppliers such as hoteliers, experience providers and even airlines are very keen to impress agents on these trips, thus the upgrade to Business!

The Mega Fam has been just that – mega. Over a 10-night trip we have crammed in a huge amount. There were 12 agents on the trip, split into 4 groups of 4 along with representatives from Gold Medal and in the case of my group a journalist from Travel Weekly. We all headed to different areas of Oz before meeting up in the Northern Territory to experience Uluru.

My group commenced their Fam by visiting Sydney. 2 nights in the Shangri La 5 Star hotel overlooking Sydney Harbour with activities including surfing on Bondi Beach, climbing the Harbour bridge, guided tour of the Opera House and a nighttime cruise. We also visited the zoo and travelled to the wine region of Hunter Valley.

Uluru proved as magical as I expected, there is a real power to the place. Watching the sunrise over the Rock is an experience I will not forget. We were due to then catch the Ghan train from Alice Springs but to prove even Travel supplier arranged trips don’t always go to plan this was unfortunately cancelled due to a derailment of a freight train. However, the sunrise balloon ride put in place as an alternative went a long way to make up for it!

A visit to Adelaide brought a high-level roofline trip around the Adelaide Oval cricket ground plus a private dinner. We then visited Kangaroo Island which is a magical location and recovering remarkably quickly from the devastating wildfires of 5 years ago. Our group stayed at the Ecopia, a 5 Star self catering luxury retreat. I had the further privilege of a villa all to myself. Waking to the sunrise and seeing Kangaroos feeding outside is another stand out experience. We also had a guided trip onto the beach at Seal Bay, getting up close to the critically endangered Australian grey seal.

 A final night saw us back in Adelaide experiencing the 5 Star Eos hotel. Whilst it is a casino hotel and not really my preferred style, the quality of the hotel and its position overlooking the Oval is magnificent. I even managed to go for a run along the river in the morning, Adelaide is a city to which I will definitely return.

 So, what is the point of these Fams? Yes, for those of us fortunate to get a place they are pretty special and a wonderful working holiday, but what they are mainly for are equipping us with that extra knowledge to make your trips that bit extra special. I now feel much more confident to advise over an Australian trip. There are things I have booked for guests I now wouldn’t do the same way as a result. There are experiences that I would highly recommend that I didn’t even know existed before the trip.

There are some big sporting events coming up in Oz in 2025, but even outside of these, I can’t reinforce enough this is a country that has to be on your list of ‘must do’. However, I would advise a little longer than 10 nights and (sorry) I can’t guarantee an upgrade to Business!

Until next time

Geoff

Providing Special Trips

Ginge Tours are now in its 3rd year of trading and providing holidays of all types, destinations and budgets to our fabulous clients. Some clients are on their 5th or 6th booking with us already. Destinations have included Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the USA and other points of the globe. Stand out trips have included the Paris-Venice Orient Express, Lone Star in Barbados, Normandy beaches trip following in the footsteps of grandfather who landed in D-Day, and special Taylor Swift hotel & ticket packages.

Within our 3rd year of trading, we have forthcoming trips for clients to safaris in South Africa, 5 Star stays at the recently opened MAXX resort in Turkey, a multiple stop 31 day bespoke tour of New Zealand and multiple cruises including trips on the Cunard Queen Anne.

It is highly likely we will pass £1million in bookings in our third year which is a remarkable position from a standing start of zero in July 2022. So how have we got to this position?

Firstly, and most importantly it is down to our clients. Without each and every one of you – including those of you who have “only” booked airport parking with us – we would have never got to where we are today, so THANK YOU!

Second, it has been down to our suppliers and other fellow travel professionals. The service and standards provided by our suppliers has been outstanding and the willingness of colleagues in the trade to answer my schoolboy questions at times has been amazing. You are all stars in your respective areas of expertise.

But what has made people book with us, in some cases repeatedly?

I’d like to think the primary reason isn’t cost (although we do pride ourselves in being the cheapest we can possibly be).  I really believe the reason is the service we provide. You only ever deal with either Jo or I, never a call centre. We are always available and try to respond with good information as quickly as we can. We aim to provide a true ‘concierge’ service, and we are looking to develop this still further as we progress into the next stages.

We believe we provide a service you can trust. Yes, we might not be a quick as some ‘online’ travel companies or even some you can visit on the High Street but what we do provide is the quality personal service. Our customers are not booking numbers. You are special clients, and your trips are curated to be special, whatever large or small amount you may be spending with us.

We are determined this will never change. Our Trustpilot & google reviews are truly humbling. We are determined our standards and service will only improve, not deteriorate. So, if you have a trip planned and have never considered using an agent then give us a go – not only will you be surprised by the prices we can achieve but, in our opinion more importantly, you can concentrate on enjoying the trip not working about the organisation of it. That is our job and we like to think we are pretty good at it.

Until next time,

Geoff

“I don’t need to use a travel agent”

I can’t believe my last blog was in November 2022. It clearly means I have been busy doing something to prevent me getting to my second blog. 

But what? 

Putting the festive season to one side, it has been because I have been BUSY acting as a Travel Agent (I prefer the term Personal Travel Consultant), so it is apparent that some people do see the value of using an Agent / Consultant. 

I bring this up as I constantly see the “keyboard warriors” on Facebook and similar, arguing you should do it yourselves, book direct, book via certain larger online Travel providers like Booking & Expedia – because “it will always be cheaper than paying someone else to do it”. 

I must admit before becoming fully immersed in the trade I was probably one such espouser. But how wrong was I/are they. 

So, what have I learnt in these few months of trading that has caused me to undergo such a transformation? The following are the top reasons I have learnt as too the benefits of booking through a personal travel consultant such as myself at Ginge Tours: 

1. It saves you time & effort

The internet is great, but it is also a confusing morass of information which can take hours to navigate and how often does it lead to “analysis paralysis” where there is just too much information on offer leading to you stalling, not making a decision after hours of work – often concerned at not getting a great deal – and then finding you decide to come back only for the offer to no longer be there? A Consultant takes this away. You get information tailored to what you are seeking, but still with choice, allowing you to be clearer over your decision – Trust you consultant. 

2. You deal with a real concerned person, not a call centre at all times

One of the biggest things I always tell a client is: You only deal with me. If you need something amending come to me, don’t try to navigate a call centre. I do that if I need to!

3. Flexibility is key! 

My strapline for Ginge Tours is Independent Travel Together. I aim to provide you with as much flexibility in your plans as you need within the regulations I am governed by. For instance, you can’t get online to combine two holidays together, or tag extra days on the end. I can. You want something completely independent and bespoke? Then a consultant is absolutely where you need to go otherwise a missed connection due to lack of knowledge over transfer times on your multi-legged trip which you booked yourself can scupper your entire holiday.

4. There for the emergencies (and not so big emergencies)

Hurricane approaching and your flight cancelled? Yes, it does happen and if the airline doesn’t sort you out (it should) then google can be a very expensive way of sorting it compared to a quick call to your travel consultant (yes this happened). Booking/hotel.com only finding you mega expensive hotels in your last-minute destination? Amazing the trade access your travel consultant can offer. 

5. Computer says No – Consultant says Yes

On occasion our plans change. That unexpected wedding invitation or a sudden injury preventing travel. Yes, you should always have travel insurance and take it out at the time of booking (if not before) but on occasion we don’t. What happens when you’ve booked the “non-cancel/non-refund” room to get the best rate? I managed to get a full refund of hotel and flights for a couple who had to cancel a New Year’s Eve break to New York city, all of which was non-cancel on the computer. Personal trade conversations changed the outcome. Try doing that on a website and by email! 

6. Personal Consultant can beat High Street Chain agencies

If you regularly book via an agent you tend to become very loyal. You TRUST that agent, trust is the lifeblood of the travel consultancy approach. It is all about personal service, going that extra step to ensure your client has the best possible trip and ensuring they get great value for money. This can lead to you automatically going back to the same High Street agent (or even their online version in some cases). How can I as a single home worker compete with them? Because I have access to the same suppliers as they do, and my overheads are lower = competitive prices. 

7. Consumer protection

We all hope nothing goes wrong with our travel, but unfortunately on occasion it does, and it isn’t always natural events which disrupt it. On occasion companies can fail and if you are booked direct (or independent from an agent) you have very little/no way of rescuing your travel plans. Yes, you might argue on a weekend break to Paris using a budget airline and booking a hotel direct what can go wrong? But for a longer break or more exclusive travel plans using an agent, so you get consumer rights built in and suppliers with Air Travel Organisers Licences (ATOL) means the unexpected is catered or compensated for. Think COVID or FlyBe to understand the advantages of booking through a consultant or agent. 

8. A Consultant SAVES YOU MONEY

The great myth that an agent/consultant is always more expensive. If the 7 points above are not sufficient to get you to book with a consultant then hopefully the savings available in your wallet will be! Agents have access to exclusive trade rates, offers not open to the public and suppliers that only sell to the trade (business to business). When you book online direct you get a price. That’s it. No variation or opportunity to seek a discount. By using an agent there is flexibility and often by combining elements in different ways a better price can be achieved. Yes, it might be hard to beat a single night hotel booking from one of the big online booking companies, but I have found for most package holidays I can at least price match and often beat the online public website prices. If you ask me for a more luxury bespoke holiday, then I definitely can (£3575 saving on a quoted direct bookable holiday to Dubai & Abu Dhabi for two weeks is the one I am most proud of!)

So, this blog has become much longer than I expected or wanted it to, but I thought I needed to outline in depth what I feel are important factors in deciding how to plan your next travel adventure. With Ginge Tours being members of Protected Trust Services, you have all the same cover you would booking with a High Street or online Travel Agency. You can trust agents. Hopefully as an ex-cop you know you can trust me! 

Get in touch before you commit to your next adventure.

All the best until next time

Geoff

How do you go from being a senior Police officer to a Travel advisor?!

After a successful 30-year career in the Police service, reaching a rank I never dreamed of achieving (Assistant Chief Constable) and exhaustion of fighting crime, this is a question many people have asked me. It isn’t something I have rushed into and done on ‘the spur of the moment’. Having retired in April 2021 I took my time looking at what I wanted to do “next” with my life.

It was on my 5-month motor home “decompression” tour around the United Kingdom post retirement with my wife Jo that the idea first formed. It was recognising our love of travel had taken us to fabulous far-flung places (although the Highlands and Islands of Scotland take some beating) and it was this experience along with my hard-earned police management skills which led me to Ginge Tours. 

But how can an ex-police officer be a travel advisor?

I must admit I thought that myself initially, but then I found there to be a lot of similarities, particularly when compared to the senior rank I achieved. Customer service and care is at the heart of policing, risk assessment and logistical planning are part of police management daily life, best value and a keen sense of efficiency and cost are paramount considerations in the public sector. All of these have a cross over into providing travel services. Even more importantly it is the ability to keep calm in a crisis! When a customer phones you at 1am in a bit of a panic due to their plane being cancelled due to the oncoming hurricane it is just like being on call in the police! Deep breath, keep calm and reassure, and then work out the solution! (This happened). 

Where did the name come from? 

There was only ever going to be one. For years I had been running informal rugby tours to international and European cup finals. Ginge Tours was the nickname for the trips. Luckily it is also memorable and gets the attention (and no it is not a company ‘just’ for people with Ginger hair and no I am no longer ginger – Silver Strawberry Blond Tours Limited doesn’t have quite the same ring!)

So, what am I aiming for with Ginge Tours?

I initially came up with a strap line for the company’s approach – “Independent Travel Together” What I am trying to convey with this is you (as the traveller) are travelling independently, not beholden to the timetables of pre-packaged tours (“do this, do that, be there at this time”). I put the hard graft in finding what you need, checking the prices and the timetabling putting together a trip to suit your desires and budget. But this doesn’t result in you being sent out without an ideal of where your next bed is. The “Together” part is me – your personal travel consultant. I do all the planning, the logistics, the arrangements and provide you with a ‘package’ but one that is ‘independent’ to you. 

This isn’t of course to say I can’t provide you with a pre-packaged holiday to the sun (I can) or the independence of a back packing adventure (I can). I can provide you with whatever you need or want (within reason!)

But can I trust you I hear you ask? 

Well hopefully my former career reassures you over my integrity and trustworthiness! But further to this I will be completely transparent over what I earn from a particular booking, I seek to get you the best possible price (and if I can’t or know you can get it cheaper elsewhere, I will tell you). Most importantly I have also invested in becoming a member of Protected Trust Services. This is a company that provides the customer with all the consumer protection you normally get from a “major player” in the travel market but allows the smaller boys (me!) to provide it as well – you pay the Trust not me on booking, I only get my commission once everyone has been paid and you have travelled. In that way everyone is protected – the customer, the supplier and me. 

What PTS membership also means is I am Independent. Ginge Tours is not a franchisee of a bigger travel agency. I can work with which ever companies I choose to and charge my customers what I want too – I am not beholden to sales targets or certain percentages of my commission going to the parent company. This means, alongside my lower overheads, I can offer great prices! 

So, through this occasional blog I hope to introduce you more to my philosophy of travel, what I can provide and my general thoughts on all things travel. It won’t be about selling holidays – this is mainly going to be on my website and Facebook – but I will outline some trips and some of the adventures Jo and I have been on. 

Thanks for reading and please do continue to read by blogs - #Life of a personal Travel Consultant.

Until next time – keep traveling

Geoff