Taking inspiration from fashion brand, Pretty Little Thing, and embracing social media has helped Emma Conway generate £1 million in sales since setting up her travel agency business.
Working as a retail travel agent for nine years with Tui, Hays and Travel House, after coming back from maternity leave she decided to take the leap and set up on her own agency, launching Pretty Little Holidays in 2024.
“I absolutely loved working as a travel agent, but after returning from maternity leave I wanted the flexibility to work around my children. I love my job so much I thought, why not do it on my own,” Conway told TTG.
When she first started working from home as an agent in April 2024, licensed by Protected Trust Services, business was steady. “Some of my clients knew me from my previous agencies but when you start out on your own, clients want to know their money is safe and the booking is protected,” said Conway. “As the trust grew, so did the business and by the end of last summer it was so busy I needed staff and a shop.”
Opening in her hometown of Caerphilly in Wales, Pretty Little Holidays is an ode to pink, mixing Instagram-friendly aesthetic interiors with a fun, friendly feel. Conway said: “High street travel shops don’t give me going on holiday vibes, so I wanted to bring something different to Caerphilly. I took aspects of retail shops and sprinkled a bit of Emma on it.
“The shop is very pink and wonderful, like my personality and I wanted to bring that into travel. I took inspiration from fashion brand Pretty Little Thing and pink, my favourite colour. I was going to do something typically Welsh but I felt that would blend in. I didn’t want to blend in – I wanted to stand out.”
With many high street retail businesses struggling, some may think opening a shop in the current climate was a risk, but it seems to be paying off for Pretty Little Holidays. “The older generation like to come into a shop and talk to someone. They want paper tickets and itineraries printing out for them,” she said.
“The younger generation will book online, which is fine. For me, it’s all about being credible and trustworthy. There’s nothing I love more than putting the kettle on and arranging customers’ holidays. I want to be accountable and reassure them that if they have problem, I’ll sort it out for them. That’s what sets us apart from companies like On the Beach and Loveholidays. We can offer online prices but with a personalised service.”
So what’s the secret to her success in such a short space of time? She said: “Regardless of budget there’s a holiday out there for everyone. There’s still money to be made in travel, even if every holiday is a price match. Know your audience and find out what they want. If a customer’s been online you need to know what they’ve been looking at or they’ll think you’re trying to rip them off.
“I have a real mix of clients: some want cheap and cheerful deals, others want family holidays where they’ll pay £7,000 for a trip to Lapland. I book a lot of Maldives, cruises, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”
Conway credits Facebook as one of the key factors in her success, saying the channel is her “bread and butter”. Leveraging Facebook as the main marketing channel for the agency has seen followers grow to 17,000, with users encouraged to share content and deals with friends, extending the reach of Pretty Little Holidays.
“Something happened overnight, we just boomed. We went from 5,000 to 17,000 followers. I can’t even tell you what happened,” said Conway. “Everyone stared sharing our Facebook deals, telling friends about us, there was a lot of hype in the town I live in.”
Conway believes that when it comes to running a successful travel agency, it’s about knowing your audience and experiencing the types of trips they might want to book first-hand. With this in mind, she recently organised an in-house fam trip to Bucharest, pitching it as an “extreme day trip to Bucharest in 35 hours”.
“We wanted to show people that you can get on a plane and have a cost-effective trip away,” said Conway. The company packaged the trip to include a family-run independent hotel, flights and trip to Therme Bucharest (Romania’s largest sauna complex and Europe’s biggest urban beach) then shared it via its social media channels.
“I organised it myself because I wanted to give something back to my girls – the idea being we would promote it while we were there and sell it when we returned home. A night out in the UK is expensive – experiencing Bucharest in this way showed clients that a trip doesn’t have to be costly.”
Conway employs one staff member part time, two homeworkers (one based in Grimsby, the other in Selby). Plans are progressing for a second shop in Ystrad Mynach, the town next to Caerphilly. With no other travel agents in the town, Conway is putting her profits to “good use” and will take over a retail unit in a local arcade that will mirror the design of the original shop.
“The funny thing is, I opened my business to work around the kids but now I’m working 24/7,” said Conway. “I’m the least business minded person, but once I have an idea I get fixated on it. Now I’m onto something I’m going for it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
