It’s the prerogative of most travel agents to go the extra mile for their customers but, in Danielle Falcus’ case, she regularly goes more like 5,000.
The InteleTravel agent set up Dream & Go last year with a focus on selling to disabled clients, having run a successful travel agency since 2022. What really sets her apart however, is that she accompanies many of her clients on their trips.
She explains: “I’ve always been around people with disabilities, my own sister has learning disabilities so I built a career supporting disabled people through charities. As a family we travelled a lot with my sister but many people are not so lucky and many say they just go to Blackpool. It’s the only image some people have of a holiday. So when I set up the agency I thought: ‘Can I combine the two things I love – travel and supporting people with disabilities so they can go further than Blackpool’.”
Fast-forward to today and Falcus has exceeded her original vision, now travelling to destinations as far flung as Canada and Japan with her clients.
“The reason many people with a learning disability can’t go on holiday is because they can’t can’t read or write or manage their own finances. They couldn’t cope with going through an airport. So instead they go with a support worker,” she says.
Falcus offers bespoke options depending on the individual client’s set up.
“Some people have 24-hour carers or go with family so I book them as a typical customer but make sure all their needs are met.
Yet for clients who don’t have such support networks in place, Falcus steps in and travels with the individual herself.
“I have been on the Rocky Mountaineer with a gentleman who loves trains, to Majorca with a couple, on a Royal Caribbean cruise with 15 people - most of whom had never left the country before. I accompanied a trip to Japan with two autistic people who love gaming and anime,” she says.
Given the popularity of her trips, along with the fact that she currently has a four-month-old baby, Falcus also now has a small team of self-contracted DBS-checked support workers who accompany clients once she has done all the planning.
All in the detail
Falcus explains that her booking process is extremely detailed.
“At the initial planning stage many clients don’t know what a holiday looks like. I help to discover their interests and put together a visual brochure of what they could do based on these. It might be nature or trains for example.”
Next she pulls together a quote which is in an Easy Read storyboard format – a combination of pictures and words.
“My clients wouldn’t always understand terms such as all-inclusive or full board so I have to clearly outline what each of them means, “ she highlights.
She often accompanies them to the bank to make payment for the trips and also supplies an Easy Read packing list and sometimes orders supplies such as plug adapters for them.
Next she produces an Easy Read daily planner outlining what they will do each day.
“I often use images such as clock faces to show timings,” she adds.
Falcus’ work doesn’t end there.
“There is one gentleman who has a real low when he returns. So as soon as we get back I arrange a photo album so he has positive things to think about. His first trip with me was the first time he had been away since his dad passed away 30 years ago. He now has holidays planned until 2027 as he needs things to look forward to.”
A deep understanding
Falcus is attuned to the difficulties disabled people can face when it comes to travel.
“Some clients ask if they have the money to travel. The sad thing is that I know people who have £50,000 to £100,000 in the bank but don’t understand that they have that money or what they could use it for. Some just don’t know what the world outside of Newcastle looks like.
Others want to travel but don’t have anyone to go with.”
Falcus notes that while business originally came in through her own connections, word is getting out and she often has enquiries via parent carer groups. She sees a future opportunity for parents of grown up children that are unable to travel alone but have outgrown family holidays.
“For these parents it is lovely to see their child enjoying a holiday with other young people to Disneyland or Benidorm. What I want to do next is organise a group trip and look for young support workers who could accompany them.
All Falcus’ hard work really does pay off however.
“When I went on the Rocky Mountaineer with my client I thought it was just a train but it was like he was living his best life. Had I been with someone who wasn’t such an enthusiast it wouldn’t have been the same. I really do get to see the world from a different perspective.”
