Back to school: the agents reaping the rewards from working with local schools

Some agents have been going back to school in order to help their businesses. But far from sitting in on lessons, they’ve been taking classes themselves.

For Abbotts Travel in South Woodford, it was a friend of the agency who encouraged them to help out some local infants on their school project, talking about different forms of holidays. Staff gave out spot prizes of Virgin Limited Edition rubber ducks to children who asked good questions. “I loved it. It’s much better dealing with kids than adults! We had a wonderful time,” says business development consultant Danny Sperling.

“They didn’t stop asking questions all the way through. I tried to explain why you had a travel agent. I said ‘if your fence blew down in the garden, you could fix it yourself, or you could get an expert to do it.’”

Abbotts Travel relies on word-of-mouth recommendations and believes it’s good practice to get involved with the local community. Sperling says: “I’m a business development consultant, so I’d be lying if I didn’t say it suited us to do it as well. If no business came out of it, to reach out and engage local children is a really enjoyable thing to do, but the children are going to talk to their parents about it...”

School project

One agency that knows it generated bookings through working with young people is Midcounties Co-op, Derby. Assistant manager Emily Wainwright was asked by her teacher sister-in-law to make a presentation to 14 and 15-year-olds to support a project.

“It was to do with marketing in travel and how tourism is marketed. What makes brochures attractive, that sort of thing,” Wainwright explains. “Afterwards, they had to pick a local attraction and make a brochure for it.”

Wainwright prepared a PowerPoint presentation, with her sister-in-law’s help and took questions afterwards. “There was a lot of interest from the pupils about what makes places popular and what demographic books what,” she says, “It was interesting doing it, it was stuff you don’t think about on a daily basis.”

She talked about the difference between the Midcounties Co-op and other agencies, a message that could have filtered through to parents. More tangible benefits came from mixing with staff, however. “We subsequently went on to book a few of the teachers as I started talking to them afterwards. It was just before the summer holidays,” says Wainwright.

She’d be happy to make another school visit. “I thought I’d probably rather sit and talk to a board of directors than school kids – they’re petrifying,” she says, “but I really enjoyed it. I think it’s good to get out in the community as well.”

Good PR

Delmar World in Wrexham is about to reinstate its own secondary school visits having helped with careers advice a few years ago. Deben Travel in Woodbridge, Suffolk, has meanwhile established once yearly appointments with a college and a school sixth form and more recently started ad-hoc visits to primary schools.

They’ve also helped six-year-olds set up a classroom travel agency by providing posters and brochures and hosting them on a shop visit.

“There aren’t many reasons why I can be persuaded to shut the shop for an hour but I thought if they’re making the effort to walk down here from the local school I would,” says owner Lee Hunt.

Questions covered most popular places for holidays, Hunt’s personal favourite destinations and the more random “have you ever booked anyone and they’ve got lost on holiday?”

The children are sent home with goody bags with luggage labels, ticket wallets and tokens that can be used instead of pound coins in supermarket trolleys, all bearing the agency’s logo. “I think number one, it’s good PR. Particularly being an independent it’s good to be seen out working in the community,” he says.

The agency’s work with travel and tourism students is geared to careers advice. Hunt gives a PowerPoint presentation and spends about an hour-and-a-half in the classroom. “We speak about Atol, Abta and the CAA, what questions to ask when the client comes into the shop to establish their needs and about client retention.”

He admits that putting the presentation together in the first place took a lot of work but he’s now able to repeat it each year.

Deben Travel also takes students on work experience. They generally observe but can also help with research on telephone enquiries.

“Because a lot of operators are online now and this age group is pretty good in that way,” says Hunt. “I don’t want them just stacking brochures and making tea.” However, he adds: “Some think they’re going to just walk in and start booking actual holidays, like selling clothes in a clothes shop!”

The agency’s college links also means it can have the cream of the students for apprentices when they need them.

Next steps

TTG Travel Awards finalist Hays Travel in Chester-le-street, County Durham, has already gained several apprentices through its education connections. Branch manager Susan Cranston has been involved with schools and colleges for 30 of her 35 years in travel. She helps pupils take their first steps into the job market by taking part in school careers days, giving presentations and helping them prepare for interviews in sales and retail. “I take them through what’s expected; how to conduct themselves, how to dress,” she explains.

Cranston’s involvement started for altruistic reasons. “I had a girl on work experience who just sat in a corner like a little mouse. I looked at kids coming out of school at 16-years-old, so naive, and I wanted to give them a bit of help.” She believes the switch from the disciplined school environment to retail can be particularly daunting. “They’ve got to be a bit more extrovert. If they’re not, it’s difficult to get their head round talking to customers.”

Although she can’t quantify the bookings she’s gained, Cranston says, “A lot of my local family business comes from the local schools around here that I’ve got contact with.” In fact, the schools she helps include the agency’s details on notes to parents reminding them not to take holidays in term-time.

“You gain a lot of satisfaction,” Cranston adds. “One girl came on work experience, went to college, got a job and she’s now management for another travel firm. That’s nice to see, when they move on and up.”

Her own agency has gained more than 10 staff members through apprenticeships over the years. “If they show the enthusiasm and willingness to learn they will be kept on,” says Susan. Other students, she adds, have returned to the agency to book their own holidays: “Some start off going on a lads’ holiday to Magaluf and now I book their family holiday.”