The luxury operator celebrated its top trade partners at its annual A-List Awards last week (20 March), which took place at Sopwell House in London following a four-year-long residency at Bafta Piccadilly.
It was Nadine Lear, owner of Lear Travel, who received the plaudits for the biggest booking. The Caribbean trip, which took place over Christmas, was for eight people and included everything from business class flights to a complimentary sunset cruise.
"I can't even put it into words what it felt like to make that booking,” Lear told TTG Luxury. “I was like, 'is this really happening?'. I just could not believe someone would trust me with that amount of money.”
The Hertfordshire-based advisor encouraged other agents to remember these clients are out there. "These are once-in-a-lifetime bookings, and they don’t happen overnight,” she said. “Just keep trying and you never know who you're going to meet. Dreams do come true."
Nadine Lear landed the prize for biggest booking of the year
Janey Berry, who was earlier this month named Luxury Travel Designer of the Year (Home-based) at the TTG Luxury Travel Awards 2026, was another advisor honoured by Carrier on the night. “It just feels really special,” she told TTG Luxury after taking away the Spirit of Carrier Award.
The luxury safari specialist went on to credit her first Carrier Retreat back in 2024 for accelerating her success. “I felt like a total imposter there, but it set everything going,” Berry recalled. "It’s there that I met Ben Blackler, who then became my coach and totally revolutionised my business.”
Berry also spoke of her pride managing challenging circumstances, such as when protests in Tanzania last October impacted her clients' holiday. “I got hold of them immediately and I got a person with them instantly,” she said.
“They decided to stay and then they had the best holiday ever had. They've actually now recommended me to so many people because they said in the time of crisis, they felt utterly safe.”
Mel Fell of American Express Travel and Lifestyle Services was named Carrier’s Outstanding Individual in Luxury 2026 after wowing the operator with her decades-long commitment to her clients.
Fell, who has been with Amex for 19 years, described the win as “amazing” and “unexpected.” She went on to hail Carrier’s trade sales team, calling them “amazing at what they do". “I’ll put the enquiries to them but they just turn them into sales," she said. "I just feel like I have a really strong relationship with them.”
The Carrier agency sales team (Credit: Carrier)
Other winners on the night included Emma Frearson of Luxury Travel by Emma, Nicky Davis of Be Inspired by Nicky, Abby Rose of Platinum Voyages, Janaway Travel, Kuoni at Peter Jones, Sloane Square, Destination Anywhere, Elite Travel Boutique, Park Lane Travel, Future Travel Group, TravelSport, Casey Cullen of CC Travel, and Chris Roberts of Travel Counsellors.
Tarporley Travel took home the prize for the top agent in the North West and Curated Escapes for Eastern England, while Small World Travel was named Yorkshire’s top agent.
Beaver Travel was named the champion for the Home Counties (North) category, with Ultimate Destinations receiving an outstanding achievement award in the same region. For Home Counties (South), Quality Travel took the prize for overall winner, while The Travel Concept bagged the outstanding achievement accolade.
Lee Marshall, Carrier's head of trade partnerships, hailed the awards "an opportunity to recognise the mastery behind truly exceptional travel". "Our agent partners continue to raise the bar through creativity, expertise and genuine care – they’re the beating heart of our community," he added.
More than £2,000 was raised on the night for Carrier's 2026 charity partner, Uga, a Sri Lankan hotel brand and the founder of the Uga Ulagalla elephant research centre.
