Development of strong relationships within tour operators is one of the many make-or-break elements luxury travel advisors look for when deciding who to book their clients’ valuable travel with.
A group of 16 agents shared this along with other insights into what they need from a supplier partner during a lunch held in the spring at London’s Haymarket Hotel.
Gathered in the stylish Nash Suite after drinks around the hotel’s neon-coloured swimming pool area, the advisors said flexibility and in-depth product knowledge of an operator’s team would also be very high on the list of what they were looking for in a supplier partner.
Advisors at the lunch said they valued the chance to connect face-to-face with some of the Pure Luxury team, making the brand feel more accessible and relationship-driven.
They highlighted the importance of having a clear point of contact, including direct phone numbers and personal support for bookings.
They also expressed interest in hearing from fellow agents who can share real-world client feedback and success stories of working with a particular partner, such as Pure Luxury.
The lunch was the culmination of Pure Luxury: The Masterclass, a detailed engagement campaign developed in collaboration with TTG Luxury and designed to inspire and educate agents at every stage of their luxury-selling journey – from new-to-luxury, to established sellers and homeworkers.
Claire Masse, founder of Frangipani Holidays and winner of New Luxury Travel Designer of the Year at the 2025 TTG Luxury Travel Awards, said: “It was so useful to learn about the deep knowledge of the team at Pure Luxury during the lunch, and the level of care and attention they provide.”
Jane Jones, a travel designer with SB Luxury Travel, said: “Just knowing there is so much support behind the scenes from a trade perspective is so important. We also appreciate all the extra benefits you can get for clients when using Pure Luxury – that’s really attractive to customers.”
Key benefits
Agents heard specifically about one of Pure Luxury’s latest additions, a new partnership with Aether, the private airport terminal at Manchester Airport. Agents can now book one of three levels of curated packages there, which allow guests to enjoy a serene airport experience worlds away from the typical hustle and bustle of a main terminal. The introduction of Aether to the brand’s portfolio of benefits follows the launch of a complimentary return Blacklane UK chauffeur service implemented last year.
“Offering customer benefits such as the chauffeur service, complimentary airport lounge passes, and now the Aether partnership all help refine the travel experience and give agents ways they can add to what they offer their clients,” said Sarah Lancashire, marketing director for Pure Luxury and Gold Medal Travel Group.
Joined by Kym Coulbeck, head of trade support, and Karen Fletcher, agency partnerships director, in hosting the lunch, Lancashire agreed with Jones – and many of the other agents at the event – on the vital nature of relationships.
“These are so important to us, along with those benefits we can offer,” she said.
“We also pride ourselves on our team of ambassadors who work with the agents on creating travel plans and have more than 250 years of travel experience between them, as well as the breadth of our product which continues to grow. Added to that are our industry-leading fam trips, where we ensure agents see a destination as a customer would.”
Lancashire also shared details of the new online fam trip hub launched in March to benefit as many agents as possible, covering Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus, and Incredible Journeys as well as Gold Medal.
“We firmly believe the fam trip doesn’t just finish the minute the plane touches down. We now share fam trip experiences on the new online hub, which is accessible to all agents regardless of their affiliation with Gold Medal, and we also ensure there are offers ready for agents to use when they return from a trip.”
Some of Pure Luxury’s fam trips this year have already included the first agent fam trip to visit the new Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab resort in Dubai, Lancashire highlighted.
Agents said there were several further elements they looked for in terms of supplier support, including access to shareable social content, such as imagery and reel footage that can be easily posted on their own channels, and regular promotional emails.
