Ex-TTG sales director sets up travel business

Sheryl Makin began trading through The Luxury Travel Boutique in late February and celebrated the website, theluxurytravelboutique.com, going live last week.

The move to working as an agent brings Makin full circle to her first job in travel after starting out with Lunn Poly in Sevenoaks, aged 18.

Since then she has worked as cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic and as an account manager for Cosmos, among other roles.

She spent 11 years with TTG before leaving in 2013, and now has three-year-old twins.

Makin chose to set up the new business as a way of balancing her passion for travel and looking after the children.

“I’ve always been in travel and although [launching the business] was quite a daunting thought at the beginning, it’s been so exciting going back to my roots,” she said.

Based out of Makin’s home in south London, The Luxury Travel Boutique will offer a mixture of short-haul and long-haul tailor-made product, ranging from private touring to villa breaks.

She plans to cater for “time-poor, cash-rich” professionals and offer them a personalised service.

“Many people don’t have the time to research the finer details of a holiday and that’s where I’ll be helping,” said Makin. “I want to make sure I find the perfect holiday for them.”

The business is a member of The Global Travel Group and Makin undertook a three-day crash-course at the consortium’s Chester headquarters, refreshing her knowledge of industry regulations.

“Global has been brilliant and incredibly supportive,” she added.

“I spent a long time considering the different homeworking options out there and felt Global was the best for me.”

Makin said she had already reaped the benefits of the relationships she has built up with companies and people within the trade – one example has been Makin’s contacts at the Tourism Authority of Thailand offering her advice and recommendations for the destination, which helped her secure a £13,000 Asia honeymoon booking.

“Being able to call up people I’ve known for years in the trade is fantastic and acts as an extra service I can offer to clients,” Makin added.