A luxury advisor hit Gold status at Travel Counsellors on the same day Heathrow Airport closed – despite only joining the homeworking agency eight months ago. 

Nathalie Adams woke up on Friday morning to the news that London’s largest airport had been shut for the first time in 14 years. The closure was ordered after a major power outage caused by a nearby fire, disrupting more than 1,300 flights and leaving hundreds of thousands of travellers stranded.

Like many agents, Adams immediately kicked into action to support her affected clients. She managed to reissue a business traveller’s cancelled flight to China, after nearly an hour of trying to get through to the airline.

She also pushed back when the airline insisted the client would have to pay for the re-route, using her industry expertise to advocate for the passenger’s consumer rights.  

Similarly, Adams saved the day for another client whose Delhi to Heathrow flight was turned around mid-route, booking her onto an alternative flight by the time she landed in India. 

In a gushing review, the traveller said: “It really helped me keep calm in a stressful situation and I am so grateful to Nat for getting me home as quickly as possible so I could see my children!” 

“That morning was super stressful, because on top of the clients whose flights had been cancelled, I had clients simply querying their travel,” Adams tells TTG Luxury. 

Her luck had turned around by midday, however, when she found herself celebrating an achievement most agents can only dream of. 

Adams saw that she had reached Gold status as a Travel Counsellor, joining the agency’s top 12% of sellers. Since setting up her franchise last June, she has completed over 400 bookings – her highest of which totalled £65,000. 

“I knew I was very close to making Gold, it was just ironic that it happened to be on that day!” she said. 

Previously at FlightCentre, Adams decided to move to Travel Counsellors after growing restless for a career change. “I needed a new lease of life because I’d been in my old job for 25 years,” she says. She attributes her fast success to a renewed personal energy, adding, “It was real momentum. People who’d known me for years, who’d never been my customers before, were now booking with me.” 

Adams also believes that her decision to work with both corporate and leisure clients, rather than to specialise, is also a factor in her impressive sales.  

“I would never close off an income and limit myself to only leisure or business clients,” she says. “I do a lot of high-end leisure for families and retirees with disposable income, but I also do a lot of corporate, who are more likely to experience travel disruptions by default of travelling more.” 

Adams’ celebrations will officially begin this weekend, when she flies to Jamaica with her two sons for a well-deserved holiday. She’s keen to add that she will still be working during this trip, crediting Travel Counsellors for their flexibility. “To be able to do that is just amazing,” she says. “For the kids to swim in the pool while I’m working beside them is brilliant.”