Travel consultant Poole was one of 10 agent finalists in Holiday Extras’ Win Me a Mini – The Return incentive, which saw agents entered into a weekly prize draw every time they made a booking. The finalists each won a ticket to The Travel Industry Awards 2024 by TTG in London, where Poole was revealed as the winner of a Mini three-door Hatch Cooper Classic.
After scooping the prize Poole said: "I’m buzzing, I’m just so happy to have won. It doesn’t feel like it’s sunk in. I never normally win things and I’ve got a little Vauxhall Adam at home, so this is incredible. I’m still shaking!"
On the night 10 sparkly purple envelopes were thoroughly shuffled and then handed at random to the 10 finalists to open, with Poole’s containing a large foam Holiday Extras-branded car key.
Poole will visit a Mini dealership with the Holiday Extras team to collect her brand new silver Mini, worth £24,000. An almost identical vehicle was parked outside the event at Magazine London, so Poole could get a feel for her new wheels.
Lindsay Garvey-Jones, Holiday Extras’ national retail manager for the UK and Europe, said: “Handing over the key to Debbie was such a thrilling moment! The awards were nothing short of spectacular, and we couldn’t be more excited to give away the Mini. We hope Debbie enjoys it as much as we loved hosting this incredible incentive.
Garvey-Jones said it has been one of Holiday Extras most successful incentives, attracting more than 45,000 entries. “We had thousands of entries pouring in each week,” she explained.
Based in Lincolnshire Co-op Travel’s Boston branch, Poole made numerous airport hotel and parking bookings during the entry period, alongside airport lounges, security fast track passes and overseas transfers. She said: "Holiday Extras have an amazing free cancellation policy, so I always pop something on the booking for customers, and tell them they can cancel if needed. But they don’t, as they like to have everything sorted, and it makes it so easy for them.
"Just coming to the event felt like my prize, as for there to be 45,000 entries and for me to be in the last 10 was incredible, I felt so lucky just to be invited."
It’s the third time Holiday Extras has given away a Mini, with previous competitions running in 2016 and 2017. Garvey-Jones thanked all the agents who took part in the incentive, adding: “None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of our fantastic travel agents—you are the heart and soul of what we do. A massive thank you to each of you for entering!”
