Coming face-to-face with a social superstar

Having people stop you for a chat in a supermarket is an occurrence usually reserved for A-listers.

But not in Travelpack boss Vishal Patel’s case.

Travel agent approaches in the grocery aisle are testament to Patel’s “social” style of doing business.

Even those who have never sold the long-haul tailor-made specialist may be familiar with Patel, who has become somewhat of a household name on the 16,000 member-strong Travel Gossip Facebook page.

Always quick to respond to agents stumped by tricky enquiries, Patel’s industry profile, and that of Travelpack – owned by his chairman father, Ashok, since the 80s – has increasingly risen, although he remains modest.

Based in Wembley, Travelpack specialises in tours, holidays and flights to destinations including India, the Indian Ocean, the US, the Far East, the Middle East, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean.

“We get some crazy requests from Travel Gossip,” he laughs from across his desk. “But it makes you feel great when you can help people out, so I’m always looking out and using whatever spare time I’ve got,” he adds. No mean feat given he has a toddler and a six-month-old at home.

“I was with [Travel Gossip co-founder] Bruce Martin last week and he thanked me for being a part of the site. I said: ‘I should be thanking you!’ It’s been such a great platform for us to show what a wide range of product we have.”