Talking to Holly Crabtree on the phone it’s not hard to understand why she picked up the gong for Homeworker of the Year at the TTG Travel Awards last month.
Aside from her incredible sales figures and colossal reach on social media, she is effortlessly affable. Chatting to the Cruise.co.uk consultant is like catching up with an old friend, though we’ve met only once.
“I’m still coming to terms with the win,” she exclaims gleefully. “I was completely and utterly shocked. I’ve received prosecco and chocolates from tour operators in the post. I feel like a celebrity!”
For someone who’s been at Cruise.co.uk just a year - during which time she has amassed £1.7 million in sales - and who has spent minimal time on the counter selling in the past two decades, it might appear career success came from nowhere; but it’s been a long time in the making.
“I spent 12 months going door-to-door. I brought in operators to help train staff. We tripled our cruise sales in less than a year”
In 1988 at the age of 16 Crabtree landed her first job in travel on a YTS (Youth Training Scheme) at Leigh Travel in Wigan, earning £29 a week. At 18 she moved on to AT Mays Travel in Atherton, Greater Manchester, and within three years she was promoted first to assistant manager then store manager.
Then in 1995 she was headhunted to open a new Going Places store in Leigh, Greater Manchester before moving to the company’s Leeds White Rose store.
One of Crabtree’s proudest achievements was turning around the fortunes of the West Yorkshire store. “I spent 12 months going door-to-door, around doctors and dentists’ waiting rooms, bars and fish and chip shops to leave leaflets. I brought in operators to help train staff. I knew the cruise industry was rising. It was really successful. We tripled our cruise sales in less than a year.”
She was promoted to regional cruise coordinator in 2009, responsible for boosting sales in 32 other stores across four regions.
