Nicole Eaves opened Garstang Travel in Lancashire 35 years ago this month. To celebrate the milestone, she treated her team to an all-expenses-paid trip to Iceland. Tom Parry hears the secrets of the agency’s success from its founder.
After more than three decades in business, you might assume Garstang Travel’s 35th anniversary bash would be a fairly reserved occasion, involving a few drinks and a bit of cake.
But that’s not the style of founder and director Nicole Eaves, who believed the impressive anniversary – on January 31 – called for a more memorable celebration.
Which is why she whisked her 10-strong team off to Iceland for a celebratory trip in December, taking in a “monster truck” superjeep ride through the wilderness in search of the northern lights, among other activities.
She planned the “action-packed” adventure, spanning 48 hours, with the help of supplier partners chipping in with expenses.
“I wanted to show my appreciation, create memories and have some fun,” Eaves told TTG.
“Despite Iceland ranking as one of our top-selling short-haul destinations, none of the team had ever visited.”
Sipping prosecco in the Blue Lagoon with a mud mask, a private tour of the Golden Circle and dining at a top Reykjavik restaurant could be considered more lavish than your average fam trip, but the fun event paid off, with store manager Claire Donnelly bagging a £3,500 Iceland booking just four days after returning home.
“It was our exact itinerary,” laughed Eaves. “Claire’s first-hand knowledge and enthusiasm for the destination really helped bring the booking to life and get the sale.”
Eaves’ love for her team is clear. “They are all so loyal and dedicated – three have been with us [for] more than 25 years,” she said.
The bulging ranks of Garstang today seems a world away from when the shop first opened its doors on January 31, 1984.
It was a time when Eaves had “big dreams and big hair”. “Think Farrah Fawcett,” she chuckled.
Having spent five years working in a travel agency in Blackpool, she partnered with her mum, Joan (pictured left), and opened Garstang Travel in the Lancashire town, 10 miles north of Preston.
But just a year in tragedy struck when Joan passed away at the age of 50 from cancer. “It was devastating,” Eaves recalled. “Having to deal with the death of my mum and run a new business, single-handedly. I’d been thrown in at the deep end and had to learn quickly.”
But Eaves persevered, and the business went from strength to strength. “It was down to hard work, determination and a will to succeed,” she said proudly. “It was a great time in travel, when people used to queue out of the door on a Saturday to book lates.”
With the rise of the OTAs in the mid-1990s, Eaves “moved away from the bargain hunters” to focus on tailor-made, adventure and long-haul.
“It really has paid off,” she said, with Garstang organising its own escorted departures ever since a 40-passenger tour of Austria sold out in two weeks in 2013.
In 2014 Garstang underwent a £30,000 shop refurbishment, which helped to create buzz in the local area. “Clients like to see you doing well and investing in the future,” she said.
The investment paid dividends two years later as the agency was named the UK and Ireland’s top agency at the inaugural TTG Top 50 awards in 2016.
“It was a major game changer for our business, and the recognition we received helped us attract new clients from far and wide, as well as locally,” she said. “It was lovely to see our community so proud of the business and the team.”
Since then, Eaves has not sat still, with a recently refreshed shop in November. “High street travel agents are here to stay – I believe that so strongly – and there’s a great future for the smaller player with a will to do well,” she smiled.