Former Hoseasons trade lead Sally Henry said the team of four’s experience was "literally second to none" after she joined the agency’s senior management team.

"Born out of the pandemic", Doors2Manual debuted on Monday (15 November) staffed by four current and former members of Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Titan cabin crew working a mixture of part- and full-time hours. They are Laura Reynolds, Fiona Mallinson, Janna Beech and Elaine Graham.

Henry said the agency, which has been set up under the Hays Travel Independence Group banner, would be able to advise on – and book – all holiday enquiries, but stressed the team’s strength lay in their "phenomenal" long-haul expertise.

"They will add real value for clients planning long-haul trips," said Henry. "But they will be able to book anything and everything. Some of our crew are absolute Disney fanatics so they all have their specialisms."

Henry will oversee the agency’s launch and strategy. "Doors2Manual is different because of the crew’s travel experience," she continued. "Most of them have worked in the industry for more than 20 years – they have flown all over the world so their knowledge is literally second to none."

The idea, said Henry, was inspired by a want to help retain industry experience during a period when many of those working in travel faced an uncertain future owing to the pandemic, and potentially even redundancy.

"What we [the industry] faced was losing more of this passion, knowledge and experience," said Henry. "There weren’t many options for travel workers. Being able to repurpose that knowledge, or just help people change direction slightly, has been fantastic. It’s one of the plus points from the pandemic.

"This is about real people taking the plunge and using their knowledge to become entrepreneurs to create something new and different from within the industry – for the industry."

’Confidence’

Henry added there was still a "real need" among consumers for "full service" holiday planning, with travel restrictions still in place in some destinations.

"We’re not post-Covid yet," said Henry. "We’re still in a period where things are a bit confusing and could still change. People’s holidays are super important to them so we need to make sure we give people the confidence to travel again."

The homeworking agency has another two new starters joining in the coming fortnight and plans to hold interviews with potential candidates for the remainder of the week.