The office suite will be run on an appointment basis, with clients able to book a slot to discuss their holiday plans with one of Off Broadway’s Kent-based homeworkers.
It will be managed by Mark Beattie, personal travel consultant and Kent and homeworking lead, who has been based in Ashford on a part-time basis for a number of years.
"Mark has been getting a lot of clients in the area so it made sense to open him a luxury travel by appointment lounge because his client base is growing," Off Broadway founder Tricia Conroy Smith told TTG. "We are very excited.
"We went into the pandemic with one homeworker, and we’ve come out with five. A couple of them are based in Kent so it means they now have a home, and bring clients in to have travel by-appointment sessions."
Conroy Smith also believes the new appointment-only space will give customers "peace of mind" over concerns regarding social distancing and Covid-19.
Alongside the new in-person appointments, Off Broadway also plans to revive its home-based meeting scheme for clients, with slots available outside of the "normal 9am to 5pm working day".
"We understand that the ‘new normal’ has resulted in a lot of change in working environments across all industries, and we believe that offering morning and evening appointments at clients homes is something that will now be more sought after than it perhaps had been five years ago," Conroy Smith added.
"We are very excited about the future of travel, especially after such a turbulent 18 months. We are excited to see how the Luxury Travel Lounge will be received, not only by Mark’s loyal clients but also prospective clients in and around Tenterden.
"We are also excited by the continued growth in our Welwyn office, despite the last 18 months. We are very happy to have acquired plenty of new clients over that timeframe whom now see the huge value of booking with a travel agent as opposed to booking online and then having to deal with call- centres when problems arise."
Conroy Smith also reported a recent increase in business, with new enquiries coming in for 2022 and 2023.
"Like the rest of the industry, we sincerely hope that business continues to go from strength to strength, without any more setbacks," she added. "And we believe that there is a fantastic opportunity for continued growth with the new lounge in Tenterden."
