So far as 10th anniversary years go, La Vida’s couldn’t have been much better. The South Wales agency was named Wales’s Top Agency at the TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies ceremony for a second time in the spring, with a whole year of 10th anniversary celebrations culminating last month.

Around 500 staff, friends, family, clients and industry partners partied the night away at Newport’s Rodney Parade stadium – see La Vida’s Instagram stories for the full spectacle – while also raising almost £30,000 for charity.

“The whole evening exceeded my expectations,” Marin Reyes beams. “Everyone was so generous, there were tears, laughs and a lot of shaking for champagne – I lost count of the bottles of Moet being passed around the room.

“To finish the night with a full dancefloor knowing we had raised lots of money for charity, surrounded by my wonderful team plus family, friends and clients, I couldn’t have asked for more. The only issue we have now is that everyone is asking for a yearly celebration!”

The festivities typified La Vida’s “work hard, play hard” mentality, fuelled by Marin Reyes’ own sense of fun and the team’s mission to live up to the business’s name, inspired by Ricky Martin hit Livin’ La Vida Loca.

But the agency’s success was far from guaranteed. Marin Reyes started her travel career as an 18-year-old rep in Majorca for Harry Goodman’s International Leisure Group in the mid-1980s.

During her time in Spain, she gained two things – a husband and a life-long love for travel and the industry.

GOING SOLO

Marin Reyes went on to work for Lunn Poly and Going Places part-time while she raised her children, before striking out on her own in 2013.

“I just decided to bite the bullet and open my little independent,” she recalls. “My children were older and I thought, ‘let’s go for it!’.”

Ten years, 14 members of staff and two shops – in Newport and Cardiff – later, Marin Reyes credits her team’s dedication and the service they provide for the agency’s success. 

“We always pull together,” she says. “I’m the owner, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have a laugh together and support each other.

“Word of mouth has been so important for us. In Newport, I’ve only taken out one magazine advert in 10 years because we get recommended so often – and we’re busier now than ever.”

With business booming, could expansion be on the horizon as La Vida enters its second decade? Marin Reyes has thought hard about it, but there are no new La Vida shops on the horizon for now.

HIGHEST SERVICE

“I’d rather have quality over quantity – we know how difficult recruitment is in the industry at the moment,” she cautions. “We want to give the highest service we can offer, and I’m happy with two amazing stores that go above and beyond for our customers.”

Marin Reyes plans to redouble her focus on what the agency has now and ensure it continues to do what it does best. “I want everyone to be happy,” she smiles.

“We have an amazing team and lots of gorgeous customers – the recipe we’ve got definitely works.”