Agents are used to welcoming on-the-road sales teams into their shops to learn more about the latest products hitting the market.

But few will have received product training sitting in a luxury motorhome parked up in a town centre or at the back of a pub or even next to a golf course before, all while enjoying a glass of Buck’s Fizz.

It was last November when the idea popped into Ancrzo sales director Shubhra Halliday’s head – to travel around the country in a motorhome, from Hertfordshire to Harrogate, promoting the operator’s 30th anniversary New Zealand brochure to agents.

"I had a meeting with [Anzcro parent] Tourism Holdings Limited and they said they had a Maui Ultima Plus motorhome in storage during the pandemic,” Halliday recalls. “They asked if they got it to me, could I use it?

"It was dropped off after the Top 50 Travel Agencies by TTG awards in Manchester back in April. I live in Hertfordshire so I had to drive it home somewhat tired.”

Keen to avoid any hitches when she hit the road, Halliday invited some local agents to her home to replicate what it would be like while she was on her travels as she reinvented what it means to be "on the road".

"I’ve got some really good agents local to me, so I did some training with some of them on my driveway before I got going,” she explains. “As I was at home, I could at least provide them with teas and coffees!"

The Monday after the awards, Halliday left the familiar confines of Hertfordshire and drove east to Essex where she met with the first of 54 agents that week.

“All the agents were amazing, but because some of the agencies were in towns, I had to request permission from the local authority to park up the motorhome,” Halliday tells TTG.

"I had to be really organised and think where I could meet people. I was basically away from home for a week. I invited people either for breakfast or an early dinner in the motorhome. I’d offer Buck’s Fizz and run to local cafes to grab breakfast. Everything had to be pre-prepared."

‘Unforgettable’

So what was it like to drive a motorhome around the country for a week and, in some ways, replicate some of Anzcro’s self-drive product? Despite roads "not geared up for motorhomes", things went smoothly. “It was an unforgettable experience,” Halliday enthuses. “It really was too good an opportunity to turn down.”

That’s not to say there weren’t any bumps in the road. “Because there was no electricity, I would have to go to caravan parks to connect to generators,” she says. “In Australia and New Zealand, there are generators are all over the country.”

One problem was constantly having to remind herself she wasn’t driving a "normal car". "Towards the end of my journey, I had to take a tight bend in Harrogate and I felt the motorhome shift a bit on the road," she recalls.

And despite stressing to agents and customers who stepped into the motorhome the importance of closing cupboards, not everyone listened.

"One customer forgot to lock the cupboard properly so when I started driving, all these flyers flew out,” Halliday continues. “I got to where I needed to be, looked around, and there were 200 flyers scattered behind me.”

Next year?

After Essex, Halliday drove to Kettering and then onwards to Nuneaton, where she held training in a pub car park. The journey continued to Uttoxeter, Lincoln, Newark and finally Harrogate, where Halliday left the motorhome before travelling to York for a friend’s hen do.

"The following day, I drove the motorhome home – I was sad to see it go," she admits. "It was so much fun. People didn’t expect to see this little head of mine behind the wheel.

"When I was stuck on the motorway, I had a plumber asking me some questions. I ended up giving him a brochure with all the details of the motorhome. Unfortunately, though, he’s not made a booking yet!"

She did get some enquiries, though, and is already planning another tour next year. "Some people were amazed by the height of the home," she says.

"One client, who is six foot two, said he had been previously put off hiring a motorhome because of his height, but he was able to lie down on the sofa. It gave an insight into how easy it was."

A month before Halliday hit the road, Anzcro recruited Luke Ingram as business development manager to support agents in the north of country. With Ingram now in position, Halliday believes the pair could drive the motorhome for a week each.

"Next year, we’ll probably do two weeks – I would like to do the southern area while Luke can do the north-west region across the M62 and possibly Wales,” she adds. “A lot of agents have asked to get involved next year!"