The agency, based in Milltown, Dublin, will cater for clients looking to book high-end, luxury getaways with a specialist agent.
The store will operate on an appointment-only basis, with customers being able to "hire" the space for a certain amount of time for a one-to-one booking experience with one of four agents.
Speaking to TTG, McKenna, who is also chief executive of Tour America, said she is eager to take on more staff. "I can’t get the staff in – or trained – quick enough to be honest," she said.
"We have already taken on some new staff, all of which are high calibre, worldwide experienced agents. When we launched the brand in June 2022 I said I would look for and employ the best, and that hasn’t changed."
McKenna said The Travel Suite was born from an uptick in demand in the local area from customers looking for a "more personal" booking experience.
"We are seeing a broad range of product doing well, such as Tenerife, Gran Canaria, cruises, Australia, Bali, Thailand, it’s a real mix but it is all high end, high price bookings," McKenna continued.
"For us, it is not about getting a high volume of bookings or booking the most people, it’s about doing the right thing for the customer."
And the Milltown store is far from the end of The Travel Suite’s venture onto the high street, with McKenna already eyeing plans to launch a second premises in Galway.
"I have employed a very senior person in Galway to lead the operation, which is the next step for us. It will be the exact same, and that will hopefully be opening in three months’ time," McKenna explained.
"There has been many ups and downs and nothing is easy. When I came in this morning I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in the team.
"It takes so much more than one person to start something like this and the team have been amazing. I’m feeling really excited, the dream has come true and reality has hit hard now. There were times I thought I would give up, but now I’m here."
