The agency, which was founded in Surrey, has branches in Oxted, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Knutsford and now Chorleywood after it acquired Hertfordshire agency Ultimate Destinations in May.
Head of Retail Tricia Lester told TTG she "could not have wished for a better start" for the Chorleywood shop, which has been selling holidays all summer despite the renovation work being carried out there.
"We took on Ultimate Destinations in May and very quickly put up an Ashdown Travel fascia to show we were there, but we closed the store and gutted it before reopening it up again," said Lester.
"We officially opened the shop on Wednesday (2 September) but we've had staff selling holidays there. It's been going really well. I could not have wished for a better start. The staff there have really put through the numbers.
"The summer has definitely picked up after a quiet few months. There are definitely customers who just want to get on with it and book their holidays."
Lester said staff at Chorleywood were booking "a real mix" of holidays, not just late bookings for this year. "I think the strong sales we're seeing are going to continue into September," she added.
Ashdown Travel currently has three staff in the Chorleywood shop but is about to start recruiting for a part-time sales consultant to work in the branch three days a week after a member of staff who worked there when it was owned by Ultimate Destinations left the business.
"We're looking for someone with high street experience," explained Lester. "The staff there at the moment are all ex-Ultimate Destinations. They have been an absolute dream. There were new systems for them to use and training to complete, but they've picked it up straight away."
Asked how the commute from Kent to Hertfordshire was going, Lester joked: "The M25 is a real struggle – I'm not going to lie."
But she added: "We want to build around the new Chorleywood branch. We're looking to expand west of London so we can bridge the gap between Chorleywood and our Oxted shop in Surrey.
"We're in conversations with someone at the moment. It is looking good but I cannot say any more than that right now."
Lester confirmed staff would not move around between shops depending on where demand is strongest but did say that they would be rotated if a particular branch's team had been weakened through sickness or annual leave.
Lester joined Ashdown from Baldwins Travel last year when the agency went out of business after 130 years, bringing Baldwins' Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks teams with her and growing Ashdown's network to three stores.
Its fourth branch followed in January when the group's Eden Luxury Travel operation in Knutsford was rebranded as an Ashdown Travel shop.
