Hannah Szabo-Toth has hit £2 million in sales in 2026, quadrupling the £500,000 she achieved last year – her first year working in the travel industry.

The achievement marks a significant milestone for the 26-year-old advisor, who has progressed from concierge duties into a full-time sales role at Sarah Ives Luxury Travel, taking responsibility for around a third of the agency's top client relationships.

Before entering travel, Szabo-Toth spent five years working at a cosmetics company in London. Having grown up travelling extensively with her family, she had always "loved the research" that went behind a trip.

"My guilty pleasure was always a nice holiday," she says. "That led to planning trips for me and my partner, then my family, then my friends. Pursuing it as a career just made sense."

'The job isn't for everyone – it's 24/7'

After struggling to secure a role without industry experience, she contacted Ives, whom she had followed on Instagram for several years, to ask for advice on breaking into the industry. It was opportune timing, as Ives was looking for someone to join her business.

"She could tell that I genuinely cared, and that I was hungry," Szabo-Toth says of her colleague. "The job isn't for everyone. It's very 24/7, high stress, and our clients are ultra-high-net-worth."

The agency has since grown into a four-person team, with Szabo-Toth taking on a mix of concierge, sales and marketing responsibilities before moving into sales full-time in February. 

Last year, the business underwent a rebrand, launched a new website and invested in its social media presence. This strategy included visits to luxury properties to film destination content – Szabo-Toth recalls how, earlier this year, she spent two weeks working with a professional videographer in France to create promotional content of the recently opened Rosewood Courchevel.

The campaign, which had a £5,000 budget, generated £500,000 in bookings. "After that, we invested in some professional kit and decided to pursue our own filming," she explains. "That was a real turning point for the business."

'We nearly hit £1 million sales in one day'

The sales milestone has come against a backdrop of strong demand from the agency’s wealthy clientele, despite concerns earlier in the year about the impact of geopolitical uncertainty on travel.

Szabo-Toth says the agency was "worried at first" that developments in the Middle East could prompt a downturn similar to the Covid period. Instead, she has seen clients determined to make the most of their opportunities to travel.

"Life's too short to hold back on making those memories,” she says, recalling one day – following Donald Trump's announcement that the US had planned military strikes against Iran – when the agency generated almost £1 million in sales.

Hannah Szabo-Toth

Szabo-Toth believes the agency's biggest differentiator is the personal service it provides. "We know their birthdays, what temperature they like their room when they arrive, how to make their favourite drinks," she says. "That makes a difference, especially in the luxury space.”

She adds that the agency's "fun and friendly" approach helps build relationships with partners around the world. "We've made friends with everyone, which means they go above and beyond for our clients," she adds.

That personal approach also means recognising when a prospective client is not the right fit. "Agents shouldn't feel pressured to convert every enquiry – especially when the budget or preferred level of luxury does not align with what they can offer," she says. 

"When it's appropriate, I'd refer a client onto an agency I think is a better fit."

'What kind of company do we want to be?'

With the agency's sales targets already exceeded for this year, Szabo-Toth says the next challenge is deciding how the business should grow.

"We're kind of at the point where we're thinking: what kind of company do we want to be?," she says. "Do we want to be a small boutique company? Do we want to build it?"

The pair are also working towards a closer business partnership, and Szabo-Toth is keen to experience more of the world – beyond the many trips she takes for work.

Over the next five years, she hopes to spend time living abroad, discovering new countries and gaining a deeper understanding of destinations that could benefit both her career and her clients.

"I love what I do," she says. "I love my job, I love planning amazing trips and working with amazing people. I'm excited to see where it goes."