Selling holidays from his South Wales home, Holloway made £100,000 in sales during his first month as a PTC. However, he couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that he could make more on the high street.
Holloway has long been a prolific seller; in fact, it was the high levels of bookings he was achieving while managing Hays's Cwmbran branch that prompted him to think about becoming a PTC.
He will open his shop in Abertillery on Wednesday (1 October) with his partner Ray Hudson-Evans, who also works for Hays as a forex sales development manager. “I'll be doing the selling, Ray will do the admin," Holloway told TTG.
The pair will be joined by a third member of staff recruited from South Wales miniple Travel House, which was acquired by Hays Travel in late 2023.
While Holloway's jump from retail into homeworking and then back into retail all happened in a matter of months, he's far from alone in recognising what many in travel see as renewed potential in the high street.
Hays Travel chief operating officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston is more than aware of the trail Holloways Travel and others are blazing.
“A lot of our [Hays Travel Independence Group] members are looking to increase their footprint, some of whom haven't been in retail are now exploring their options," he tells TTG. “At least one or two of our members approach us every month about investing in the high street.”
Hays Travel is currently supporting two Explorer Travel franchisees with their transition to independence group membership. Both hope to open high street branches before the end of this year.
Hays is far from the only agency bearing witness to this trend. Homeworking outfit Not Just Travel reveals to TTG it knows of at least five franchisees who have jumped onto the high street in the past 12 months.
These are Travel Chaps’ co-owners Matt and Ashley Phillips; Rachael and Colman Coyne; Let's Go owner Andy Richardson; Bagshot-based husband-and-wife duo Natasha and James Oliphant; and Aspire Travel boss Kelly Baldwin.
'We're attracting new customers'
Matt Phillips tells TTG launching a high street branch was always part of the plan. Travel Chaps opened its branch in Lincoln in the summer after a couple of years of homeworking.
“Our previous experience includes a lot of retail,” he says. “We always knew we would move into retail at some point. Retail was in our blood. We were previously restaurateurs."
Matt says he and Ashley became increasingly aware of people's desire for a “personal experience” when booking a holiday. "Customers want to come into a shop and for us to bring their holiday to life,” he explains. "Since we moved onto the high street we’ve started attracting different types of customers.
“We’ve got our existing database. But now, we have people who were aware of us before but hadn’t booked with us because they wanted that ‘front door’ experience. Having a shop has opened up different customer avenues."
Matt also believes having a retail space gives high street agents a “stamp of authority" that homeworkers perhaps lack.
'People buy from people'
Aspire's Baldwin, who has in the past year opened shops in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire, agrees. “People buy from people," she tells TTG. "The world is losing its personal touch, bank branches closing. People feel safe with the human touch."
Baldwin believes removing humans from interactions makes them “impersonal and irrelevant”. “To stay present, you need to have a presence," she says. "The people who book with us become our community."
Former homeworker Clare Stege opened her first CLS Travel shop in the Derby suburb of Littleover last Saturday (20 September). When TTG asks why she has decided to go into retail having operated a very successful homeworking business for the past decade, she says: “Some of the most frequent feedback I get from customers comes from those more elderly ones who say they can't book online. That is key. I still feel customers aged 55 and above still need, and want, help with their travel plans."
Holloway believes his customers have become more sceptical about booking online since the pandemic. “It’s really good for me," he insists. "A lot of my customers booked with me when I was a Personal Travel Consultant. Today, I had four enquiries from these customers."
'The demand is still there'
Baldwin is clearly confident she can keep growing rapidly. However, unlike Phillips, she admits having a shop – initially at least – was "never really part of the plan".
She’s currently identifying sites for her third and fourth shops, thanks in part to the levels of demand she is seeing at her two existing branches.
Holloway is no different despite having not officially opened his shop yet. “I’ve found a lot of established agencies like Tui, Travel House and Hays Travel have branches in towns where you would expect to find them,” he says. “All three have branches in Cwmbran – you could literally draw a triangle on the map.
"My expansion strategy is to get into towns where there used to be a travel agency like I’ve done in Abertillery. The premises we’re in is a former Tui branch.”
Halstead Travel owner Arline Sloan, another former homeworker, is confident her shop in Coggeshall, Essex, will be a success – and also about adding other shops quickly.
"The reason I decided to jump onto the high street is that I spoke to the people of Coggeshall, who said they would love a high street agency there,” she says. “There’s still demand for high street agencies.”
'Missing the banter'
Sloan, like Holloway, comes from a travel retail background having previously worked for Tui. Intriguingly, she says another reason for jumping onto Coggeshall high street stems from just how much she enjoyed running the Tui branch she used to work in as maternity cover.
"I had that banter with the customers when they came into the store,” she recalls. “Plus, when you're a homeworker, you can get quite lonely. I missed that face-to-face interaction with the customers. I really believe my new shop can do well. The area I’ve chosen sits right with me.”
Gary Gillespie, managing director at The Travel Network Group's Independent Travel Experts, has supported several members with their transition into retail in recent years.
He revealed on average, these members' year-on-year sales have increased by between 45% and 57%, driven by stronger local engagement, increased visibility, and the ability to build long-term relationships with customers in person.
Halstead Travel and CLS Travel are just two examples of TTNG members who have made the switch into retail.
"For many of our homeworkers, opening a retail space is an aspirational milestone," Gillespie explains. "Each of these businesses has seen a tangible increase in sales since making the move to the high street.
"While they’ve retained their online customer base, having a physical presence has enabled them to embed themselves within their communities, fostering trust and long-term relationships that are harder to build online."
Whether they are just about to open their first shop or are already well established on the high street, these ex-homeworkers will be hoping their seismic decisions prove to be successful.
