Not Just Travel agents Louise and Lee Trowbridge secured a booking for more than £200,000 for a group of 24 bell-ringers to Australia and New Zealand.
The couple, based in Stubbington, Hampshire, who have been with NJT for eight-and-a-half years, worked with Exsus Travel to organise the trip.
The bell-ringers will travel to 13 locations around Australia and New Zealand in October to ring bells, including Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Christchurch.
The booking came in through a recommendation from an existing client who books her holidays with the couple. She recommended Louise speak to one of the bell ringers, who books trips for his group every two years.
Louise said: “The organiser had strict rules and did a great deal of due diligence on us before he progressed to the quotation stage. We also met his needs in terms of emergency out-of-hours service and head office back-up through Not Just Travel. He knew exactly the itinerary the group were looking for, and so we worked with Exsus to put this together. Once the main itinerary and group quote had been agreed upon, that was when the personal variations started.”
Louise added that different group members wanted various bespoke itineraries, including trip extensions on both sides and various flight options.
“At one point, in the middle of January, during our busiest booking period of the year, we were dealing with eight different itineraries and having to requote the entire trip every time the group numbers changed. I was spinning a lot of plates! Working with a trusted supplier is key,” she explained.
Louise added: “I feel that bell-ringing groups could be an untapped, lucrative market. Niche group tours offer high-value repeat bookings, yet demand the highest amount of communication and organisational skills. I’ve been juggling a lot of spreadsheets!”
Exsus Sales Director Sinziana Renciuc said: “We were absolutely delighted to support Louise and Lee on this exceptional booking. Niche group travel like this perfectly demonstrates the how powerful agent and supplier collaboration can be.”
