Latest news with #CharlotteCullinan
TTG
a day ago
- Business
- TTG
Railbookers' new trade team, agent tools and incredible portfolio In The Spotlight
Video transcript With Railbookers' head of trade sales and development – UK, Raj Mistry and TTG Media's Charlotte Cullinan. Charlotte: Welcome to our In The Spotlight video with Railbookers. Raj, let's start by talking about the trips and destinations that are proven popular for departures this year, and tell us how far in advance – or even last-minute – agents can book with you. Raj: Thank you so much for having me on here with yourself, and TTG as well. So I think if you look at some of our top-selling destinations that we have this year for 2025, we have the likes of Switzerland, we have Italy. These are our most popular ones that we always have. But then we've had Norway, and Scandinavia – it's phenomenal in terms of what it's offering. Portugal and then Canada, these are our top five selling areas at the moment. But globally, we're offering lovely independent tailormade holidays throughout the globe. And as you can appreciate, we are seeing a number of clients booking a lot later, so we can do last-minute bookings as well as booking out as far as 2027, so two years out. Charlotte: Fabulous. Thank you. And give us an idea of what a Railbookers holiday looks like. Raj: Think of us as a tour operator. We include anything that a tour operator offers. So think of us offering hotels, your flights, your sightseeing, with transfers and rail being the main component of the holiday. This is the key thing that we're doing. So when you think of Railbookers, it's anything that a customer wants, in a tailormade itinerary. So whether it be a short stay or a multi-centre holiday, going coast-to-coast journeys, or a luxury trip of a lifetime along some of the iconic routes around the world, this is what we do. We can also add rail. This is quite an important part for those clients who don't want to fly. We can add rail from the UK travelling into continental Europe. We can add rail from the UK stations as well, which is quite exciting. So it makes that convenience of a trip and again, especially for those clients who don't want to fly. Charlotte: Thank you. And not all agents will be aware of everything they can do with Railbookers, including your luxury products, so tell us what's available across your portfolio. Raj: So again, when you look at our what we do, our relationships include a lot of the national rail companies in Europe, in North America and Canada. So when you're considering the wide range of holidays that we include, they do include luxury rail journeys, hotels and companies that have some world-leading portfolios. Just giving you a few examples here. So you've got customers that may want to combine something like your Swiss railways with the Bernina and Glacier Express, VIA Rail in Canada with the Rocky Mountaineer, the Indian railways with The Maharajas' Express. Or if you're traveling in Italy, you've got Trenitalia in Italy with the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. These are all classic rail journeys, but then we combine those with our great range of properties across the globe, ranging from say, Mecure, Holiday Inns, Hiltons, through to luxury brands like Fairmont, Intercontinental and Kimpton hotels. And then the key thing – what makes the holiday – is the experiences on the ground. So the sightseeing, which can be very immersive, and they can be either part of group, or they can be individual and private to the client. Charlotte: Thank you. And tell us how you're supporting agents. Raj: There's two in our team. We've got Levi, who's our key account manager, and myself, who's heading up the trade team. We're here to support all of our agent partners and continue to grow successful partnerships Levi and I, providing some very bespoke training to each of our travel partners, depending on what they are looking for in terms of training and understanding of our brand, our product depth and the offering that we offer. We're offering a lot of virtual training. We're offering the opportunity to meet at conferences and things like that as well. So really an opportunity to do that. But also, we are seeing a number of our travel partners looking at doing virtual consumer events as well. So these are things that we can offer for a lot of the agent partners. Charlotte: Thank you. And finally, I know you have a really useful travel agent toolbox. What will agents find in that and how can they access it? Raj: So our travel agent portal has a wealth of downloadable material. So we have what we call our Travel Agent Reference Card. This is a very simple guide that agents can take, they can download and use it as a day-to-day reference for all destinations that we cover. But then we have downloadable flyers and brochures for the likes of Switzerland, Italy, Australia, Canada, and customisable flyers as well. So if they want to do particular itineraries you'll see those in their social media assets and a lot more. All they need to do is go into the top right-hand side of our website, click on the little figure and on there, just pop in there their Abta number and the email address and they'll be able to access all that information.
TTG
30-05-2025
- Business
- TTG
The Travel Network Group's rebrand and new chapter In The Spotlight
Video transcript With Gary Lewis, chief executive at The Travel Network Group and TTG Media's Charlotte Cullinan. Charlotte: Welcome to our In The Spotlight video with The Travel Network Group. Gary, you are making an announcement about your managed services proposition. Talk us through that and what you offer members. Gary: Hi, Charlotte. Yeah, very simply, we have two managed service propositions, the Global Travel Group and Worldchoice+. And what we find is we need simplicity and clarity when people are looking to join The Travel Network Group organisation, and by calling it The Travel Network Group Managed Services, allows us to say, this is enabling you as a business to have the benefits of a managed service – which is the finance function – all controlled, ran by us, to allow you to focus on sales and marketing. And we just happen to have two options. And there's some subtleties why you would choose one or the other, but we don't want to get into that at the first part. So clarity and simplification is why we're doing the rebrand. Charlotte: Perfect, thank you. And what do you think sets your managed services apart from other options in the market? And tell us how you're fostering a sense of community among your members as well. Gary: It's the largest – Global and Worldchoice+ put together – making the largest managed service, so therefore we've got the best back office technology to enable us to do that. But the key that sets us apart, is by being a member of our managed service proposition, means that you're a member automatically of The Travel Network Group, and by being a member of The Travel Network group, you get access to everything. That's the commercials, that's all the free marketing that goes on with that. That's the technology, that's the support. And specifically, it's the people. Access to the people focusing on your needs as an individual member. Regarding community, we have a vision. And that vision simply states it. Our vision is to create a community of inspirational leaders that open the world up to life changing experiences, and to create a community and understanding. It comes into our vision of customer service. It is about building emotional relationships and being there and being able to support them on every step of that journey that our individual members are on. So the behaviours required across our organisation to support that community, build that emotional intelligence and emotional relationship, is the focus we have completely as our number one objective. Charlotte: Thank you. And I know customer service is very important to The Travel Network Group. Could you explain your approach there? Gary: It is the number one focus we have as an organisation. We recruit, we train every single person in our business to understand what customer service actually is, and customer service is actually building an emotional relationship in those moments of truth. Whether you're talking to them through email, how you are meeting, greeting is obvious, but speed of response, professionalisation, easy to do business with – the key measures that we train, recruit, and, of course measure our people against. Charlotte: Brilliant. Thank you. And how are you helping your members stay competitive in an ever-growing market? Gary: Understanding that members grow one customer at a time and decline one customer at a time, and getting that message across to our membership is the priority. But obviously being able to give them stuff to enable that growth, whether that's a business development action plan, whether that's a focus on a strategy, whether that's a decision on a part of the market, whether it is training or developing an individual around sales, around custom service or around product. It is really understanding what that member needs for their specific next step of their growth journey. Charlotte: Wonderful. Thank you. And finally, what kind of support do agents receive? Gary: I think I've listed some already, commercials, marketing, training academy – all the plumbing of your business whether that's your merchant inquiry, your banking, your insurance products, your disruption covers. But the key is the expertise and support from us as people and individuals. It's the people that make a difference. It's saying and doing what we say we're going to do, to deliver against that for that individual member.
TTG
19-05-2025
- TTG
Everything you need to know about Ponant Explorations' luxury icebreaker, Le Commandant Charcot
Charlotte Cullinan When designing Le Commandant Charcot, Ponant Explorations set out to create a vessel that could venture further afield, to places where 'few others dare to go'. The ship is capable of sailing to some of the planet's most inaccessible regions, helmed by seasoned captains with extensive expertise in ice navigation. In the Arctic, its destinations include the North Pole, and it is one of the few passenger vessels in the world capable of reaching 90° North Greenland. Its programme also includes a trans-arctic between two of the four north poles, and Antarctica, including the Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula. Facilities and excursions Onboard guests enjoy an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, conservatory, panoramic restaurant, Main Lounge, Observation Lounge and lobby. Each shared space has been designed to convey discreet French-style luxury, with a focus on natural light and open spaces, which let the extraordinary polar landscapes take centre stage. When they leave the ship, customers are immersed in polar experiences such as kayaking, snowshoeing, polar plunges, zodiac excursions and dog sledding, which vary by the cruise and itinerary. Suites and staterooms Carrying up to 245 guests, Le Commandant Charcot boasts 123 suites and staterooms, each boasting a private balcony or terrace, meaning your customers will feel as though they are sailing on a private yacht. The aft of decks six and seven feature four 94-square-meter, split-level suites with private terraces and Jacuzzis. On deck eight, the 115-square-metre Suite de l'Armateur (Shipowner's Suite) offers panoramic views through expansive sliding glass doors that open onto a 186-square-metre private terrace. Culinary excellence This is also the only vessel to feature a gastronomic restaurant curated by Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, meaning your clients can have an exquisite dining experience in the heart of the polar regions. The menu features healthy, refined and elegant dishes, while a second restaurant and a grill also serve wholesome, gourmet fare. Environmental stewardship This hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel is powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), meaning it excels in safe and low-impact polar navigation. Le Commandant Charcot is the world's first passenger ship with a Polar Class 2 (PC2) ice-strengthened hull, allowing it to navigate drifting sea ice and reach the most remote and isolated regions, when conditions permit. Protecting polar ecosystems and coastal sea ice remains a top priority for the team, who focus on more responsible exploration, which they believe hinges on 'expertise, innovation, humility before nature, collaboration with local communities and a commitment to minimal environmental impact.'
