Great start to the year for Peakes Travel Elite

AITO (the Association of Independent Tour Operators) awarded Peakes Travel Elite with the Shining Star award at the AITO conference in January. It recognises their outstanding relationships and forward sales with specialist tour operators. Managing Director, Claire Moore, also won the Chairman’s Award for her outstanding contribution to luxury travel.

AITO has carried out a travel insights survey which revealed 86.5% of respondents said they would recommend Peakes to a friend or colleague and 85.7% rated their overall satisfaction with their last Peakes holiday as ‘very satisfied’. 91.9% would rate Peakes as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ value for money. When asked what they most value about the travel agent they book with, 86% said in-person appointments.

Claire Moore, managing director at Peakes Travel Elite, said she is delighted that customers see the value of their appointment service. “Our customers really embraced our move to an appointment only service. It means there’s no waiting around to see who’s free like the industry norm, instead, they have been booked in ahead of time with the most suited travel expert to help them plan their next holiday. We’re also happy for passersby to pop in to see if an appointment is available.

“Our luxury appointment space upstairs is perfect for taking a deep dive into holiday itineraries whilst video calling relevant tour operators from the comfort of the sofa with a nice drink in hand.

“We’re taking our appointment service one step further with our ‘Meet the Expert’ series of in-store events this year. Each of our events is dedicated to a particular country. We then source a subject matter travel operator expert and bring them to the store for a day of one-to-one appointments with our customers.”