Pandemic-hit travel pro wins Great British Franchisee Award
27-August-2021
Travel agent and cruise specialist Sharon Allen has just won a Great British Franchisee Award - despite the fact that her income and livelihood have been devastated by the pandemic.
The award was not made of sympathy for the owner of GoCruise & Travel in Grimsby but in recognition of her resilience and the unpaid work she’s done to help clients and keep the public informed of the ever-changing travel restrictions.
Sharon, a career travel professional with a First-Class Honours degree in Tourism Operations and Marketing, and a decade’s experience or working in the travel industry , became the Go Cruise and Travel top franchisee in 2019 and thought everything would be plain sailing… until the pandemic torpedoed her industry and it took most people’s hopes of any kind of travel down with it.
“It’s been very tough,” she says, in what could easily win a separate award for understatement of the year. “It’s been very challenging, to say the least, and we’ve been hit very hard.
“We were determined to be here at the end of it and pulled the business back to do what we need to ensure we were still standing when travel started again. We had to shut the shop and work from home and that resilience and adaptability has shone through.
“We’ve worked long hours and customer service has come to the fore, making sure all our clients are being taken care of was all that was important.
“We had to cancel bookings, arrange refunds, rebook holidays and customer care was our only focus, but I am very proud that every client was called back on the same day, and everyone got a full refund or their holiday rebooked.
“We’re still very much locked down as there’s very little for us to sell at this stage, and hoops to jump through for those wishing to get away.
“We had customers all over the world when the pandemic hit. It was such a relief when they all got back home. We had some clients on a cruise ship in South America and it took many emails, phone calls and days to get them back safely as the ship wasn't allowed to disembark anywhere, it was such a relief when they landed back in the UK"
Sharon, who once won a retail unit in a shopping centre in a business competition, spent a lot of time sitting on her own at home trying to source and demystify the latest travel restriction information for her clients, then realised she should make it available to everyone via social media out of public-spiritedness.
With so much uncertainty still in the travel industry, Sharon is determined to bounce back - but, in the meantime, she’s thrilled with her award.
“Someone outside the industry has recognised what we’ve done to get where we are,” she says. “That recognition means a lot after a tiring and challenging 18 months. We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved.”
The Great British Franchisee Awards recognise franchisees’ exceptional performance and business experience, ability to drive business growth, staff retention, customer satisfaction, community involvement, inspired leadership, and franchise involvement.
The awards are run by whichfranchise, supported by Lloyds Bank, BDO, AMO Consulting and Chantry Group.
• Read more about the awards at https://www.whichfranchise.com/awards
• For over 25 years, whichfranchise has promoted ethical franchise opportunities in the UK. Learn more at https://www.whichfranchise.com/