Once in a Lifetime Holidays’ Joan Jones shares agency’s secret to growth

I got into travel… when I left college and started working for my dad’s friend’s travel agency – and I haven’t looked back since. After taking a career break to travel in Australia for 10 months, I worked my way up across various agencies such as Designer Travel and 360 Private Travel. My final role before founding my own company was head of business development at Spear Travels.

I started my business… six years ago after realising I wanted to get back to the roots of what I love about travel, which is looking after clients and booking holidays. My grandfather had left me some money and I could never find the right thing to spend it on. He was a humble, hardworking man so I think he’d be very proud. I registered the business on his birthday.

I’ve grown the business… through word-of-mouth referrals. We started trading around six months before the pandemic, which some would say was terrible timing, but it allowed us to demonstrate our knowledge and how good we are at looking after people. Word spread quickly about our high service, and our client base has gone from strength to strength. Last year, we did some business coaching to become absolutely crystal clear on the clients that we want, so while we’ve probably taken a step back in terms of numbers, we’ve taken a huge leap forward in higher-value, higher-quality, higher-commission bookings and knowing our direction for the next five years. We had our best January ever this year and our average booking value increased by 25%.

The area of the business growing the most is… tailor-made, experiential travel. I think clients now are looking for more than just luxury beach holidays – they want more adventure.

The suppliers we have the strongest relationships with are… a real mix. I think it’s important to match the client to the operator based on the people and their knowledge, rather than it being our favourite.

My proudest career achievement is… winning the award for Luxury Homeworking Business of the Year: Small at the Aspire Awards in 2024.

My biggest industry bugbear is... Travel agents that match online prices, as it devalues the professionalism and service that a good travel agent can bring to a client.