Welcome to the second edition of Brooklyn Bridge, think of it as the sequel nobody asked for but everyone secretly wanted! This issue is packed with the latest brand updates, brain-teasing quizzes, and just enough office gossip to keep things spicy (don't tell HR!).
Loud, proud, and probably listening to Lady Gaga
June’s arrived, which means it’s time to celebrate Pride Month – a real reminder that being your true self is always spot on (even if you’re joining the Teams call in your slippers). We proudly support our LGBTQ+ colleagues, customers, and community, not just this month but all year round.
£100 to your favourite restaurant
Answer the question below correctly for your chance to win:
Stars arrive, the cameras flash, I’m where films and fashion clash. On France’s coast, I steal the scene With yachts, red carpets, and a sheen. Where am I?
Email your answer to newsletter@brooklyntravel.com by 30 June.
Previous winner, Nicky
Here's our first edition’s winner, Nicky from North American Travel Services, celebrating with a well-deserved family dinner!
Words from the Directors
Welcome to the second edition of our in-house publication, Brooklyn Bridge.
the Bridge A VIEW FROM Recruitment
This space will be where we talk of significant corporate developments, these however do not happen every day, therefore in the absence of new news, we shall use this to answer any questions anyone has (if we know the answer!). Questions are most welcome on any topics and may be asked anonymously or not, your choice. All you have to do is email your question to newsletter@brooklyntravel.com and we'll do the rest!
Following from edition one, a number of people have asked, why are we Brooklyn Travel? There are two answers to that.
Firstly, it is a Companies House thing – it shows that we are a group of connected businesses from a structure perspective but it is not a customer facing brand, its holding company. This is normal practice; Facebook's holding company is Meta, Google's holding company is Alphabet, and British Airways' holding company is IAG. The second reason we have a holding company visible internally is to reinforce that although separate, we are one family of companies. The name Brooklyn is intended to be a sort of "bridge" between all of our different companies in their different places of business. As in all families, no one member is more valued than the other, irrespective of how long they have been related.
Best, Duncan, Rick & Brian
Help us grow: your referral could be a top hire!
Know someone perfect for the team? Refer them through our Refer a Friend scheme, and if they join, you could earn up to £1,000!
Contact HR: hr@brooklyntravel.com
Scan or click here for more info on our careers page
Brooklyn Travel
Big Summer Sessions
The Elf Song is still streaming across the world, and the updated royalties total is now $206.32. After all, who doesn't love a Christmas song? But the streaming doesn't stop there.
Summer is officially here - cue rain and gales in the UK and Ireland - and the team's directive is clear: “We must keep streaming!” Now it's your turn to add to our official Big Summer Sessions Spotify playlist.
Scan or click the QR code to the left, then tap the + button and add your ultimate summer hit!
Where on holiday? SHOULD I GO
What's the vibe?
Yes
Wellness No Yes I like the outdoors
START HERE I love sunshine holidays Privacy Party And the beach?
I prefer adventure
IBIZA EGYPT
Just a little I want somewhere rich in culture No I just want to island hop
I still like luxury
SKI IN THE DOLOMITES
VILLA HOLIDAY
MEET THE Team
Ever wondered what it’s like behind the scenes at My Canada Trips? Meet the Glasgow-based team turning moose jokes and maple leaf daydreams into actual holidays.
The chaos behind booking ONE trip to Canada
It takes a village (and about 37 Teams messages) to book just one perfect trip to Canada. Marketing reels you in with dreamy emails full of bears and Banff views, Product negotiates prices like their lives depend on it, and Sales – well, Sales is on the phone turning moosecurious browsers into fully booked adventurers. It’s organised chaos. It’s teamwork. It’s Canada, eh?
Auto-replies we wish we could
use!
“Out of office until someone finally spells Saskatchewan correctly.”
Long before the lanyards…
While Pauline has been beach-ready since day one, now she sends the rest of us there. Meanwhile, baby Kevin was clearly adorable – not that you'd guess it from the version we’ve got in the office now. Richard, back in his younger days in Cambodia, was facing gun threats to dim down a party – yes, Richard was partying! Jennifer was camping in Canada long before she worked here and learned the hard way that bears love snacks and scented moisturiser.
Name: Sean Smith
Favourite Canadian destination: Banff, Alberta
My secret travel tip is: Pack an extension cord. Always.
On my bucket list: Whitewater rafting in the Rockies, see some polar bears, visit the historical Hart House and Stampede in Calgary.
Trip highlight: Someone forgot their towel on the VIA Rail. I saw more Canada than expected...
Name: Gavin Dorn
Favourite Canadian destination: Banff – to feel on top of the world!
My secret travel tip is: Try dinner at Terra, Jasper – local produce, great cocktails, and stretchy pants required.
On my bucket list: Tofino, Vancouver Island –beaches & bears!
Trip highlight: Granville Island, Vancouver – grab lunch, sip drinks, and enjoy the buskers.
Name: Vicki Kennedy
Favourite Canadian destination: Vancouver, British Columbia
My secret travel tip is: Always carry local currency for tips.
On my bucket list: Road trippin' on Vancouver Island and in the Canadian Rockies.
Trip highlight: Sunset at Cactus Club in English Bay, British Columbia – pure magic!
Name: Karen King
Favourite Canadian destinations: Vancouver & Newfoundland
My secret travel tip is: Pack like you're running for a gate. Because you probably will be.
On my bucket list: See the polar bears of Churchill.
Trip highlight: I’m directionally loyal to the whole country. Team Canada!
Pauline
Jennifer
Richard
My workday starts with...
A cup of coffee and letting the dogs out for a pee.
My workday starts with a triple shot and 135 bpm.
Either folding laundry or washing up! Window shopping in Princes Square.
The noise of cars & buses! Kevin’s questionable jokes...
My go-to break activity is... My background noise is... Today’s outfit is...
Pyjamas yet again. Complimented by a sweater on team call days.
Whatever t-shirt is the least creased.
My essential desk item is...
A colour-coded coaster for every drink.
My “Fixer of Everything” desk sign.
RACE ACROSS THE World
Gillian M
�� Bristol (370 miles)
Arrived with lost luggage, left with borrowed boots and too much cider.
Yvonne �� Iceland (850 miles)
Julie �� France (920 miles)
Gave skiing a bash. Came doon like a snowman on a night out.
Paid triple for a Northern Lights trip and missed them. But then spotted them from the airport bus.
Who in the team has travelled furthest this year?
Kelsey �� Las Vegas (5,080 miles)
People flipping through the air in Cirque du Soleil, and I was just trying not to spill my drink!
Simon �� China (4,910 miles)
Became a tourist attraction. Apparently, gingers are rare in Beijing.
Laura M �� South Africa (5,980 miles)
No luggage, posh dinner, and 48 hours in travel joggers. Iconic.
Cheryl Carol
Laura H
Abigail Angel
OfficeAFFAIRS
April, the month of all months, took us by surprise, delivering a sales performance so strong it felt like a second January – finishing nearly 90% up and smashing all records! On top of that, our team ventured to Europe travelling to Spain, Croatia, and Greece to explore the best of our villa portfolio.
Team achievements
One of our resort managers in Greece is secretly an author! Writing as Joy Sky, their book Clueless in Croatia had Donna from Sales rushing to Amazon in the search of travel tips and plot twists.
News from Ayr
It’s been a busy spring for Stewart Travel as we’ve been out and about doing what we do best! Our Online department is growing stronger every day, and we’re just getting started. We’re also excited to welcome Sam Smith as Manager in Forge, along with new faces Sommer Manson, Hannah Stenhouse, Charlene McGurk, Georgia Glen and Demi Stewart. Great things are ahead – watch this space!
This is our favourite time of year. Long summer days means golf after work as well as weekends... It is also peak departure season ensuring our clients enjoy unforgettable golf holidays across the world! April and May have been our busiest departure months on record.
Team achievements
Huge thanks to the Customer Service team for their hard work handling pre-travel queries with care... and a lot of patience!
The HR team have implemented a new HR system, Employment Hero. Thanks for your patience while we get everyone on the system and the data moved from People HR. By the time you are reading this, hopefully all 543 of us will be live on EH! As we have bid a fond farewell to Susie Adams and Erin Rusk, the HR team now comprises of Lois McMurtrie (Head of HR) in Glasgow and Georgia Wilson (HR Manager), and Louise Apicella (HR Admin) across Glasgow and Ayr.
We’ve got all the latest updates from our brands across the board. From exciting news to behind-the-scenes moments, we’re sharing a bit of everything happening in our offices. Grab a cuppa and have a read!
It's been a busy few months in the cruise calendar, with the CLIA Cruise Conference – the largest annual travel event in Europe. This year, 17 of our team are attending the trade fair, conference sessions, and ship visits. CLIA recently announced that the UK cruise market hit a new milestone, with UK holidaymakers taking a record 2.4 million cruises... exciting times ahead!
Team achievements
Nicola Boyd marked her 30th, Andy Lewis enjoyed turning 40, Karoline Barrett celebrated her 50th and Codie McIntyre is officially 21! Happy birthday to all!
We have been busy riding the early summer sales wave, launching Canada mailers, booking The Ghan train adventures, and welcoming new faces, all while prepping for a strong push into late 2025.
We’re also excited to welcome Carol Francis, who has recently joined our team of Canada Experts.
Julie’s
35 years - as solid as the Rocky Mountains!
What do Retail and My Canada Trips departures and a Celtic takeover in Las Vegas have in common? Team Admin! We've been busy behind the curtain, making ticket magic happen for summer getaways and legendary conventions. It's all go, no slow – hail hail and pass the sunscreen!
It may be Summer, but our team continues to spread the festive cheer all year long by booking families their dream trips to see Santa. And, with it being halfway to Christmas this month, the countdown to the most magical time of year has officially begun!
Team achievements
Behind the scenes, our website is getting a sparkling refresh, with the new look set to be unwrapped in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
OfficeAFFAIRS
We are delighted to have a “white label” of the Villa Select offering now on our website. A big thank you to the Web team for getting this over the line. Last week our Facebook following got over the 5k mark – not bad from a standing start, not that long ago.
Team achievements
Shay Browne won a cocktail making competition at the Irish Travel Agents Association's annual conference in Portugal. Who said men can’t multitask!
We are excited to welcome new team members Mariana Ramas and Taylor Chamberlin, who’ve settled in brilliantly! Some of the team are back from Lapland, exploring resorts while enjoying some winter activities – and even catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights! We recently celebrated Carl SmartSmith and Steven Smith’s fifth work anniversaries.
News from Glasgow
No post-peaks respite for the Marketing team! With 782 e-shots, over 400,000 direct mailers, 14 million messages sent and countless digital “assets” (website banners and digital adverts to you and me), created in March and April alone. All of this and still the best-looking team in the business!
We are levelling up with smarter AI and fresh global partnerships, making bookings faster and easier for clients. Plus, we have a new “Refer a Travel Agent” promotion, with £25 Love2Shop vouchers up for grabs for external Agents!
Team
achievements
We’ve got some exciting updates brewing, with a number of new training videos. Stay tuned!
The IT team has resolved 94.4% of tickets raised in the past 30 days while also enhancing Office 365 security by transitioning from legacy SMS authentication to Microsoft Authenticator, providing stronger and more reliable protection for user accounts and sensitive company data.
Fabulously freezing in Lapland!
This year, we were a proud headline sponsor of The Elite London 2025, a prestigious lifestyle event featuring private jets, supercars, yachts, and more, attracting 5,000+ high-networth visitors and 150+ premium brands. Ricky Wason and Louise Ashworth attended Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, meeting key partners and exploring new hotels to strengthen our offerings.
Team achievements
Congrats to Amy Williams on 15 years with Destinology!
Welcome Leah Bradley to our sales team! We’re also excited for Mia Nicolson-Smith to join us for her university placement.
We've officially moved into our new office and have settled in nicely – it already feels like home. To celebrate, we welcomed players from the Leeds Knights Ice Hockey Team, whom we proudly sponsor. Meanwhile, Brendan Macdonagh marked 20 years with us, and Joanna Hewlett celebrated her 50th birthday in April – congratulations to both!
We’ve moved (and no one lost their chair!)
Brian Cassidy did a quick "accounts audit" and discovered a few Rupees hiding down the back of the couch, so he treated the Accounts team to a Pakora Masterclass at Mr Singh’s India, followed by a delicious meal – because even accountants need a day off from saying “no”.
We’re excited to kick off the year on a high note – currently 30% ahead of last year, thanks to 11 new corporate accounts we have welcomed, contributing around £8 million in annual trade value.
To keep up, we've expanded our hours to 7am–midnight, Monday to Friday, with 24/7 on the horizon. Matt Nairpour and Claire Burke are also rocking our new "Twilight" shift.
Team achievements
Welcome to our newest team members, Lisa Manson, Kim Paxton, and Susan Powell – all settling in brilliantly.
Hot off the INTRANET
The marketing team are ALL living though Grahame’s bathroom reno project.
Here's a throwback!
We found this picture of a very vintage Stewart Travel uniform, and yes, we have already filed a complaint with the fashion police.
(The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona will be finished first)
Special mention to Josh Millan, youngest member of the GolfKings team at 22 years old, proving indoor bowls isn’t just for retirement!
Happy Days!
Dawn Ramsey of NATS met THE Fonz in Pittsburgh – no big deal (except for the part where he actually said, “Ayyyy! ”)
BABY BULLETIN
A huge congratulations to all the parents-to-be – we’re thrilled to have future travel experts joining the crew.
Lauren Dunning from Stewart Travel has welcomed baby Theo!
He’s already working on his side hustle: waking everyone at 4am with no remorse.
Amanda welcomed little Poppy!
Stewart Travel's Amanda MacDonald is now answering to a much smaller boss.
Richard Tidman from Golf Kings and partner Briony are expecting their first little caddie!
MEET THE “REAL” EXECUTIVES
Here are some of the four-legged colleagues who've been running the show behind the scenes.
from Marketing
WEDDINGS & ENGAGEMENTS
Tracy’s engaged!
Huge congratulations to Tracy Jamieson from Cruise Admin, who recently got engaged.
Ellie said, “I do!”
Stewart Travel's
Ellie got the ring, the husband, and the Pinterest perfect photo!
He Putt a ring on It
Al Ross from GolfKings & Sam Smith from Stewart Travel are engaged, the office romance that made us believe in love (and HR policy).
Jenny with the rock!
Jenny Paterson is engaged and still running the admin game – no onboarding required.
Matteo & Miele
Koda from My Canada Trips from Destinology
Sport BROOKLYN
Taylor’s Marathon Milestone for a Great Cause
Taylor Chamberlin from Canterbury Travel took on the London Marathon in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust, smashing 24 out of 26 miles. A seriously impressive run!
She’s still raising funds –scan or click here to help her hit that finish line.
Joanne hits the 10k mark!
Huge congratulations to Joanne Robinson from Destinology on completing a 10k earlier this year. A brilliant achievement – we’re tired just thinking about it!
Joanne at the finishing line
the
trophy
RICHARD’S MISSION IN MILES
"Champions keep playing until they get it right."
– Billie Jean King
And that's why Hamish McIntosh, Marketing's in-house elite athlete, has re-signed with Ardrossan Accies. Big congrats!
Richard Turnbull from Destinology is gearing up for a 400-mile walking challenge this month. He’ll be raising funds for Beatson Cancer Charity and the P&PoW Hospice, both very close to his heart
Scan or click here to support the cause!
Karen’s jumping out of a plane (voluntarily!) for a great cause
Karen from CruiseKings is skydiving with Team Virgin Voyages to raise funds for Reuben’s Retreat – an incredible charity that supports families facing medical complexities. She’s going first, there’s no chance she's watching someone else scream before her. Good luck, Karen –you've got this.
Scan or click here to support
KATIE’S LACING UP!
Katie from Marketing is training for the Glasgow Half Marathon in support of the Tyneside Kidney Patient Association, a charity that’s supported her mum through transplants and hospital visits.
She’s running with purpose – and would love your support along the way. Scan or click here.
