MOSELEY TRAVEL

Lianne Davenport

With the sudden cancellation of flights, changing travel advice and restrictions leaving many holiday makers disappointed or worse – stranded far from home or even quarantined in hotels as their dream breaks turn sour, no industry felt the effects of the pandemic more abruptly than travel and tourism. With the future of the industry still up in the air (unlike the planes) Lianne Davenport, manager of Moseley Travel – our local independent travel agency providing the residents of Moseley

and beyond with all things travel since 1993 - answers some of my questions:

Hi Lianne, can you tell me what you like about the job in normal circumstances?

I started working at Moseley Travel 20 years ago as an apprentice and I have worked my way up to being the manager. I have thoroughly enjoyed my whole time here as this was always my dream job. I love planning

and arrange my client’s travel, which can range from anything from a dream holiday or honeymoon, a last-minute beach holiday, a quick city break to a fully tailor-made trip around the world. It is an absolute pleasure for me to be able to help plan and arrange a trip that my clients will remember for a long time.

When I last saw you quarantine hadn’t even been declared here and the rest of us were panic buying toilet roll but you were working flat out trying to help customers stuck in the travel chaos – I remember you saying, “We’re in crisis mode at work at the moment and I haven’t left the office before 8pm in the last few days. It’s unbelievable, the world is closing down and we’ve still got lots of customers to bring home or re-book.” Are you still open, has it calmed down yet and did you get everyone back?

Whilst we are still very much open for business, at this time our door remains closed in order to protect both our clients and members of staff. We are still assisting our clients with travel arrangements that have been affected by Coronavirus and we are currently working through a long list of future bookings, advising our clients of their options and getting them re-booked. Holidays for later on in the year are selling well, as are holidays for Summer 2021, which have been released earlier than normal. We have also been working very hard helping to repatriate clients who were overseas whilst governments were placing their countries in lockdown. We have now managed to bring our final few clients back to the UK to get them back home where they belong.

That’s a relief – I’m glad you got everyone back in these terrible times – what should people look for to know that they will helped in circumstances like these?

We would like to highlight the importance of booking with your local, trusted, ABTA bonded travel agency. We always have your best interests in mind and we are here to support you if things go wrong. We are trained to help minimise the impact of a schedule change, the collapse of a travel company or a worldwide pandemic. We know only too well how stressful it can be when your travel plans

Surely the high street travel agency’s days are numbered – you can just search the internet now?

There is so much more to this job than just booking a trip online, that’s the easy part! We offer you our knowledge and expertise, which more often than not will end up saving you money or adding value. Our friendly team are always available for a chat or to respond to your emails. The service we offer is personal and we really do care about our clients, many of whom have been using us since we first opened. Remember we are here to work for you. We do the hard work so that you don’t have to. We can save you money and take away the stress of booking a holiday at the same time. Anyway, we are also online at moseleytravel.com and you can follow us on social media at https://www.facebook. com/moseleytraveloffers/ and https://www. instagram.com/moseleytravel/ for the latest offers – now might be the best time to get a bargain!

I saw you posted a plea to help the industry through this time (savefuturetravel.co.uk) – are you worried and what can we do about it?

Coronavirus has had a massive impact on the travel industry as a whole and these are worrying times for independent travel agents. Like all the independent businesses in Moseley we are going to depend on the loyal support and custom of our local community. If you like the fact that you have an independent experienced travel agency on your doorstep then please, next time you’re thinking of booking a flight or a holiday, all we ask is that you give us a try first.

We hope that you stay safe and well and we look forward to assisting you with your future travel plans. We will all deserve a well-earned holiday when this is over!!

Thanks Lianne.

- Max Jalil