Hays Travel’s Spalding branch might be new, but branch Managers Tracy Wolfe and Sally Breed have clocked up almost 75 years in travel between them.
And much of that experience has come working in Lincolnshire.
Tracy’s travel career began with Tui in 2001, and she worked her way up from part time travel advisor to assistant, then retail manager, all in the Spalding branch.
After working from home for a few years when Covid closed the branch, Tracy missed working with colleagues and meeting customers.
Keen to get back into retail, she jumped at the chance when Hays Travel announced it was opening a Spalding branch, and she joined the UK’s largest independent travel agents in January 2024.
She said: “It’s great to be back on the high street, managing a branch, meeting old customers, and doing what I love for a well-known brand.
“It’s exciting and we have been busy – people still want to book with a travel agent on the high street.
“Our job is to help someone make their holiday dreams come true – whether it’s a UK staycation or a round-the-world trip, it’s their holiday dream and it’s our job to make their dream come true.
“It’s very important that they can rely on us to support them on their journey from start to end – that we are with them every step of the way.
“We see a real mixture of bookings, there is the traditional beach holiday of course – always popular with families – and we also book a lot of long haul and cruise.
“We have great cruise experience and knowledge of destinations, so we’re able to tailor make bookings, particularly for luxury travel.”
Sally’s travel career began more than 50 years ago as a Saturday girl with Blackheath Travel.
She said: “I left school on the Friday, worked my usual Saturday shift, took Sunday off, and then started as a full-time travel agent on Monday. I’ve never left travel since.”
With a passion for all forms of travel, Sally is willing and able to help customers with their travel plans, whenever and wherever they want to go. Her advice to anyone unsure about what holiday they want is to talk to a travel agent.
“I joined Hays Travel in January and I’m impressed by the breadth of companies that we can turn to when developing packages for customers.
“Because Hays Travel is independent there is a great choice of companies we can use; we’re not restricted to which operator we book with.
“I encourage anyone unsure about booking with a travel agent to pop in; we’re right on the high street and love it when customers new and old come in for a chat.
“Tell us the kind of holiday you want, what you enjoy doing and we can tailor-make a holiday to match your needs, expectations, and budget.
“It’s what we love doing and we are ready to provide the same level of excellent service we always did.”