A few weeks back, I received an invitation for a night away at Audley Travel’s charming headquarters in Witney. Last year Audley held a training day at their vibrant London office near Shepherds Bush which was an enlightening experience with inspiration on the unique way Audley approach travel for pleasure.
For those unfamiliar, we’ve proudly partnered with Audley since 2008, our first booking together to Vietnam. Audley’s unwavering commitment to quality has been a cornerstone of their success, earning them a devoted following, but haven’t really been known for working with travel agencies. This trip, however, promised something different, so I wanted to give you a sneak peek into our ‘Away with Audley’ night away.
Faced with London’s underground strikes, I opted to get the train from Gerrards Cross, nearly missing it because of lots of road closures! Interestingly, the train was full with Chinese and Japanese visitors heading to Bicester Village! I, however switched to a train bound for Hanborough in Oxford. At Hanborough Station was Holly, Audley’s agent wizard, alongside a coach ready to whisk us to their headquarters in the Oxfordshire countryside.
Our adventure continued to The Fish, near Broadway in the Cotswolds. Although road closures (a recurring theme!) extended our travel time, slightly altering our afternoon plans, we were still treated to a choice between Yoga and a countryside walk. Unsurprisingly, I opted for the walk. Despite being shorter than I would normally like, the surrounding landscape offered breathtaking views, truly deserving of a long weekend.
My accommodation was in the charming Stables, part of the hotel’s eclectic mix of areas, including the ‘Hilly Huts’. Stepping into my room, Radio 2 was softly playing in the background, accompanied by a wine vending machine just outside my door, complete with complimentary tokens. The evening kicked off with an interesting cocktail-making session, catering to all tastes (which included those of us who don’t drink, excellent work).
Dinner was preceded by an intriguing introduction to ‘Kindred’, displayed on an easel. Greg, Head of Agency Sales, unveiled Kindred as an exclusive agents club of which we, twenty members who were there are part of. The dining experience was wonderful, and I wholeheartedly recommend a long weekend retreat there; it’s simply stunning.
The following morning saw us return to Audley HQ for an in-depth exploration of Kindred, its essence, future plans, and implications for us all. The very nature of this invitation only club, with just fourty members is going to give us far greater access to the Audley team than we ever had in the past, with greater collaboration and service.
We had some intriguing statistics, though I won’t delve into specifics but it’s worth noting that booking values through travel agencies were nearly double, average trip lengths exceed 17 days, and Tanzania and Japan were released as this years top destinations. With agencies, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Vietnam also feature prominently in the top 10.
Kindred, however, is an exclusive bonus. As an Audley Preferred Partner, we enjoy complete price parity and tailor our service to your preferred booking method. We have some exciting plans we’re looking forward to sharing with you with Audley, so do keep an eye out for further details.
I don’t always share what goes on the nuts and bolts of how we operate, but I thought this was a good opportunity to show how closely we do work with some of our favourite partners.
