Posted 11 June 2018
We are delighted to welcome Nick Bartholet to the Travel Counsellors family! We spoke to Nick at his Head Office induction to find out why he decided to start up his own home-based travel business.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you did before becoming a Travel Counsellor.
I have been married for seven years to Vanessa and we have a 14-year-old beautiful daughter, Phoebe. We have a black Labrador, Lottie, a border terrier, Bonnie, and our newest addition, Parche – our Spanish Mongrel, who we saved before Christmas from a sanctuary in Santiago.
My Dad was from Switzerland, so I am half Swiss, and this is the fire that fuels my passion for travel. My daughter and I love football and have a season ticket for the best team in the Premier League, Huddersfield Town. We love holidaying in the Lake District with the dogs, but also have a list of favourite hotels in the Mediterranean which we frequent based on the daytime entertainment as we love competing in these activities.
I left college with A-Levels, but always wanted to work in travel and tourism. I did a diploma course in travel and tourism at technical college and after graduation I had a summer job at a local Greek and Cypriot specialist tour operator, where I worked my way up to Operations Manager, responsible for over 60,000 passengers annually in addition to 50 staff.
I have since worked for various travel agencies and tour operators before leaving the industry to start a small, local garden landscaping and plant business, as well as acting as a travel consultant. After several years realised I was missing the joy and buzz of working in such a special industry like travel, and the opportunity arose to work for Travel Counsellors, which is giving me back the life I desire.
What does being a Travel Counsellor mean to you, and why did you decide to come aboard?
It will give me the thing I have always wanted – to run my own travel agency. I have known this industry inside and out for 25 years and everything I have worked towards is the same as what Travel Counsellors stand for. It will make life so much happier and I am relishing making this the success story I know it will be.
It is the only working life I have ever enjoyed, and the idea hit me like a bolt out of the blue. After 10 minutes of researching various options and homeworking companies, there was only ever one contender – Travel Counsellors.
What are you looking forward to most about being a Travel Counsellor?
I can’t wait to be part of such an organised and experienced team who are constantly striving to make the booking of holidays such a superb experience for both agents and clients. I am genuinely so excited and feel privileged to be part of this story.
My vision I have always had for the future of travel agents is what is happening with Travel Counsellors, especially with the use of the Phenix booking system. As this is how I have worked myself over the years, I just know how comfortable and perfect this whole scenario will be for me.
Have you set yourself any goals or milestones for what you want to achieve in your first year and what are you going to do to ensure you complete them?
I want to have a list of 300-500 clients who are regular travellers and know their preferences. If this is in place by the end of the year in readiness for the busy booking periods, I will be confident of a fantastic first full year working as a Travel Counsellor. In the meantime, I will be doing my utmost to arrange trips for my clients straight away and everything booked up to Christmas will be a bonus.
What do you love about working in the travel industry?
The passion and excitement and the buzz of making peoples holiday dreams and plans come to fruition. Also, the industry is full of fantastic people, and when are you dealing with this on a daily basis it makes your working life such a pleasure.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
A river cruise down the Nile or up the Amazon. I believe the excitement and historic and natural facets of these trips would stay with me forever.
