A day in the life of…

Working in travel

A day in the life of…

Keen to understand what day-to-day life is like for someone in the industry?
Rhodri Andrews chats to five people in different sectors to get an insight into what their corner of travel involves each day

Business development manager

Dominic’s top tip

“Life and career don’t always go as planned, so don’t be too set on your initial plan. Say yes to as many opportunities as you can!”

Dominic Barrow is national business development manager at Contiki, an operator specialising in adventure holidays for those aged 18-35

“Working in travel was never the aim for me. Growing up, I was sports‑mad, so I studied sports business and management at university, spending a year working in sales and marketing at Sussex County Cricket Club. But by chance, I travelled to Indonesia and Thailand on holiday with a tour operator specialising in trips for 18 to 35‑year‑olds. I was 21 at the time and that’s when travel grabbed me – that trip really blew my mind.”

“I came back to the UK and started working as a business development manager for TruTravels, the tour operator I’d travelled with, staying with them for two and a half years. I then worked in business travel for a bit in a similar role and learnt a lot there, especially during Covid – it was an interesting time!”

“I’ve been at Contiki for about two years and I love it. I think it’s important to be passionate about what you do. I’m often on the road, whether that’s travelling to Austria to meet one of our partners or going into a university to talk to students about our trips. I also get to experience the trips we sell – a particular highlight was visiting Jordan recently and experiencing Wadi Rum and Petra.”

9AM: I’ll have a call with our global product team, where they’ll provide updates on products such as new trips. We’ll talk about which demographics they’re suited for and then I can relay that information to our partners and travel agents.

10.30AM: I could have a webinar with our travel agent partners, spending an hour giving them an overview of Contiki – what our unique selling points are, top trips and other tips.

12.30PM: I might pop down to one of our tactical marketing promotions that increases brand awareness. For example, we’ve just launched Contiki Run Club, which are trips that combine running with traditional travel experiences, so we might have a stand at a running event in London.

2PM: We work a lot with influencers, so I typically have a call with them in the afternoon, liaising with them and their managers to make sure they’re ready for their trip with us and to answer any questions they have.

4PM: I oversee a lot of our student promotions so we often have a stand on a university campus for a few hours, which I’ll run. This is particularly common during Freshers’ Week – I’ll chat about what we do and give away travel vouchers.

Trade and marketing manager

Jessica’s top tip

“Learn everything you can, because the industry is far more complex than people realise. Being able to understand how everything in travel is connected is a really good strength to show off in an interview.”

Jessica Woods is a junior trade and marketing manager at SLC Representation, a PR and trade relations agency that promotes its clients to the UK outbound travel market

“I grew up travelling with my family, so I’ve always had that passion for travel. But what I didn’t realise is that it could be a career. I studied psychology and marketing at university before landing my first job working in communications for clinical trials. It was only after a conversation with a friend that I realised I could actually work in the industry I love. I secured a role at luxury tour operator Savile Row Travel as a social media executive and that’s where I really started to learn a lot about the industry. I then progressed into frontline sales, before working as a marketing manager for a cruise company and then my current role at SLC Representation.”

“With it being hybrid working (between office and home), I have a really good work-life balance and when we do get together as one team, it’s really nice. It’s very useful spending time with them, as we all work on different destinations.

“I work on the Visit Dubai account, so my focus is engaging travel agents across the UK to sell Dubai, through training, events, fam [group educational] trips or marketing campaigns. It gives me the opportunity to stay connected while still being really creative.”

9AM: I’ll start my day by catching up on emails from my client Visit Dubai that might have come in overnight. I’ll also check in with tour operators I look after to approve any assets for their marketing activities that may be going live.

10.00AM: Team meeting with Visit Dubai to go over everything we have going on and events coming up. I’ll also give an update on our live campaigns, highlighting things like engagement or posts and videos that are going live soon.

11.30PM: I’ll be gathering details for a fam trip I’m hosting, making sure the itinerary is coming together. It takes a lot of organisation to plan a travel agent trip.

1PM: Sometimes we’ll have an agency-wide update over lunch, which is a great way to see what we’re all up to. I look after SLC’s social channels, so I’m also busy capturing content for that.

4PM: Back at my laptop. We plan a lot of events for clients, so I tend to use this time to finalise details. For example, we’ve planned a series of regional dinners for Dubai-based airline Emirates, so I would be talking to the venues and confirming guest lists and menus.

Airport operations manager

Kieran’s top tip

“Take every opportunity – my summer of volunteering before starting university has led me to where I am today. Along the way I’ve met some incredible people who work within our industry.”

Kieran Tedman is airport operations manager at Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport

“When I was young my holiday began the moment I arrived at the airport – not at the final destination. The buzz of the environment, the sight of aircraft landing and departing for destinations across the globe, had me hooked on pursuing a future in the industry.”

“I have always been passionate about working in an airport and I began my journey as a volunteer at Glasgow airport, which involved welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists and athletes for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 – even meeting some famous faces.”

“Soon after, I studied management and marketing with international studies at the University of Strathclyde and was able to stay on at Glasgow airport. During my years there, I worked across a variety of operational roles, as well as within the airport’s commercial retail team.”

“In 2019, I joined Heathrow on its Future Leaders Graduate Programme, which gave me the opportunity to experience a range of placements across the business as well as deepen my industry knowledge. I have been very fortunate throughout my time in aviation.”

“Fast forward to today and, a few roles later, I’m now directly accountable for the safe, secure and efficient operation of one of the world’s busiest airports. It’s a highly responsible role, but one I’m proud to carry out every day. No two days – or even two hours – are the same! On our busiest days, we serve around 250,000 arriving and departing passengers across four operational terminals and two runways.”

The role of airport operations manager is a 24/7, 365-day-a-year position, with 12 hour shifts, either during the day or at night. The following would be a typical day for me:

5AM: I take a handover from the night shift airport operations manager, gaining an understanding of the preceding 12 hours. Shortly after, I speak with airlines to see how we can best support their day’s operation.

6.15AM: I host a conference call with all key airport teams to ensure we have a shared understanding of the day’s focus areas, as well as discussing any challenges for the day ahead. I also liaise with the Metropolitan Police.

8AM: I write a report summarising our first wave (the busy period of early-morning flights) performance, which lands in email inboxes at this time, just as most people start their working day.

10AM: I have a meeting with the Metropolitan Police to discuss emerging risks or issues – we have a close working relationship with our policing colleagues. The remainder of my shift is varied – I stay up to date on the latest infrastructure changes, make critical operational decisions, respond to emails and calls and enjoy just getting out across the airport and meeting fellow staff.

4.30PM: I begin to pull together my handover ahead of the night shift airport operations manager taking over from me at 5pm.

Tourist board executive

Abdullah’s top tip

“If you have a genuine passion for people, then I think you’ll be a great fit for the industry. I would say it’s a fundamental requirement, because you can really see the social impact while tailoring or crafting experiences for visitors.”

Abdullah Alaydrus is project executive for industry development at VisitEngland, the national tourist board for England

“I didn’t begin my career in travel, but I’ve always been passionate about the world so, naturally, travel has always been a part of my life. I became involved in travel and tourism projects during my previous career at a consulting company and it really opened my eyes to the industry’s importance. What struck me most is that travel represents the most precious time of someone’s year, as well as contributing to local communities and economies.”

“That’s when I decided to shift from working to travel to working in travel. I did a postgraduate degree in tourism at Bournemouth University, which helped give me a glimpse of what the industry’s all about. After I graduated, I completed an internship at a tourism marketing agency. I’d always wanted to work for a tourist board so when the opportunity arose nearly two years ago, I applied for a role at VisitEngland.”

“I’ve been part of the industry development team ever since. We focus on growing and diversifying our tourism offerings for visitors. Our work spans from accessibility to regenerative tourism standards and academy programmes. One day I might take part in industry roundtable discussions or attending trade shows, and the next I could be supporting our communications team or preparing for an event.”

9AM: I begin each morning reviewing my activity plan and checking my emails. I’ll address any urgent requests first and then I will usually have internal meetings with my line manager or the wider team.

11AM: I find that this is when I work best, so I’ll focus on anything that requires deep concentration, such as reviewing communications content or analysing survey data.

12PM: Typically I would have some external meetings with partners during this part of the day. Alternatively, I would use this time to prepare for any upcoming events that we might have, or perhaps trade shows for the tourism industry.

3PM: I’ll spend some time gathering updates from across the team to create a report on our current projects, either for senior leadership or the wider team.

4PM: At the end of my day, I usually make sure to dedicate some time to reading industry news from various travel media platforms to stay up to date.

Hotel reception manager

Ellen’s top tip

“Be open to unexpected opportunities. Had I not said yes and thrown myself into the opportunity I was given, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Be open-minded – it might surprise you!”

Ellen O’Neill is reception manager at luxury London hotel The Chesterfield Mayfair

“My journey in hospitality began when I was 16, working in a pub while I was doing my A-levels. I’d really wanted to get into computer engineering, but on results day I didn’t get the grades I needed. Instead of being upset, it actually opened my eyes that computers and software wasn’t really what I was interested in. With my parttime job, I actually loved talking to people and that’s when I thought of hospitality as a career.

“I undertook a degree in hospitality, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was then looking at careers – all my experience was in pubs and restaurants, and I’d never even set foot in a hotel. But I wanted to try something different.

“I applied for the graduate management programme at Red Carnation Hotels after watching an episode of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, which covered one of their venues, Ashford Castle. Over two years, I experienced working in many different areas of my placement hotel The Chesterfield Mayfair, as well as having quarterly meetings with Red Carnation chief executive Jonathan Raggett.

“Whenever I worked in reception I loved it, so when the opportunity came up to become reception manager and stay at The Chesterfield Mayfair, I jumped at it. “I’ve been reception manager for about a year now and it’s been really exciting. Every day is different. In fact, every hour is different, with new guests and new challenges, and I love that. We’ve had a degree apprentice with us, so I’ve really enjoyed playing the role of mentor too.”

8AM: I’ll receive a handover from the hotel’s night manager and say hello to everyone in my team. I’ll spend a bit of time in the lobby while it’s quiet to make sure everything’s presentable.

9AM: I’ll work through our arrivals list and highlight any VIPs that I need to meet on arrival or people who like special attention in their room.

10.30AM: I’ll sit down with all the heads of department and run them through the arrivals and make sure they’re aware of any returning guests, VIPs and dogs (we’re a dog-friendly hotel).

11AM: I’ll be in the lobby, meeting the guests I’ve just briefed everyone on, introducing myself as a point of contact and giving them a tour of the hotel.

2PM: This is when most guests arrive so I’ll welcome them. I’ll talk to my reception team about little touches we can do to make a guest’s stay special. For example, if they’ve come to see a band we might play their songs in their room.

5PM: I’ll chat to guests in the hotel bar to see how their day was and ask if there’s anything that needs to be actioned, like a complaint or request.

6PM: My day ends at 8pm, so for the last couple of hours I’ll be looking at the following day’s arrivals and doing administration tasks, such as sending and replying to guest emails.

Photo credit: Contiki