Your Travel Group began in 2014, the brainchild of John Stephenson who was working at another travel company at the time. After a few months working hard to set up the business, John joined forces with Sam when their main investor pulled out, leading Sam to remortgage his house to keep the dream alive.
The risk paid off – despite the costs for setting up their office in Sheerness eating away at their capital, the company became profitable in its first month. The company’s main ethos was to focus on providing personal service over making profit, personally ensuring each and every customer came away happy – this ethos remains in place today.
Industry recognition quickly followed, with co-founder John Stephenson named in TTG’s 30 under 30 at the end of 2014 and both Global Travel Group and T2 Travel naming them Best Newcomer – less than 6 months after launch.
The unique travel concierge style approach and dedication to quality service continued to prove successful, as Your Travel exceeded growth targets throughout its first year. By November 2015 they outgrew their first office and moved into new, two-storey premises on Maidstone high street.
Success led to an invitation for co-founder Sam Cassem to join an industry panel at the Global Travel Group Conference in Dubai in May 2016, where Your Travel Group won recognition for the Highest Increase in Turnover.
December 2016 saw the corporate and leisure travel arms of Your Travel Group separate in a complete rebrand of the service, with the launch of new websites for Your Travel and Your Corporate.
What’s next for Your Travel Group? A number of new brands are in development and there are plans to further expand the team to get the best service-focused talent in. Watch this space.