Viv and her frequent flyers
Viv Sadd, Chair of the Sports and Social Club at Lloyds TSB in Bristol, began organising as a favour to a colleague and has now been arranging trips to all five continents for the past 15 years, as she reveals to Carrie Drage.
Viv Sadd believes that research and planning are the secrets behind organising successful group trips. Unsurprisingly, these are two skills that she has developed well over the past 15 years as a group organiser for Lloyds TSB Sports and Social Club. Viv currently runs trips for around 1,200 members at Lloyds TSB in Bristol, comprising of both current and retired staff. Each member of the Club pays a small membership fee, which is taken directly from their wages each month, and Lloyds TSB pays an annual grant to subsidise the trips they run. The retired members, meanwhile, pay a £2 monthly contribution, which is taken in one sum at the beginning of each year.
On top of organising trips for the company, Viv, who has been with the company for 29 years, works full-time as a Senior Manager in IT. She originally stepped into the role as group organiser at her previous office of Lloyds TSB in Birmingham. Viv explains, “The Sports and Social Club committee were short of somebody to take minutes at the meetings, which is how I got onto it in the first place. It was only when the organiser pulled out of a trip to Dublin that I stepped into the role.” When Viv relocated to the Bristol office ten years ago, she set up a new Sports and Social Club and now chairs a committee consisting of seven other people, including her partner Bob Senior. Between them, they arrange at least 50 events and trips a year, including 10 overseas.
Similarly to many other sports and social clubs, Viv must take into account the diversity of the members when arranging group trips. As she explains, “At the club, we have a whole range of members, from those in entry level positions through to management and, for this reason, we aim to offer trips to suit all budgets. We also have a broad range of ages that we must keep happy. For instance, many of our members bring their young families along and, at the opposite end of the scale, we have our retired members, some of whom are well into their 80s.”
Spreading the word
Viv advertises most of her trips through the company intranet and puts up posters across the offices to raise interest among members. She also advertises trips in the Club’s monthly newsletter, which is distributed to members internally. Foreign trips are usually advertised a year in advance; however, details about events that have been organised at short notice will often be emailed to members directly, which happens at the beginning of each month. Viv also finds that email is the best way to communicate with the other committee members. She says, “As a committee, we only meet once a month, by which time you have missed some of the great offers. We therefore have a policy whereby if you think something is going to be popular, we just book it. We will then send an email round so that we don’t get duplicate bookings.”
Short breaks on the continent
European breaks are a staple on Viv’s schedule and past trips have seen the Club visiting places such as Jersey, Belgium, Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic.
A favourite is the annual shopping trip to France, which has been running for 11 years. The trip attracts many regulars, particularly retired members, who see it as a way to catch up with old friends. She says, “We like to try somewhere different each year and the coach operator we use for this trip, Broadoak Travel in Bristol, always come up with the goods.” Last year, Viv took a group of 35 members on a weekend shopping trip to Lille in December. As well as shopping, the group particularly enjoyed the visit to the Menin Gate, in Ypres, for the Great War memorial service and Last Post ceremony. Viv explains, “On the coach afterwards, our tour guide said a prayer and held a moment’s silence and it is little touches like this that make us keep going back to Broadoak Travel.”
Viv uses Wiltshire-based Success Tours for a lot of her trips and is pleased with the level of accommodation they offer. She organised a four-day trip to Krakow last December with the company, which saw 44 members signing up. Viv explains, “We wanted a tour with Christmas markets and were originally going to fly from Stansted, until easyJet announced flights from Bristol. The Wyspianski Hotel, where we stayed, was close to the main square where the markets were and served a really good breakfast. All the staff thoroughly enjoyed the trip, particularly the Polish dancing, which many of the members tried their hand at after dinner one evening.”
Another destination frequented by Viv’s members is Paris. The last time she visited the city was on a weekend trip in May 2005. Whilst there, Viv organised a sightseeing cruise along the Seine with Bateaux Parisien, whom she highly recommends. She explains, “Unlike other companies, they provide handheld audio recordings in multi languages, which is much better. When commentary is given in several languages by guides, you tend to miss things because other people start talking once their piece has finished.”
In addition to continental trips, she also organised a shopping trip to Dublin with 35 people last November. Viv says, “The day included a short tour of the city, plenty of time to shop and even left enough time for the members to sample some of the local Guinness before jumping on a return flight to Bristol.”
A holiday to remember
Although longer holidays tend to attract smaller numbers, organising these kinds of trips is the area of her role that Viv revels in. Over the past 15 years, Viv has organised holidays to destinations as diverse as Sicily, Australia, Florida and Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. Speaking about the 12-day trip to Rio de Janeiro, Viv enthuses, “Brazil stands out as somewhere that is just so different and a place that most people don’t usually get to visit. We had a marvellous time there – the people are friendly, the scenery is stunning and the food is excellent”. She has also organised two six-day holidays to Las Vegas for more than 40 of her members each time. “We have even had two weddings in Las Vegas!” she laughs.
Viv uses Middlesex-based tour operator Collette Worldwide Holidays for many of her foreign holidays and is pleased with the quality of hotels offered by the company. She also likes the fact that the company offers a group Tour Manager on its holidays, adding, “The Tour Manager really pampers the guests. If you need information or help with anything, they always deliver.”
In the last year, Viv has organised two longer holidays to Iceland and Norway; however, due to the duration of these trips and the cost involved, Viv has been unable to attract as many members. The first of these was last October when she organised a six-night holiday to Iceland with eight of her members. Viv enthuses, “The highlight was definitely our visit to the Blue Lagoon, where we spent an afternoon relaxing in the thermal pool. We also went drinking in an ice bar where we had to wear insulated jackets that looked a bit like a continental quilt.” The trip was a Smithsonian tour with Collette Worldwide Holidays, which is one of the factors that most appealed to Viv. She says, “We knew we would get information about Iceland in lectures as well as seeing the beauty of the place and, wanting something a bit different, the Smithsonian link met our needs.”
Eight of Viv’s members also took an eight-night holiday to Norway, in September. She says, “The best part about Norway was getting fjord facing rooms in the beautiful Union Hotel at Geiranger.” Viv was also impressed with the service offered by Collette, adding, “Our driver, Alf, had 25 years of experience on the roads, which was especially helpful when one of the ferry crossings changed late in the season and we had to re-route. He also knew how to get the coach round the daunting hairpin bends.”
In addition to Collette Worldwide Holidays, Viv has used Coventry-based Harry Shaw City Cruiser for many of her foreign holidays, coming recommended from another GTO. One of Viv’s most popular holidays with the tour operator was a visit to New York and Boston in November 2002 with 15 of her members. Recalling the holiday, Viv says, “Some of my members took a helicopter ride over the city; however, what made it so special was that we could see a storm brewing over Central Park. It was certainly a sight to behold!” Viv is also keen to point out the benefits of Boston, raving, “Boston is a great walking city and the people are ever so friendly. Plus, there’s no tax on clothing so it’s a great place to shop.”
Viv also enjoyed a holiday to Hong Kong in February 2002 with 34 of her members. She says, “The group really enjoyed the night market along Nathan Road as it gave them a chance to practice their bartering skills. I think it was a case of ‘see how many silk ties you can get for ten dollars!’” she chuckles.
Another holiday that stands out for Viv is a six-day holiday to Toronto and Niagara Falls in April 2003. Viv took 40 people along on this trip and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on Yonge Street and then the Sheraton hotel at Niagara Falls. She says, “For a nominal cost we decided to upgrade the hotel rooms so that they had views over the Falls. I believe this was worth doing as people do not go to Niagara Falls to get a view of a city building.”
On British shores
Some of Viv’s most successful trips are the London hotel breaks that take place twice a year and often attract over 200 members. She states, “Some of our members have been on the same hotel breaks for the last six years and spaces on next January’s trip sold out in 20 minutes. We have people asking for them all the time because they are such great value.” When deciding on hotels, she tends to use ones that she has stayed in previously on business, as she believes the most important thing is knowing what you are going to get. Group members are mostly left to their own devices although, as part of the break, Viv does give them the option of watching a theatre show, which she usually organises through London ticketing agency Encore. “Blue Man Group was one of our favourites – it is just so different,” she raves. “We also loved the Lion King with its elaborate costumes and the animals coming through the audience.” Next January, Viv has tickets booked for Lord of the Rings and Hairspray and is also looking forward to visiting the new Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2, which she also booked through Encore. She says, “When I phone the groups department, they know exactly who I am and the kind of bookings I like to make.”
When it comes to transport for these breaks, Viv finds that it is often easier to let people find their own way to the capital as many employees are commuters. She explains, “Many of our members are not based in Bristol, so when you have people travelling from places as far afield as Devon, Birmingham and South Wales it is near impossible to make travel arrangements.” Many of her members travel by train; however others travel by Perth-based Megabus, which she believes offers good value for money. “Some of our members pay as little as £1 for a journey!” she laughs.
Many of Viv’s members are also fond of the TLH Leisure Resort weekend break, in Torquay, every October. She says, “It has the appeal of an English seaside break, but with extra facilities such as indoor pools and entertainment. We have many repeat bookers on this one!” According to Viv, “The committee found out about it from other GTOs then collected some information at a trade show. It blossomed from there.”
Another firm favourite is the annual visit to the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC in Birmingham. Viv visited the very first exhibition and decided it was so enjoyable that she had to take a group back the following year. She explains, “It is such good value for money. Not only do you get to see a celebrity chef in action, there are also tons of tasters, giveaways and great offers. Not to mention the excellent group discounts.” Viv organises travel to the venue with Eastville Coaches, in Bristol, as she finds its service to be friendly and, more importantly, reliable.
A word of advice
As a group organiser with more than 15 years experience, it is no surprise that Viv has built up a firm list of contacts in the travel trade. Naturally, she calls on these people for advice when deciding on the best hotel to book. She says,”Word of mouth is very important. I always go to people I know first as I find they are more honest about what you are going to get.” In fact, Viv cannot stress enough how important it is to do your research and her advice to other GTOs is to make absolutely sure you know what you are buying. In the long run, Viv counts herself lucky that she has not had any major disasters. “Sure, we’ve had coaches break down on us and, on the odd occasion, we’ve had guests with no hotel rooms but these problems have been easily solved. To be honest, that’s as bad as it gets,” she explains.
In the meantime, Viv is more than happy to keep organising trips for her Club and is hoping to attract more members on her latest 10-day offering to Dubai and Hong Kong, in June next year. She arranged the holiday through South Quay Travel in London, which is the first time she has used the company. She says, “I have dealt with Bob Cole there on numerous occasions when he was with Harry Shaw City Cruiser and the company has a knack of understanding what our group needs.” She is also busily counting down the days to her next trip in November, a two-week holiday to South Africa with Collette Worldwide Holidays.