Tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you want to launch your own bespoke travel company?
I have always loved travelling – my happiest childhood memories are of family holidays in the Med, mostly with friends staying in villas. We’d spend our days diving in and out of the pool, walking to the beach through pine scented forests, messing about on boats, getting severe sunburn and eating way too many ice creams.
After a false start at Bristol UWE, I spent almost a year working in a couple of the great Brunning and Price gastro pubs in and around Chester. I loved the interaction with customers and being busy on my feet all day so decided to return to university in Manchester to study International Hospitality and Tourism Management. The course included a year in industry – I opted for 6 months at Ascot Racecourse, organising and managing the private box hospitality, following by a winter season running a chalet in Meribel. I had never been to the Alps, let alone skied before so this was a real adventure! After a very long coach journey and slightly queasy, windy ascent up to Meribel – I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Chocolate box wooden chalets, snow capped mountains, loads of cool young people having a blast – what’s not to love! We worked hard and played harder. Up early to prepare and serve breakfast, quick blitz of the chalet, straight out onto the slopes, back to prepare and serve dinner and then out partying until the early hours before doing it all again.
I managed to learn to snowboard to a decent level, met my first love and got quite good at cooking – it is true when they say working in a ski resort is like being in a ‘bubble’ and I did not want to return home. But, after a brief summer working in Vassiliki, Greece, I returned to complete my last year at uni, proudly coming out with a decent 2:1 degree. Then it was time to get a proper job!
I had decided I wanted to get into travel rather than hospitality i.e. work for a luxury tour operator rather than in hotels or events, but it was 2003, a time when the Iraq War created a huge amount of uncertainty and financial loss for the travel industry. Despite there being a number of luxury tour operators based in Cheshire, no one was recruiting due to cut backs so I took the first decent paid job I was offered, in recruitment – I hated it!
After a few months of cold calling companies to try to place candidates looking for work (soul destroying stuff!), I got a call from one of the luxury tour operators I had sent my CV to and got a job. I had initially applied to help set up a new ski program but as things were still re-building since the impact of the war, I got a job in their well – established Caribbean sales team which was a dream! I learnt the ropes from the bottom up and got to travel extensively throughout the Caribbean and later, to many other destinations to build up my product knowledge, making invaluable contacts along the way.
About 12 years and 2 children later, I decided to leave and set up my own travel agency, specialising in luxury, tailor-made travel. The move was driven by a desire to work more flexible hours to better suit family life and become financially independent. I also wanted to dedicate more time getting to know my clients and offering a bespoke level of service, something that had become less possible whilst working for a larger company.
So, Emma Mackley Travel was born…..My first booking came from a guy I met walking my dog locally. He was getting married in a couple of months and hadn’t yet organised his honeymoon – I said, I can help! Within a few days, we had arranged a fabulous trip to the Maldives and the commission on that holiday covered the cost of my branding and web design.
9 years on, we have a successful business I am really proud of, growing year on year financially but remaining small in order to give the highest level of personal service.
How do you stay up to date with new travel trends and hidden gems?
Conde Nast Traveller and the luxury travel trade press such as TTG and Aspire are my go to publications for the latest hotel openings, hot new destinations and discovering lesser known places. I also travel a lot (a bit too much if you ask my family!) to keep up to speed with changes to previously visited places, and discover new areas and hotels to ensure I can make personal recommendations. I am also a member of a great forum called the Travel Sisterhood – a ‘club’ for female, travel business owners to share knowledge, ideas and details of events and trips to keep our knowledge topped up. If there is anything I don’t know, one of the Sisters will! It’s all about creating a network of like-minded professionals who thrive on supporting one another.
What are some unique experiences you’ve arranged for clients?
The first unique experience I arranged for a client was to have a beautiful dress he wanted his partner to wear for a special dinner on holiday in Barbados, posted out to be waiting in their hotel room wardrobe before they arrived.
Another client had some very particular requests for her annual festive holiday – she had the hotel store a small Christmas tree and decorations to be put up in her room every year along with a special rack to dry her swimwear on the balcony and an extra wardrobe to hang her long gowns.
I have arranged proposals in Santorini, a surprise birthday trip by private jet to Lake Como and onto Paris to meet friends to enjoy a VIP experience at the Moulin Rouge and dinner on the private, top deck of Alan Ducasse sur Seine, side-car tours of Marrakech and hot air balloon rides over the Masai Mara. I could go on – I love arranging unique, once in a lifetime experience for my clients.
What is your favourite destination that you’ve visited?
It is a toss-up between Morocco, Uganda and Sri Lanka – preferably with a hop over to the Maldives for a few days of pure indulgence!
Morocco for its year-round warmth, beautiful artisan rugs, pottery and people, diverse experiences from surfing on the West Coast to hiking and enjoying a Berber lunch in the Atlas Mountains, quad biking, camel riding and camp fire dancing in the desert, to getting lost in the souks of Marrakech
Uganda is the first place I saw an African sunset, giraffes and elephants roaming in their natural habitat, hippos from a small boat (scary!) and I nearly died white water rafting on the Nile.
Sri Lanka is another place you can enjoy so many different experiences on one relatively small island – hiking up Sigiriya Rock at sunrise, seeing tea leaves being handpicked, visiting the many beautiful temples, riding the famous blue train, surfing on the South West Coast and exploring the Dutch Fort town of Galle. Just an hours’ flight from the Maldives, the mix of culture and beach is the perfect combination.
What destinations are especially exciting or underrated right now?
Jamaica is the most underrated Caribbean island – I honeymooned there and just love the music, laid back vibe, old school hospitality, spicy food and potent rum punch! Stay at Strawberry Hill up in the Blue Mountains for the best views, hiking, waterfall swimming and local coffee and GoldenEye in Oracabessa Bay – the home of Ian Flemming frequented by Bob Marley, Grace Jones and many other notable guests.
The Andaman Islands, an Indian archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, between India and Myanmar are tipped to be the new, more rugged alternative to the Maldives. Home to many endemic species, indigenous tribes and a divers’ paradise, go before everyone finds out about them!
Can you tell us about a memorable ski holiday you have organised?
I recently arranged for two families to stay at Chalet White Crystal at M Lodge in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in France. With 5 bedrooms, spacious living areas and a private basement pool plus access to M Lodge hotel facilities, it is perfect for larger family groups. We arranged private transfers, tables at the best mountain restaurants, ski tuition and birthday surprises. The chalet team were amazing, even driving to collect the children from the slopes early (when tired) so the adults could enjoy a spot of apres.
Share with us your most unforgettable travel moment (as a traveller or planner)?
Gosh, that is a tough one – there have been so many unforgettable experiences in over 20 years of travelling the globe, staying in some of the most amazing places…..I think it would have to be my first experience of visiting India. I had fractured my coccyx, not snowboarding that time but just as painful! The long flight, not being able to sit for long comfortably, filled me with dread. Luckily upgraded to business class so I was able to lie on my side watching movies, sipping Champagne and sleeping for most of it. We arrived into Delhi for a connecting flight to get up to the Himalayas where we enjoyed a few nights at the amazing wellness retreat, Ananda. After some infra-red treatments, massages, healthy eating and rest, I was as good as new and ready to explore this amazing country.
A definite highlight was experiencing the famous Ganga Aarti ceremony on the banks of the Ganges in Rishkesh. Performed each evening at sundown, it begins with the chanting of mantras by priests, all wearing saffron robes, lighting lots of earthen lamps filled with ghee, arranged onto large trays. The chanting, clanging of bells and flames created a mesmerising atmosphere and the passing of friendly cows through the narrow streets afterwards, added to the very surreal evening.
On the same trip, we took a rickshaw ride around chaotic Old Delhi, visited beautiful palaces including the Taj Mahal and enjoyed some of the most delicious food and hospitality to rival anywhere in the world. I can’t wait to go back to explore the South.
Whether you are looking for help arranging a short city break, honeymoon, family holiday, ski trip or more adventurous touring itinerary, I love getting to know my clients in order to create travel memories to last a lifetime.
If you would like to learn more about Emma Mackley private travel services or get in touch, please follow the below link: