An old industry family has started a new coach tours business. Martin Laver is at the helm
There’s a new name in the group touring industry.
But it actually stems from an old name, and a family that many in the industry are familiar with. All About Tours (AAT) is the new independent company of Martin Laver, an industry regular for over 25 years.
The name was well known to holidaymakers in the Nottingham/Derby/Loughborough area. Martin took a year out of the industry from November 2014, and his parents Tony and Jean Laver retired – but not all loyal customers forgot them.
Martin re-joined the industry in February 2016 with Whites Tours of Ireland, recruited as the hotel company’s salesman for Wales, Scotland and the north of England – a position he continues to develop.
At the time, Martin was already working on his idea for the new business – All About Tours. “I wanted to get back into the tourism side,” he says. “My parents were continually bumping into old customers and they were saying they missed us, which was an added incentive to get involved again.”
Growing the database
The first big step came on 16 October 2016, when AAT launched its new brochure to 400 potential customers. With no database to begin with, starting a new one has been one of the most difficult things for Martin.
5,000 leaflets were hand-delivered to addresses in the catchment area, and an online database company used to obtain more names.
The company is advertised as being “presented by Martin Laver”, to alert people that it’s the family behind it. “We've never been into the ego side of things,” says Martin, “but if old friends see our name, they’ll know it's us. If it wasn’t for my own personal name, I wouldn't have started it up again. Starting from scratch would be almost impossible.”
A few months on, Martin now has over 800 people on the database – and all new ones have come from word-of-mouth recommendation.
“The intention was to run 15-20 tours in the first year and fill them, rather than running 40-50 tours and cancelling half of them,” he says.
"I knew it would take time to get the word out. Our first tour, which was scheduled for the beginning of April, is not going – it's just come too soon. "A couple of other early tours have been cancelled too – but they're the only ones likely not to go, and that's purely down to the timing."
On the other hand, some of the tours have sold very well already – a Highlands Railway tour in June – has been sold out for two months and has a waiting list, and it’s already re-booked for next year. "We've tried to put on tours that are not available through our competitors," says Martin. "The Highlands tour uses a high-class hotel, we've increased it to six days – and the winning element is that they travel there largely by train.
"We'll take them to Crewe by coach and put them on the Virgin train to Glasgow, so they'll see Cheshire, the Lake District and the Borders from a new angle."
He adds: "The first year is about keeping customers happy and getting the numbers up.
"By the time we launch for 2018, we'll have a mailing list of 1,200-plus, and they'll all know who we are."
Customer service
The family has always pushed the customer service side, says Martin, and that will continue. Having saved some money on group rail tickets for the Highlands tour, Martin's plan is to spend it on a special commemorative photo album for everyone on the trip. He's also sending his father Tony to escort the Highlands tour.
"We'll have a tour manager on board every one of our British tours," says Martin. "It lets the driver get on and do their job, and works well for customers." AAT already has a dedicated tour manager – Aidan Biggins, a former colleague of Martin's, who will be escorting many of the tours.
Martin's partner Caroline is also working for the firm on the admin and telephone side, while Martin's involvement is mainly marketing and writing the product – something that fits flexibly around his post at Whites Tours.
Martin's father Tony will also be involved from time to time. "Dad's spent 50 years in the industry," says Martin. "I've got free access to that mind full of knowledge – I'd be crazy not to use it."
As it grows, the intention later this year is to open a shop. Martin envisages a small travel shop somewhere in the Long Eaton region – which is roughly in the middle of AAT's catchment area – where customers can pop in for a tea or coffee Monday-Saturday and book their tours.
The first tour is due to depart next week – an Easter mystery tour – but Martin also held a dining cruise in February, just to keep customers updated. "Usually we'd do a Christmas party or a reunion, but we obviously can't do that this year," he says. "But we thought to launch in October, then not do anything until April, was too long.
“We had 45 people on it – and that’s not bad for February on the Trent."
In six months’ time…
Coaches will be contracted for the tours from Paul S. Winson of Loughborough. "I have no concerns about approaching them at all," says Martin. "As the industry knows, they're one of the best in the business for standards and service, and they're on our doorstep."
AAT is looking to add further tours next year. Within another six months, the business will be completely self-funding, and from the rate of attention garnered so far – from social media, from the website and most importantly, from word-of-mouth – Martin is confident that it's going to be a manageable success. "People know they'll get that extra level of service and attention with us," he says. "Everybody we talk to is excited. They're pleased to see us once again.”
"One of the things I've noticed is that if you listen to my parents, my sister, new or old customers, or Aidan – they all say 'our business'. Everybody feels a part of a team.
“That's the feeling we always enjoyed the most."
