There’s a map of the world on the wall of Robyn Sinfield’s home office. It has a very pertinent phrase across the top.
“Life is an adventure”.
Robyn and her husband Murray have pretty much lived by those words during the 40 years they have worked in travel, becoming muti-award winning legends of the industry in the process.
Yet the beginning of their glittering career was a simple case of ‘right place, right time’.
“We were the local newsagents in Ulverstone in Tasmania and I went down to our local travel agency to book a trip for the two of us. I said to the guy who owned the business, when you’re ready to sell out, let me know.
“In November of 1983 he rang up and said did I still want to buy the business. So we went down that night, bought the business on a handshake and the rest is history.”
Not that everyone was convinced the “newbies” would have what it takes to make their travel endeavour a success.
“Back then I think we were the first people to buy a travel agency in Australia that hadn’t come from the industry. And down here in Tassie they took bets on how long it would take before we’d go broke.
“I know that’s true because at our 40th birthday party in May our ex-BDM from Qantas told the story that no one thought in their wildest dreams that the Sinfields would make this work. But we did make it work and we’re still making it work.”
Indeed they are. Fast forward four decades and the couple now run Home Travel Company from their base in Penguin. They’ve been working remotely since 2006 and WFA (Work From Anywhere) since January 2012.
“It’s been a wonderful journey,” Robyn tells me as we discuss the past four decades. “We bought a business with a great reputation and we were able to build on that, moving out into other towns in Tassie with the same philosophy and the same great people that we employed.
“Back in those foundation days it was all about your team. We used to say we would ‘hire the smile and train the style’. If people don’t know how to smile then they’re not much use in our customer service industry.”
Therein lies one of the keys to the Sinfield’s longevity and success. They invest both time and money in training their staff – an investment Robyn thinks is sadly lacking these days.
“Where our industry is going wrong now is that they’re not putting any effort into training because businesses say they haven’t got the time. You’ve got to make the time because the essential resources of your business is knowledge and people.
“We still go to the training that we would have gone to 40 years ago. We keep training and keep trying to reinvent ourselves because you can’t just sit back and think you know it all because you definitely don’t in our job.”
Robyn also believes that one solution to the current shortage of skilled people hampering the travel industry recovery lies on the doorstep of most agencies.
“If you’re in a retail store on the high street, there’s a shop along the street that has an amazing person with an amazing skill set who would die to get into travel. They’re out there.
“But you’ve got to put the resources into that person and then they will absolutely shine.”
Despite her concerns about the lack of quality training being offered new recruits, Robyn still believes the travel industry to be a valuable and worthwhile profession.
“But you’ve got to have the passion for it. It’s not so much about the pay packet as it is about the experiences, the lifestyle and the opportunities.”
An exciting opportunity presented itself earlier this year when the Sinfields joined the Luxury Travel Collection (LTC), adding the Flight Centre-backed organisation to their long-standing Virtuoso membership.
“We were impressed and attracted by LTC’s transparency of management. From James Kavanagh down the line to Danielle Galloway, Rachel Kingswell, Nikki Glading and Anna Burgdorf, they have a very open and honest approach to the business.
“We’ve now got the best of both worlds. We’ve got the Virtuoso buying power and then we’ve got all the luxury and global buying power of Flight Centre. So we’re really in a box seat to build and grow further.
“I think luxury is a trend because our lifestyle has changed. Most Australians live in a fairly comfortable environment and when you want a holiday, you want a holiday better than where you live.
“Luxury is all about your time, not about the fact that it’s got a six star rating. It’s about the privilege of time. It’s also not just about the budget – it’s about people being more focused on what they want to get out of life now.”
If the Sinfields were to stick pins in that office map for each country they’ve visited, it would look like a porcupine. Its 124 and counting, with five back-to-back cruises earmarked for later this year.
Robyn & Murray
So will they keep going in an industry they clearly love?
“Every booking I make I get so excited. I’m as excited as I was with the very first booking I took 40 years ago which I can still remember like it was yesterday.
“I’d like to do another 15 or 20 years. You’ve got to keep the momentum going and keep reinventing yourself. I’ve got no intention of slowing down.”
It would seem that for the Sinfields, the adventures will continue for quite some time.
