Oliver Broad
Copy of RB_Collection_Travel_Updates_May2021

Travel Updates…

Oliver

Summer 2022 Update

It is great that UK travellers no longer need to take tests to return into the UK or fill in forms. There may still be requirements in place for the destination you travel to however we have noticed these two are being relaxed around the world.

Every client who books with us will receive planning information to ensure you have the latest departure information with assistance to check your documents. This is all part of our VIP service and we look forward to helping create the perfect holiday for you.

You can also read further information on our Coronavirus Info Page and the FCDO website.


Testing requirements
If your destination requires testing requirements, we have made arrangements to offer PCR tests for around £40 per test and have also sourced an Antigen test for around £13. There may be more convenient services for you depending on where you live and you may be able to use a different type of test. We will discuss this with you as each destination and holiday has different requirements.


How to book

You can book an appointment to meet us in person or video call. Alternatively, call us during office hours to plan and book your holiday with us as early as possible on 01543 258631 (Mon-Fri, 0900-1700).


FCDO Travel Advice

For outbound travel advice, the FCDO also publish their own guidance which offers advice about traveling to and entering a destination.

Travel will be different, but it will still offer unique experiences and opportunities you simply cannot get at home. As the world adapts and evolves, we ask you keep an open mind, think positive and most importantly, never forget the travel memories we have helped create for you and your loved ones in the past.

If you need to get away call us on 01543 258631, reply to this email or click here to book an appointment to meet in person at our office.

If the time isn’t quite right for you yet, all we ask is to recommend us to those who are as we begin to rebuild our family business.

 

Our Covid Booking Promise…

If you are considering booking a holiday, we wanted to remind you of some of our commitments to re-assure you about the services we offer.

  • ATOL Protection on flight-inclusive holidays. This ensures your money is financially secure should the holiday company fail and is protected by the UK government. when you book with us, we will issue you with an ATOL Certificate Read more about ATOL here. Holidays that do not include flights offer alternative forms of cover which can vary and we will ensure you have the relevant details when booking with us.
  • ABTA Bond:  it is a requirement in the UK that a travel agency also holds a financial bond which we do via ABTA. We joined ABTA when we opened in 1985 and have continued to renew our bond every year without fail. You can read about ABTA”s Book With Confidence campaign here.
  • Flexibility is a key right now and we have been working hard with our industry partners to set up special arrangements for our clients. Conditions can change for each booking and we will discuss these with you in more detail during the booking process.
  • Amendments & refunds: As a member of ABTA who offers ATOL protected holidays, should your holiday be cancelled by the operator before travel due to a travel ban by the FCDO for example, you are entitled to a refund or amendment as per the Package Travel Regulations (when a holiday includes a flight and hotel for example as minimum). We will assist with this and will not leave you high and dry to manage it yourself.
  • Business Partners & Suppliers: We have learnt a lot in the last 10 months and commit to working only with those suppliers who match our own high levels of service regarding managing amendments, travel updates and refunds.
  • AITO Specialist Travel Agent: Our membership of this unique group of independent companies means we have close relationships with the best in the business to offer a wider selection of products. AITO have a very strict membership criteria and so we are very proud to be involved with this prestigious group.
  • Independent, honest advice from award-winning travel experts. We are not commercially tied to any specific company and so can offer 100% impartial advice when booking with us. The holiday experience is our priority, not commercial gain.
  • Small, friendly team offering personal service. In today’s climate, we believe there is something quite special about dealing with a small team who you can contact easily and offer a flexible way of working. We will fit in with you to help make your life less stressful and more enjoyable.
  • Family owned & operated. Alan Broad started our firm in 1985 on Boley Park in Lichfield however our family began in the trade way back in 1936! Today, Nathan Collins is Joint MD with Alan’s youngest son Oliver, the third generation of the family to work in travel. With all this experience you are in very good hands indeed.

 

How to contact us…

Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, or you can email us (see top of page) or message via our usual social media channels so feel free to contact us to discuss existing or new holidays. We also offer video calls and in person meetings at out officer by appointment, click here to book.

Whatever assistance you require, we are here to help and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Nathan & Oliver
Joint Managing Directors
RB Collection

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Zain Qazi profile picture
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Great cruise, boat, taxi, hotel, meal (and more!) arrangements in Athens and Corfu. Oliver has this amazing ability to know what we would enjoy, which is why I've already booked my next trip with RB! To the Carribbean we go in November!! 🥳 Thanks Oliver and the entire team at RB!
Zain Qazi
Hilary Carroll profile picture
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‘As usual, Sam at RB Collection arranged our recent Iceland/Scotland cruise with attention to every possible detail. He remembered what had worked for us previously and used that knowledge to enhance our experience. No question was too much trouble for either Sam or his colleague Clare. We would not consider anyone else for our holiday arrangements; RB Collection are truly superb!’
Hilary Carroll
Pandora Bahrami profile picture
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Wonderful way to book a wonderful holiday. Such a personalised & attentive approach to helping us find the perfect family holiday! Couldn’t recommend more!!!
Pandora Bahrami
Katie May Medley profile picture
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They found us the perfect hotel for our London stay. Exactly the right balance of perfect location, incredible breakfast and they really listened to what we wanted. I even had access to one of London best gyms included in the stay!
Katie May Medley
Janet Goodwin profile picture
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RB Collections are a wonderful family run firm who welcome you into the family from the first holiday you book with them. My special thanks go to Clare who always ensures my booking runs smoothly and takes the stress out of the process of decisions by ‘knowing’ and implementing my preferences using information she has ascertained from previous bookings. I don’t have to remember…..Clare does it for me.
Janet Goodwin
Mike Boyden profile picture
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Having just returned from a fantastic long weekend at Disneyland Paris, we had to leave a review for Sam and the team at RB Collection. They removed all the stress from organising the trip and ensured everything was in place for a truly memorable trip for all the family. We can’t thank them enough and we will certainly be back for future holidays. Our experience has been 10/10 👍🏻
Mike Boyden
Tom&Janet Marks profile picture
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Just returned home from a wonderful holiday in Madeira arranged by Sam from RB Collection. Every detail from flights, hotel, transfers, recommended restaurants and "must to do's" was excellent and all documents arrived by post in good time for checking before departing on our holiday. Due to the weather, our journey was delayed by two days. However after contacting RB on the emergency number in the holiday package, all was sorted by the team - an upgraded hotel room at the same hotel, flight, transfers, taking away all the stress from ourselves and allowing us to enjoy our extra two days. One cannot put a price on a phone call and text messages when something unfortunate happens and you feel vulnerable. On our return, the excellent service has continued by Sam and colleagues who are now dealing with the necessary correspondence with the airline company. My husband and I and children at home who were concerned when we were stranded, cannot thank the team at RB enough for their support and professionalism and we are looking forward to many more holidays using the company. Tom & Janet
Tom&Janet Marks
David Page profile picture
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We came to RB Collection with an idea of some of the places we wanted to visit in Rajasthan, India - and they made it all happen, expertly and efficiently. Oliver and Clare were a pleasure to deal with, sorting every aspect and adding their own ideas to really enhance this wonderful trip. They checked in while we were away to make sure everything was going well (which it was) and I knew they'd be on hand if we needed anything. Thank you!
David Page
Colin Scott profile picture
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The purpose of this review isn't to confirm that our holiday was a 5 star experience (which it was, by the way) but it's a review to say that RB Collection's involvement in planning, booking and safety netting our holiday experiences has been truly 5 stars. Are people bothered if my wife and I had a great holiday - I suspect no...... Are people interested in the company that was instrumental in creating 5 star holidays - I suspect yes ......and so it's RB Collection's skills and involvement that get this 5 star rating. As a family we have booked our own holidays almost exclusively by ourselves for 35 years - until a year ago when we used RB Collection's services for the first time to book a holiday to the Ice Hotel in Sweden. We chose to book through them because we had no experience or knowledge of the Ice Hotel and their exclusive Ice Hotel Website was great. Their involvement made all the difference - in particular their personal commitment to making things work and since the first contact, they have been getting to know our travel "needs, wants and likes" more by each contact. Our next holiday was a Silversea Cruise - one that we could easily have booked ourselves, but RB's influence allowed us to save a significant (4 figure!) sum. Reason alone to recommend! Our third and most recent booking with RB was a safari which could not have been a better holiday experience. The reasons for this are as follows: 1. Up until raising the possibility, I knew nothing about safaris i.e. where to go / at what time of year / for how long etc. Within 72 hours of a discussion of a suggestion by me for a Tanzania trip (based on a google AI search), I was infinitely far better informed and after weighing up possibilities, we opted for a Kenyan trip to Amboselli and the Masai Mara. What a brilliant decision! 2. Whilst the travel options were perfect for our particular needs, RB's involvement to seamlessly arrange the multiple transfers on our journey came to the fore. This was particularly evident on coming back from Zanzibar (beach unwind) to Nairobi International, which would have presented a significant challenge had we opted for self booking, due to the (multiple) security & immigration stages. (Yes, of course - we would have negotiated the stages - we're grown ups - we can look after ourselves, but oh my. the loss of wasted heartbeats would have been significant!) Turns out that what was arranged for us was faster than "fast track" and I certainly became aware of lots of people looking enviously towards us and our safari representative as we whizzed by! 3. Photography is an important aspect of our holidays. Good photographic subjects / scenes are our means of ensuring that we're seeing good stuff, which - IMHO - is a main focus of a holiday. Our safari guides had been well briefed about my photography wishes and from the get-go, they discussed what we were looking for from our holiday and so every day we had a mutually planned itinerary for the wildlife that never disappointed. Our guides had been particularly selected from the briefing given by RB pre-travel to the safari people. In a nutshell, RB have changed our attitude to holidays and their associated experiences. In our time with them, we have undertaken holidays that we have never done before and we are now definitely thinking differently about what to do in the future. Add to this, the reassurance and safety net that travel agency booking confers and I think that RB Collection definitely deserves a 5 star review. By the way - we live distant to their location - all of our dealings have been by telephone and email so don't think you need to be locals to use their services.
Colin Scott
Linda Taylor profile picture
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A big shout out for RB Collection ….they have done it again !!!! Made our World touring a pleasure AGAIN ….having done the cruising in various parts of the world …the Canada trip…..the India & Nepal trip…& just recently the Hongkong Australia New Zealand trip…it’s like being transported on a Dreamliner !every attention to detail from getting to the airport arriving at the destinations & being picked up & taken to the various types of accomadation ….Thanks Team RB & especially to Sam for this last one 🌴☀️😎
Linda Taylor