We celebrate 21 years trading

🎉 21 Years of JLM Travel: From Freezing Factory Units to Fabulous Holidays 🌴

Today marks our 21st anniversary since JLM Travel first opened its doors—and what a ride it’s been! Buckle up, we’re taking you on a little trip down memory lane (no passport required) for a light hearted history of JLM Travel.

🕰️ It all began...

At exactly 9am on Tuesday 1st June 2004, in a very glamorous ex-factory unit on the Team Valley in Gateshead. And by glamorous, we mean we had an “office” that doubled as a freezer in the winter and a sauna in the summer. Ever tried booking a holiday with sweat dripping into your keyboard? We have. The glass roof ensured it was always the wrong temperature, no matter the season. Who needs central heating or air con when you've got character?

📺 Teletext: the OG travel influencer

Our three fearless founders—Jannine, Lesley, and Martyn—decided to launch a telesales agency and went old-school by advertising on ITV Teletext (Google it, kids). We faxed our deals over (yes, faxed), crossed our fingers, and waited for the phones to ring. The first call came in around 11:30am, and we all screamed like we’d just won the lottery.

Fun fact: Martyn’s journey actually started at 6am that day when Jannine rang to see if he was awake. He wasn’t. But he was now.

👋 Goodbye Lesley, Hello Employee #1

After a solid summer of bookings, Lesley decided to leave in December. So we recruited our first staff member (someone we’d actually worked with before, so we knew she could survive our office "climate"). Things grew steadily from there, and so did our heating bill!

🏢 Moving on up

We upgraded to a modern office on Sunderland Road, shared with a very niche British company that sold Bulgarian properties. From there, we jumped to Whickham and finally got our own dedicated Teletext section—page 289 if you're feeling nostalgic. The phones rang off the hook (sometimes literally), and we embraced the new era of digital with Teletext Holidays, Holiday Discount Centre, and Ice Lolly.

🧳 Expansion, Homeworking, and… Thomas Cook 

We returned to Team Valley and moved into the shiny new Axis Building. Over ten years, we grew into one of the top Thomas Cook sellers in the Hays Travel Independence Group. So when Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019, we were hit hard. Cue the mad scramble to rebook or help customers claim refunds—our version of travel agent triathlon.

😷 Covid Chaos

Just as we opened our shiny new office in February 2020 (in a former bank, no less), Boris sent us all home. Thanks, Boris. We stayed closed until April 2022, furloughed most of the team, and ran the show from our kitchens, living rooms, and anywhere with Wi-Fi and caffeine.

But when we reopened, something amazing happened: customers came in, not just to book, but to finally meet the mysterious voice on the other end of the phone. Some were surprised we weren’t AI. (Yet.)

🏪 New Shop, New Chapter

This year, we hit another milestone: opening our first retail shop on Front Street in Whickham on January 15th, 2024! The welcome from the town has been warmer than our first office ever was. We’ve even sponsored the Whickham FC Youth Under-6 Girls Team—who, let’s face it, probably run their drills better than we ran our first week in business.

💛 A Huge Thank You

To every customer who’s ever booked with us, recommended us, or just waved through the window: THANK YOU. You’ve stuck with us through Teletext, Thomas Cook, and even the entire pandemic. Whether you’ve booked a week in the sun or a world cruise, we appreciate you choosing a small local business with big holiday dreams.

Here’s to the next 21 years of sunburns, sandals, and suitcases—with JLM Travel! 🥂