Enotria Travel, a Dutch agency specialising in holiday arrangements to the south of Italy, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. Tina Altieri, the founder of Enotria Travel originally from Calabria tells us about her business success and her dedication to customer satisfaction.

Q: 10 years is quite a milestone, what do you think some of the key factors are for a travel organisation to be successful?

Q: Everyone is doing business on the Internet nowadays. Isn’t the fact of not offering online booking limiting your potential for growth?

During the last decade we have grown year on year. Quality is important to us. We are not competing against the low fare packages and having returning customers after 10 years tells us Enotria Travel is doing well. We are about building a good name, which customers can trust and rely on. We get a lot of referrals from satisfied customers, which is also a very good sign.

Q: What is your secret to having customers return year after year?

Guaranteeing 100% of the time a problem-free holiday is not possible, as you cannot plan for all eventualities. However it is how you deal with issues and how you treat the customer that will affect their decision to come back. It is the small things that make the difference. For instance, in case of flight delays, Enotria Travel sends an sms to its customers to verify that they have arrived safely. When delays occur, we contact our local assistance immediately to take care of any arrangements such as informing the car rental company of the delay, thus avoiding any complications, which may arise.

Q: To what extend to you go to satisfy a customer?

We always ask our customers to call us immediately if anything is the matter. We try and resolve the problem on the spot to minimize the impact. If there is a valid issue with the accommodation, we move the customer to another location. If the air-conditioning is broken, we ask our local assistance to purchase a new one. The importance is how you make the customer feel and how you solve the problem. Customers who are well treated and taken care of are satisfied and understanding towards minor issues. In cases where we receive negative feedback once a customer has returned, whether the issue was Enotria’s responsibility or not, I send a basket of Italian products with a personal note.

Q: What do you think Enotria’s advantage is over its competitors?

Most importantly, we know what we sell. I personally visit all accommodations and I have developed a good relationship with the owners of the accommodations. We work together in providing good services.
Originating from the South of Italy, I can advise customers not only on the surroundings and places to see but also on which doctors to visit or where the nearest hospital is. During a booking if I know that certain services will not be available or that anything has changed to our holiday packages, I offer alternatives. It can happen for instance that the pool is not open in May because of the weather conditions; in this case I provide compensation or something else in exchange. You cannot charge a customer for a total package and only offer it partially.

Enotria Travel operates from The Netherlands and has an office in Italy. They can be contacted by phone on:
+31 (0)20 779833 or visit their website for further information about their offers: http://www.enotria.nl