Molly Ritchie: Business Travel Guru and OTT Legend

206 courses

Works for: Clarity Travel

I started off my career at a local hotel in my area from the age of 14. I worked there for many years and grew an interest for the travel industry quickly. I worked various roles and worked myself up the ladder within that establishment starting off as a KP to manager. My time there allowed me to meet a variety of different people from all over the world. I learnt how amazing the travel industry is, how much there is to learn and how much there is to accomplish.

This led to me studying Travel and Tourism at the City of Glasgow College from 2019-2021 and gain an A in my HND. I was awarded various opportunities and awards including the opportunity to complete the Erasmus + programme 2020 and awarded the certificate of commendation in recognition of excellent academic achievement in tourism studies 2021.

I worked in the hotel right through high school and college, until I joined Clarity Travel in May 2023. My experience here so far has been nothing short of amazing. I have met incredible people from all over the industry, been given amazing opportunities and gained more knowledge and skills that I ever thought I would have in a year.

My career has just started in the tourism industry, and I am very excited to see what comes.

I will keep on developing my skills and knowledge, I will keep meeting incredible people, I will keep experiencing amazing opportunities, I will keep gaining achievements and I will work my way up within the industry.

As you can see from the 206 courses I have completed, I really enjoy OTT training. It’s fun, interactive, interesting, and always available. It doesn’t just cover travel, there’s course on sustainability, skills and destinations which many training providers tend to miss. It has provided me with a better understanding for the industry which has not only made my work easier but helped me provide my clients and colleagues with knowledge and helped build relationships and trust with them also. OTT training has been a great contribution to my career so far and will really help me with my goals in the future.

Kerry Elliott: Leisure Guru

89 courses

Works for: Travelling Dreams affiliated with Inteletravel

I absolutely love learning whether it is via online training, in person training at various events, or first-hand experience and sharing with as many people as possible. I truly feel knowledge is empowerment to support us and the clients in supporting them with their holidays. I enjoy inspiring people in the travel industry and love connecting with various professionals in the travel industry, keeping updated is important and with online travel learning it is amazing to be able to do as much as can and fit in around a busy lifestyle. I admit I may not have the most travel sales yet, but my passion speaks volumes to so many who know me in the industry.

Isla Stenning: Leisure Guru

78 courses

Works for: Vista Travel affiliated with Hays Travel

I have been a supporter of OTT for many years and completed over 100+ courses with you. I find them invaluable and along with the trade events I attend (I attended over 40 last year alone!) - I travel at my own expense anywhere from Cheshire, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow & Edinburgh - there is so much to learn. I was a finalist last month at the Travel Gossip Celebration for Travel Legend - I was the only Call Centre/Homeworker nominated - everyone else was a CEO/BDM/GM. I am a polymath in Travel - I sell cruises, long and short haul, tours and mainly tailormade itineraries. OTT courses are varied - as is my day!

Liberty Wilson

146 courses

Works for: Scenic Travel

One big thing about me is that I am certainly eager to expand my knowledge on a daily basis to provide the best service and recommendations to guests, my creative and passionate personality is a real asset to providing personalised suggestions and experiences to every travellers trip and ensuring we create 'moments of wonder' and promising a journey like no other. OTT has Improved my knowledge massively! I'm always recommending it to my colleagues as It always comes in handy throughout my career and I love going back and redoing the courses. The knowledge definitely comes in handy when deciding on which destinations I'd like to visit too!

Vanessa Cole

164 courses

Works for: Hays Travel

Back in 2001 I graduated from the University of Greenwich with a degree in Tourism Management. I had a couple of jobs in the travel industry and then life happened, I married and had kids and then worked as a retail manager for over 20 years.

We lost my dad a couple of years ago and one of the last things he said to me was to follow my dream. I started applying for jobs and in August 2022 I started working for Hays Travel in one of their stores.

I am so lucky that the team that I work with have been in travel for most of their working life's and have so much experience and knowledge and are more than happy to share this with me. However, I do like to self-learn and this is how I discovered OTT. I love the variety of courses on OTT and the fact that they are bite sized chunks to learn. Not too heavy with their content and perfect to do in quiet periods or between customers. The information is thorough and up to date and a good variety of courses ranging from airlines through to destinations.

I have been lucky enough to win a couple of prizes along the way and was over the moon to be offered a fam trip to Tokyo and then equally gutted to unfortunately not be able to take it due to work commitments.

OTT is definitely a tool, that I would recommend to anyone new in travel and anyone who is already established in the travel industry that also wishes to brush up on their skills.

Samantha Grow: International Guru

148 courses

Worked for: Grow Through Travel

I have worked in a myriad of different work environments and completely differing industries. I started my career journey with working with kids in a church nursery while I was in college as a part time job. Then with my childcare background I fell into a special needs classroom volunteering position which then turned into a Paraprofessional position with which I was in for three years. I then landed on working for Grow Through Travel as a travel agent.