The Vacay: How To Grow Your Travel Business Solo

Starting your travel business alone can be a scary prospect, but The Vacay and Carly Ball are proof that not only can you start solo, but you can succeed and grow solo too. From the start to her most recent achievements, Carly has built The Vacay from scratch completely on her own, and we are so proud to be able to celebrate a PTS member that continues to prove that you can be your own boss.

Who Are The Vacay and Carly Ball?

The Vacay is an independent travel business that demonstrates just how much can be achieved through determination, organisation, creativity, strong customer relationships and a genuine commitment to the local community.

“Today, I run The Vacay full time, single-handedly, with zero employed staff. I have the support of a couple of individuals who help me with certain administrative tasks, but the day-to-day responsibility for running, promoting and growing the business sits with me. And despite that, the business is thriving.”

What Does Carly Do For The Vacay?

On an average week, Carly personally manages around 25–30 holiday bookings for The Vacay. “Behind every booking is researching holidays, producing quotes, speaking with customers, processing payments, managing amendments, answering questions, dealing with suppliers, checking documentation and providing support before customers travel.

“For many customers, the relationship doesn’t end when they pay their deposit. I’m there throughout the entire journey — right through to them travelling and returning home.”

The Vacay has grown largely through reputation, recommendations and social media. Carly personally manages the business’s social media presence. From finding and advertising holiday deals to creating content, responding to enquiries, promoting offers and keeping customers engaged, this is a major part of her working week.

Alongside selling holidays, Carly also manages the operational side of the business. That includes administration, finances, customer records, supplier relationships, compliance, payments, booking management and the countless jobs that customers never see but which are essential to keeping a travel business running successfully.

“One of the things I am most proud of is creating the Vacay Kids Foundation,” Carly said. “The foundation was created to help give children and families opportunities to experience holidays, days out and special memories that they may otherwise not be able to afford.

“This means that while I am building a successful business, I am also using its growth to give something back to the community that supports us.”

How Does She Do It?

Carly never stops promoting The Vacay. She works seven days a week, and doesn’t stop even when she’s on holiday. “I’m constantly active on social media, constantly looking for the next opportunity and constantly thinking about different ways of putting The Vacay in front of potential customers. I don’t wait for business to come through the door. I go looking for it.”

“Social media is one of the biggest tools I have. I’m constantly posting deals, creating content, responding to customers and finding new ways to keep The Vacay visible. I understand that people may not be ready to book a holiday the first time they see one of my posts.

“But if they keep seeing The Vacay, recognising the brand and watching other people book with us, when they ARE ready to travel, I want The Vacay to be the company they think of.

“Even my own holidays become an opportunity to grow the business. I’ll take business cards away with me and speak to potential customers while I’m travelling.

“Whether that’s around the pool, in an airport, on an excursion or simply getting into conversation with someone, I’m always prepared to tell people about The Vacay. Some people switch off completely when they go away. My brain is still thinking: ‘How can I turn this into an opportunity for The Vacay?'”

What Achievements Has The Vacay Seen Recently?

The Vacay is proof that a small independent business doesn’t need a huge team or enormous marketing department behind it to make a big impact. But it also hasn’t happened overnight.

Behind every booking number and every successful social media post are seven-day working weeks, constant promotion, thousands of messages, countless quotes, ideas that worked, ideas that didn’t and a determination to keep finding the next opportunity.

Carly doesn’t believe you can build a business like this by sitting back and waiting for customers. You have to be visible, you have to give people reasons to remember you, you have to keep trying new things, and above all, you have to show up consistently.

Most recently, this effort brought Carly £75,000 in one week, despite that week coming in a traditionally quiet time for travel. This wouldn’t have been possible without the work that she puts into making The Vacay better everyday.

“I’d been away in Paris for three days, so when I came back there was already a bit of pent-up demand from customers who had been waiting to get hold of me,” Carly explained. “Interestingly, I was only actually working for three days that week, so the £75k was generated across those three working days.

“The majority of the bookings were last-minute, which obviously contributed to the value of the week, but I was also taking bookings for 2027 and even 2028. So it wasn’t just immediate travel that was driving the figure — there was also a really healthy amount of future business coming through.

“My social media had actually been relatively quiet while I was away, which made it even more interesting. I think it was a really nice reminder that, after building up that trust and customer base, people were still waiting for me to return rather than simply going elsewhere. That was probably one of the things I was most proud of.”