She has converted a caravan into a mobile travel agency and will be hitting the road visiting clients from Mana to Foxton from mid-February making their travel arrangements as easy as possible.
Jo Coolen inside her travel agency caravan. Photo / David Haxton
"This is nicer than doing a coffee shop meet.
"It's a bit more private, it will get me out and about, and there's flexibility to go where I'm needed and give customers the opportunity to meet their travel consultant in person."
Jo, from Waikanae, spent about six months looking online for the right caravan.
"And then I ended up buying one off the road opposite Waikanae Golf Club and the guy who owned it lives in the street next to me.
"I really wanted an old-fashioned retro one but they're very expensive, the condition might not have been great, and could have been heavy to tow.
"I didn't think I needed that extra pressure plus it would have had to have been done up."
She bought an Eifelland model, which is about 20 years old, and had it purple colour wrapped by Graphic Garage, in Paraparaumu, before adding House of Travel decal lettering.
The self-contained caravan resembles a boutique office inside.
It features two sitting areas, fridge, gas cooker, a solar panel to help charge a battery and more.
She hot spots to her laptop and has a new mobile Eftpos machine.
"I literally got it back about a week ago and then we came down to Waikanae Beach and a woman stopped and took a photo of it.
"People actually turn their heads when I'm driving past.
"I've never been one for attention-seeking but it's doing it."
Jo Coolen's travel agency caravan. Photo / David Haxton
She said the keyword at the moment was pivot.
"If this isn't pivoting I don't know what is.
"It is just being adaptable and doing what the customers need.
"I don't know if people are going to walk in with wads of money and say 'I want to go around the world right now' but it's just about keeping the brand alive and letting people know that I'm still around especially now that I'm out of the building."
Jo was still busy but "it's just not generating enough income".
Work now involved helping people get home to loved ones in various quarters of the world, various overseas trips, dealing with credits and refunds, as well as escorting groups nationally.
"We've been to Great Barrier Island, Chatham Islands, Pitt Island, Stewart Island and my family bach in D'Urville Island."
Jo said agents would become more important than ever when travel gathered pace again.
"People will be looking for experienced agents with in-depth knowledge of the destinations and travel systems and to be there for them if something goes wrong."
And she knows the stress involved in trying to organise travel by oneself let alone within the Covid-19 environment.
Before she was a travel agent, she tried to self-book a trip to Borneo for herself, partner Roger Ravenwood and three friends about 10 years ago, but it became very difficult.
"I spent days and pages of paper refill trying to put it together.
"I belonged to the local Business Network International group where there was a guy who owned the local House of Travel in Paraparaumu.
"I asked him to finish the trip preparations and just as well he did because the airline fell over and I would have been on the phone trying to get hold of it to get home."
Jo was involved in catering before becoming a travel agent.
"The standing joke with my mate, who is a great chef that worked with Rick Stein, is that I've gone from cooking to booking."
The help she received with the Borneo trip impressed her, which led to an interest in becoming a travel agent.
When there was a vacancy at the branch, she applied for the role, got it, and has never looked back, including becoming the owner.
"I love the diversity and planning with people."
Despite turbulent times for the travel industry, it's still something she loves and knows it will bounce back for one overriding reason.
