5 reasons Audley Travel Specialists have the best job in the world

By Audley Travel

July 21^st, 2016

The Audley Way

At Audley Travel, employees take exploring the world seriously – it is their job after all. As a custom tour operator built on the belief that the best advice comes from personal experience, supporting frequent employee travel is a foundation of their business. It’s a model that enables the growing team of Country Specialists to design the perfect travel itinerary for each client’s unique needs, requests, interests, and budget. Here are 5 realities of life and work at Audley Travel, that make it one of the best places to work in the United States:

1. research trips around the globe

Before an Audley Country Specialist is even assigned a desk, they are sent away to their specific country or region of expertise for four to six weeks. During these action-packed weeks away, specialists get to visit the best of the best hotels, lodges, and guesthouses in the region and partake in some of the activities we arrange for our clients, from sushi making in Japan to safaris in South Africa. The initial research trip is followed by a couple of weeks at the company headquarters in Witney, a small town in the English countryside not far from Oxford, to connect with colleagues and participate in systems training. Every year and a half, Country Specialists return to their region of focus to refresh and expand their local knowledge and try new experiences to recommend to future clients.

5 reasons Audley Travel Specialists have the best job in the world

2. Personal travel incentives

Research trips are hardly your only opportunity to travel. Audley encourages and supports personal employee travel throughout the year. Employees start with 20 paid days off and gain more over time with the company. There’s even a dedicated staff travel agent, whose job it is to negotiate with hotels, airlines, and suppliers to get you the best industry discounts available for personal trips.

3. investing in fun at home

Audley Travel prides itself on being a fun place to work. Employee calendars are packed with optional social events and activities of all kinds: in-house massages, ice skating, chocolate fountains, an annual summer boat party, bagel Fridays, ping pong, in-house happy hours, sushi making and oyster-shucking lessons, sports teams, and a variety of fitness classes. The list goes on and such perks are just one of the reasons Audley was ranked not only in the top 10 companies to work for in Boston by BostInno, but also the in top 100 in the country by Outside Magazine.

4. Spreading the travel bug

Audley is one of the few companies in the country that offers truly tailor-made travel planning services. A prospective traveler calls in and speaks one-on-one with a Country Specialist about everything they desire from a trip – from timing to budget to personal interests. Their specialist will then customize a travel itinerary from beginning to end to the exact liking of the traveler. Enthusiastic clients frequently share stories, tweets, mementos, and photos from their trips upon their return.

5. Growing opportunities

Audley Travel has experienced tremendous growth during its short time in the North American market, more than doubling revenue each year since 2014, when the doors to the Boston office first opened. Their founding team of five Country Specialists has grown to nearly 60, to the point where they will be more than doubling their office space in a brick loft in Boston’s North End. With this growth, comes endless opportunities for specialists to develop and grow their roles as the company grows, whether expanding one’s area of expertise to a new country or region, or moving into a management or product development role. Audley’s growth has been made possible by their dedicated team of specialists, and the company pledges to do everything it can to support their individual success and well-being.