CASE STUDY · GREECE SPECIALIST
How Travelgenix helped Exclusively Travel begin its next chapter, with a new online-bookable website, extensive supplier integrations and technology built around the ambitions of a growing travel specialist.
2009
Founded as Exclusively Lindos
12
Suppliers integrated
24/7
Quotes bookable online
Taking Exclusively Lindos into a much wider world
Exclusively Lindos began in 2009 as a passion project, helping local property owners bring their traditional houses, apartments and luxury suites to UK travellers. What started as a highly specialised Lindos collection gradually grew into a much broader travel business.
Today, Exclusively Travel combines founder Karen Shepherd’s experience, the team’s travel knowledge and valuable supplier relationships to offer holidays across Rhodes, mainland Greece, the Greek islands and further afield. Rhodes remains central to the company’s expertise, including twin-centre combinations with the nearby Dodecanese islands of Symi and Halki.
Despite this growth, the approach stays highly personal. The team listens to each customer, understands what matters to them and creates personalised quotes based on their individual requirements. To support that ambition, Exclusively Travel needed technology that could bring its own specialist product together with a far wider range of hotels, villas, packages, flights, transfers and car hire, while removing time-consuming manual work.
Why Exclusively Travel chose Travelgenix
As Exclusively Lindos evolved into Exclusively Travel, Karen knew the company needed far more than a refreshed website. It needed a platform capable of supporting a significant expansion in both product and geographical reach. Travelgenix understood that vision. Rather than approach it as a standard website build, Andy Speight and the team examined how the business operated, where technology could remove barriers to growth, and how the platform could help it expand without losing its personal touch.
“Choosing Travelgenix wasn’t just about technology. It was about people, trust and shared values. The team understood what we wanted Exclusively Travel to become and gave us the technology and support to bring that vision to life.”
Karen Shepherd · Founder, Exclusively Travel
Bringing a complex product portfolio together
Exclusively Travel needed its own specialist and directly contracted Rhodes accommodation to sit alongside a much wider portfolio of hotels, villas and package holidays across Greece, the Greek islands and other destinations. Customers also needed to book complete holidays, including flights, accommodation, transfers and car hire, without moving between multiple websites.
Travelgenix integrated the company’s own bedbank through Trip Solutions, together with TBO and Sunhotels for accommodation and Stuba for dynamic packaging. Aerticket, Ypsilon and Lime provide flight content, while Holiday Extras and Flexible Autos complete the proposition with transfers and car hire.
Trip Solutions
TBO
Sunhotels
Stuba
Aerticket
Ypsilon
Lime
Holiday Extras
Flexible Autos
Solving the integration nobody else could deliver
While Exclusively Travel’s ambitions now reach far beyond Rhodes, the strength of its original specialist portfolio remains essential. WebhotelierB2B is the company’s principal source of accommodation in Rhodes and central to its relationship with local agent Pallas Travel and its Lindian Collection.
For years, Exclusively Travel had been told that integrating WebhotelierB2B was not possible. Without a direct connection, the team processed reservations manually, managed rates and stop sales by hand, and carried a constant risk of overbookings. Travelgenix approached the problem differently and delivered the integration.
WebhotelierB2B content now connects directly with the platform, bringing speed and accuracy to booking while significantly reducing manual administration. The benefit extends to Pallas Travel too, freeing up its team and making its Lindian Collection accommodation easier to distribute and book.
“WebhotelierB2B was our biggest dealbreaker. For years, we had been told the integration couldn’t be done, but Travelgenix made it happen. It has removed hours of manual work and given us accuracy, speed and peace of mind.”
From specialist Rhodes accommodation to Greece and beyond
Integrations with Jet2holidays, Solmar Villas and other leading suppliers have considerably expanded the range of holidays available. Customers can now search and book hotels, villas and complete package holidays across Greece, the Greek islands and destinations further afield.
With Jet2holidays integrated directly into the website, Exclusively Travel combines the reach of a leading tour operator with its own personal service and expertise. Solmar Villas complements the company’s own villa portfolio, giving customers a much greater choice of villa holidays. These connections are central to the move from Exclusively Lindos to Exclusively Travel, retaining the specialist Rhodes product while answering a far wider range of enquiries.
Turning personalised quotes into online bookings
Personal advice has always been central to the service. The team listens to each customer, considers their requirements and identifies the hotels, villas or complete holidays that suit them best, then sends personalised quotes with links to the relevant options.
Customers can review the quotes in their own time and book their preferred option online with one click, whether that is during the evening, over the weekend or while the office is closed. It combines the personal advice Exclusively Travel is known for with the convenience of booking 24 hours a day, and keeps the website generating bookings outside working hours.
“We love being able to send our clients personalised holiday quotes based on exactly what they are looking for. They can review the options in their own time and, when they are ready, book their preferred holiday online with one click. It means we can provide the personal advice we are known for while giving our customers the freedom to book 24/7.”
Karen Shepherd · Founder, Exclusively Travel
Greater choice, more control and early results
The team keeps control over the accommodation it promotes. It can disable properties it does not wish to offer and replace weak supplier photography with its own high-quality images, which matters for a business built on knowing its product. The booking process is quick, with customer and supplier confirmations arriving almost immediately.
The website launched on 30 June, and booking patterns are already changing. Customers are booking hotels and villas the company had never previously sold, and enquiries include more complex itineraries such as twin-centre holidays combining Rhodes with Symi.
Support that goes beyond the technology
For Karen, the people behind Travelgenix have mattered as much as the platform. Andy, Darren, Jess and Luke supported Exclusively Travel throughout development and launch. Jess guided the team through the launch roadmap and introduced ideas that took the project beyond the original brief, while Andy’s pre-launch training encouraged Karen to think differently about how the technology could be used commercially. Travelgenix University now provides an ongoing training resource as the platform evolves.
“Travelgenix excels at problem-solving. You go to Darren with an issue and before you know it, it is in development and off your list.”
Karen Shepherd · Founder, Exclusively Travel
A new brand and a much bigger proposition
The move from Exclusively Lindos to Exclusively Travel is far more than a change of name. Exclusively Lindos remains the foundation on which the reputation was built. Exclusively Travel takes the same knowledge, service and personal approach into a much wider range of destinations, all within one online-bookable platform.
“Travelgenix has transformed how we work and what we can offer. We now have a platform that lets us keep our specialist Rhodes portfolio while selling holidays across Greece, the Greek islands and beyond. We can integrate leading travel brands and send our clients personalised quotes they can book online 24/7, while continuing to provide the personal service on which our business was built.”
Karen Shepherd · Founder, Exclusively Travel
Ready to grow your travel business?
See how Travelgenix helps travel companies sell more online, or talk to our team about your goals.