Tots to Travel ranked amongst best new businesses

Tots to Travel, a family friendly travel company, has outperformed hundreds of entrepreneurs to reach the Southern Regional Finals of the 2008 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards. The national contest, now in its eighth year, is designed to seek out the most promising start-up businesses in the UK.

Wendy Shand, who started Tots to Travel (totstotravel.co.uk) in April 2006, is now hoping to scoop the top title and a cheque for £50,000, courtesy of HSBC.

After a near catastrophe when her two year old son fell into an unprotected swimming pool on a family holiday, Wendy decided to take matters into her own hands.

She had spotted a gap in the holiday market and established Tots to Travel. The concept is to offer holiday accommodation that includes all the baby and child-related kit parents take for granted at home, especially safety features such as stair gates and enclosed pools.

Other services include home-cooked meals, English-speaking babysitters and information about local events, sights and attractions with family-appeal.

The online business, totstofrance.co.uk, launched in 2006 with just nine properties on their books. There are now nearly 50, all carefully vetted to enable Wendy and her staff to match clients with the most suitable holiday home.

In January this year, totstoitaly.co.uk was added and there are now a team of marketing agents in both countries sourcing and vetting new properties and providing local back-up.

While obviously appealing to parents, the business is also attractive to homeowners who can tap into a new rental market of families who choose to travel outside peak holiday times.

In just two years, Tots to Travel has successfully established itself in two countries and has built a solid, sustainable business base. While continuing to develop their French and Italian portfolios, they also plan to expand into Spain, the Balearic Islands, the UK and Ireland, eventually becoming the number one provider of child-friendly travel in the on-line lettings market.

Tots to Travel are one of 20 companies to secure a place in the Southern Regional Finals. Their entry will now be considered by a local panel of business experts who will select the top 10 start-up companies in the South to go forward to the national judging.

This year there will be six heats, generating 60 Regional Winners from throughout the UK. From this pool of talented entrepreneurs, the top 10 will be invited to London to convince the national judging panel why they should be named ‘Start-Up Star 2008’.

The overall Winner will be revealed at a black-tie gala dinner at London’s Dorchester Hotel on 29th October.

A cheque for £5,000 will also be presented to the business scooping the Green Award, demonstrating they are putting the environment at the top of their business agenda.

As official supporter of the Awards, Google will be offering £5,000 of AdWords and a visit to their London office as a prize to both the National Winner and the Green Award Winner. Each of the runners-up will receive £2,500 of AdWords.

Huw Morgan, HSBC’s Head of Business Banking, said: “The 2008 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards are the biggest and best yet.

“Last year, HSBC alone helped nearly 130,000 new ventures get off the ground, and this is representative of the entrepreneurial talent that exists in Britain today.

“Many are still only small businesses, but with big ideas. We are proud Start-Up Stars can contribute to their aspirations and that the Awards play a pivotal role in identifying the business leaders of the future.”

For information on how to get a business off the ground, would-be entrepreneurs can go to HSBC’s Knowledge Centre at knowledge.hsbc.co.uk or they can obtain a copy of HSBC’s free Starting a Business pack by visiting an HSBC branch.