FYXER supplied Secret Escapes’ leadership team with a unique external outlet that an employer-employee relationship could not provide.
Secret Escapes is a members-only travel agent that is known as the ‘worst-kept secret in luxury travel’. Launched in 2011, Secret Escapes offers its members exclusive access to hand-picked affordable luxury travel deals, ranging from hotels and spas to weekend breaks and once-in-a-lifetime trips. Based in London, the company currently operates in over 21 countries and offers curated deals to over 62 million members worldwide, including 19 million members in the UK alone.
With an increasingly hectic schedule, Secret Escapes’ CEO and CTO were looking for high-quality executive support to take on much of the additional workload, whilst also providing an external outlet for both business and personal matters. They turned to FYXER.
Secret Escapes has rapidly become an institution in the luxury travel field. As the number of members continues to climb (50 million and counting), so does the number of employees (over 500), the level of investment (over £100 million in capital raised since inception) and, of course, the demands on the leadership’s time.
Hiring a team of Fyxers provided Secret Escapes’ C-suite with a trusted resource, distinct from their existing team. Hours were won back every day as our team freed Secret Escapes’ executives from a variety of tasks and workstreams. Perhaps even more impactful was the role FYXER played as a unique outlet to road test new business ideas and share personal information.
Secret Escapes’ CEO and CTO could open up about both business and personal matters, which could be difficult in a regular employer-employee relationship. Their team of Fyxers were able to offer insights and advice based on experience working with other high growth businesses and top executives.
This covered a range of confidential matters, that for obvious reasons we can’t share specifics on (!) however to give examples in a more general sense we often act as a sounding board on HR matters, internal structures, employee development and managing work-life balance. The ultimate result for Secret Escapes was more headspace, time and clarity on how to scale the business.
After understanding Secret Escapes’ requirements, FYXER built a bespoke team with a focus on experience and strategic support. This team of Fyxers quickly began serving incredibly busy executives, from undertaking projects and writing reports to managing diaries and reviewing TV ads.
In addition, FYXER provided the CEO and CTO with a personal sounding board. In a company with over 500 employees, as well as established departments for accounts and HR, FYXER’s role both reduced administrative burdens and provided a service that couldn’t be filled by an in-house employee: that of a trusted confidant.