As the business has grown, the key to unlocking its potential has been an unwavering focus on the people and culture. The importance of investing in our staff and their environment is crucial. Robert also firmly believes in building a sustainable business that delivers on its promises to clients and suppliers.

Having solid financial structures in place is a key component of our success. Clients return because we honour cancellation policies and have a 100% refund rate. Suppliers are also important and paying them on time was a rule that was implemented right from the start. We don’t quibble when it comes to your money as we believe in the principle that a client’s deposit is still the client’s money, up until cancellation policies or actual travel has dictated otherwise.

Biggestleaf Travel has grown every year in the travel industry, not only financially but also in knowledge and experience that results in an improved experience for all stakeholders. This accumulation of years of experience allowed us to work through the pandemic and get through that difficult time. It made us even stronger as a team, even more passionate about travel and rededicated us to ensuring we give our best service to our clients.

Our Trustpilot reviews are 100% independent – read them here to see what our clients have to say about our service. Implementing independent reviews was an important step to build trust with our clients, especially in the age of digitisation. As a team, we strive to be better today than yesterday and we set high standards for ourselves. We also know that we can’t always get it right: sometimes it is more important to own up to a difficult situation than to believe you will never make a mistake.

Robert Bernatzeder, who was born and raised in South Africa and has strong roots in Germany and Namibia, is personally involved and focuses on playing a key support role to his staff on a daily basis. Roanna Bernatzeder, who hails from Zambia originally, studied Business Science (Honours) and uses her strong financial background to ensure that all Biggestleaf Travel’s ventures have a firm financial grounding.

Not only are we based in Africa but our team has lived in or visited at least 14 different African countries. We travel extensively, attend regular supplier training and constantly upskill ourselves to give you the best possible advice. We strive to grow our first-hand experience of places we sell to ensure we give you the right advise and the best possible service.

As a travel company, we can only get insurance to cover certain circumstances. We advise all our clients to get comprehensive travel and medical insurance of their own. We are comprehensively insured with SATIB Insurance, an international brokerage founded in 1990 that specialises in the travel industry. Our insurance covers the following:

• Professional indemnity insurance covers any omissions or errors in bookings so you don’t lose your holiday. So far, we are claim-free.

• SATIB 24 Crisis Call provides insurance for all our clients in case of emergency, and for evacuation after an accident.

• Passenger liability covers any clients using our specialist transfer division.

• SATSA Bonding, which means we get audited by SATSA (Southern Africa Tourism Services Association) and qualify for their financial assistance insurance.