Did you know that many of our franchisees started their business part-time as a side-hustle?
Read on to find out 5 big reasons booking people’s holidays from home really is one of the best side-hustles you can have.
1/ It’s a great way to earn extra money
Every time someone goes on holiday, someone else gets paid for selling that holiday via commission from the operator or supplier.
- If you buy it online the website gets the commission.
- If you buy it through a travel agent on the high street, they get the commission.
- And it’s the same for travel agents who don’t have a shop but do it from home.
It doesn’t cost the customer any extra to buy through a 3rd party like a travel agent.
The supplier pays the commission on the sale of the holiday, you don’t add it on top.
So, 9 times out of 10, you’re the same price or less than they can find themselves online (where they may not even have access to the same trips). And they get the added peace of mind and reassurance that they’re covered if something does go wrong.
And it doesn’t take many sales for the money to add up.
Typically, the commission paid is roughly 10% of the holiday value.
- Average booking values across winter 22/23 and summer 23 are now over £4,500.
- So, a £4,500 holiday would generate roughly £450 commission.
Using those averages, if you could book just *one* holiday a week, it could be worth around £1,800 a month. One holiday a week? That’s really, really part-time…
Here’s the catch: Even if you love the idea of selling holidays part-time, the hardest bit is getting started if you go it alone.
It can easily cost more than six figures to set-up if you include ABTA protection, dealing with regulations, branding, travel agent software, payment facilities and customer facing websites.
And then you need commercial agreements to sell operator’s holidays, which can take years to build up – not to mention training if you’ve not worked in the industry before.
That’s where a franchise comes in.
2/ It’s fast and easy to start
With a travel agency franchise, the entire infrastructure is there ready to turn on immediately.
You can be up and running with just a 1 week induction.
With a personal website, fully branded marketing, millions of holidays to sell, ABTA protection and everything else you could need to let you do the important thing – talk to people about their holidays!
Amy took advantage of everything on offer when she started part-time while working for another business.
Then she made £75k in bookings in just 12 days.
You can learn more about how she did it below.
That doesn’t mean you have to be as fast as Amy to be successful.
You’ll get daily support and training from your own business development manager, large head office team and other consultants. They’re on hand to help you build up your business for the long-term.
There are trade, marketing, sales and operations & admin specialists all on hand to help. And we produce everything from expert travel blogs to pre-written social media posts that you can easily copy-and-paste.
Plus, there’s regular training available to keep you growing.
Sue started slowly, but then saw bookings flood in once she learned how to leverage social media more effectively. Find out how, in her interview below.
But what if this is something you really excel at?
Over time, you could build a fantastic business and lifestyle, being your own boss, travelling the world more than ever before.
David Walker spent 22 years in HR, most of them abroad.
He loves that everything was taken care of by the franchise model.
“It was the first time I had my own business. Things such as contracts with our suppliers.
I don’t get involved in that. That’s what the franchise does.
I just focused on building up a client base early. Literally started ringing people that I’ve spoken to once or met years and years ago and hadn’t touched base with, to tell them what I was doing.”
Find out more about how he’s made over £1m in commissions from travel, despite no experience.
3/ Anyone could be your customer (and you never know where you’ll find them)
How many people do you know that go on holiday? Nearly everyone, isn’t it?
In fact, there are over 93 million foreign holidays taken by 40 million people every year from the UK, making it one of the largest industries to be in.
So there really is no shortage of people who want to get away. And – with all the hassle of the last few years – the trust and reassurance that comes with booking with an ABTA protected professional is proving invaluable to customers who want peace of mind.
As part of your training, you’re taught exactly how to find the kind of customers you want to help.
But really it comes down to loving holidays and talking about them with everyone you know.
Penny runs her travel business alongside her hairdressing one – and the two overlap perfectly. In the video below, she shares how a £12 haircut turned into a £12,000 booking to Mexico!
And franchisee Julie has an arrangement with a friendly local cafe owner that she can work there for a few hours once a week. She explains it leads to loads of natural conversations about holidays…
“I approached the cafe owner and asked if she minded me setting up every week.
She said yes. So I visit every Friday at a set time (which I advertise on my page via video or Facebook Live) and she also promotes it on the cafe page.
When I’m there I just chat to everyone! I’m good at chatting 🤣 and before you know it they are asking questions about destinations, holidays and what I do etc. And then I take it from there!”
4/ It adds massive value to your life
If you already love travel and planning trips, then making that into a side-hustle (or a full-time business) can be a fantastic addition to your life.
Aside from making money, there are lots of other intangible benefits.
You could be doing something you actually enjoy
Life’s too short to spend it doing something that’s actively making you miserable.
But what if making the leap to something brand-new AND full-time feels like too much in one go?
That’s why, if you find the right opportunity, a part-time business is a great way to make a change without risking everything.
Faye ditched a 17 year career in the police and now runs her travel business around other work she loves as a wedding photographer. She says:
“You’ve got to really want it. You’ve got to put in the hard work. And you have to listen to the advice that you get.
But life’s too short to be unhappy and stuck in something feeling miserable. Now I’ve got this brilliant business that I enjoy coming to work in every day.”
Find out more about how she made the change below:
Liam and Lisette enjoy their other jobs in the events industry. Liam is currently full-time and helps with the franchise around his job, while Lisette is part-time at her job and spends the rest of the time growing their travel business.
But they’re so busy making bookings (and loving it) that they want to be full-time travel agents.
Co-founder Paul caught up with Liam recently to hear how they’re enjoying their business.
You can join a community of like minded people
When you start a part-time travel business through The Travel Franchise, you’re never alone.
Aside from head office support, there’s a lively community of hundreds of other franchisees. You’ll have access to private Facebook groups to share tips and tricks. There are lots of opportunities to meet up too, with local events like coffee mornings taking place, as well as major events like conferences.
5/ You can travel more than ever before (for less)
As a travel consultant, you won’t pay commissions on your own trips!
And there’s plenty of opportunity to take them, with travel agent only websites showing deals the public never sees. Plus, you can go on industry FAM trips, where you can experience destinations as guests of the suppliers as you learn about their products.
And we have regular golf and ski trips you can take part in, heading to stunning destinations.
Best of all, with our Elite franchise package and above, you get to come away on luxury 5-star education trips with us. It includes visits to places like the Maldives – or our recently announced Seminar At Sea on the 3rd ever voyage of the stunning Norwegian Prima.
There are so many more stories to inspire you.
- Paul took just 5 days to join and is loving life selling holidays alongside his other job in digital marketing.
- Alison & Tim decided to stop teaching and become travel consultants in just 9 days, after booking with another of our franchisees.
- Ruth and Todd run their business around other work commitments and a busy family life.
- Laura worked part-time while she started, but still beat the Money-Back Challenge and got her business free. Now she’s a full-time travel consultant.
- Kathryn combines her career in education with booking holidays.
- Natalie and James run their business around their other work and beat their Money-Back Challenge.
- Lindsay and Tom have another business but wanted something they were passionate about – and got it free in just 9 months.
These people are just some of those who started out as a side hustle or a second business.
