Last weekend saw our largest ever conference – and our largest ever announcements to match!
Held at the Devere Cotswold Water Park hotel, over 250 of our franchisees came together to learn about the millions of pounds being invested to help them grow their businesses.
As well as having plenty of fun along the way of course.
Day 1 was all about personal development
Day 1 was dedicated to a very special event, designed to help our travel consultants achieve their personal and professional goals.
Created and delivered by our good friend Michael Heppell (described as 1 of the top 3 professional speakers in the world), franchisees learned valuable tools, ideas and strategies so that they “Never Have A Bad Day Again.
A much sought after speaker and coach, Michael is in high-demand. With hundreds of clients, including Microsoft, Adobe, Specsavers and IBM to name just a few, we were thrilled to have him spend the weekend with us.
Michael is also a Sunday Times No.1 International best-selling author and his books, including ‘How To Be Brilliant’ and “Flip It”, get tremendous praise from public figures such as Chris Evans and Davina McCall.
“It’s brilliant, it’s simple, it’s a joy. I’ve read loads of self help books… this is the simplest, this is the best.”
Chris Evans | BBC Radio 2
“This is a book EVERYONE needs to read… there’s no better gift you could give yourself. Go on! You deserve it!”
Davina McCall | TV Presenter
The energy at Michael’s keynote event was something not to be missed. Following an inspiring day, everyone headed off to relax at our white-themed BBQ party.
Day 2 brought the future to life
With day 1 all about their personal development, day 2 was all about the future of our franchisees businesses.
In a packed schedule of announcements, people learned how millions of pounds are being invested so that they’ll have even more resources behind them.
- We introduced all our new team members, as the head office team closes in on double its previous size.
- We previewed a suite of new websites, apps and systems that will make their customer relationships even stronger.
- We showcased how our marketing support is growing faster than ever, making it even easier for franchisees to tap into our expertise.
- We unveiled our new “Mastery training concept”, that will take our award-winning training and support to a whole new level.
- … Plus a whole lot more.
The day was followed by our annual awards ceremony and gala dinner, where we recognise all the fantastic work our franchisees put in every day.
Brand Ambassador Daley Thompson was also on hand to give out the awards as well as provide his usual motivational insights.
Day 3 was about making partnerships even stronger
Despite such a busy 2 days, day 3 was just as informative.
On Sunday our travel partners could spend more time with consultants, educating them on the latest product knowledge they need.
With key partners such as Classic Collection, Jet2, Virgin Voyages, Hurtigruten, G Adventures, Gold Medal and many more in attendance, there was no shortage of information to take in.
We also hosted more break-out sessions with experts across all our business tools, as well as special sessions on wellbeing and development to book-end the weekend.
Franchisees are calling this the best conference ever
The feedback from the weekend has been unanimously fantastic, with our travel consultants filled with energy and enthusiasm for the future.
In fact, they couldn’t wait to share their excitement all over social media. You can check out some of the hundreds of posts below.
On LinkedIn, franchisee Leyla said:
What a fantastic weekend thanks to our amazing corporate team at Not Just Travel head office, for our first conference since before Covid…
Lots of new, exciting, innovative and industry leading things announced yesterday by our co-founders Steve & Paul which I can’t wait to tell you more about as they happen!
And franchisee Andrew also posted about his journey over the last year, having just achieved Platinum status in the company:
I look at this certificate like I have never looked at a certificate before. To me, it proves that even in the darkest moments I kept moving forward.
And I don’t forget the help that Not Just Travel as a Franchise gave me, showing that they have my back. Without doubt I made the right choice to join them.
But it hasn’t been easy.
Co-founder Paul Harrison told us:
“Covid has allowed us to think deeply about the future. Now we’re revealing our exciting vision. We’re hiring more people and creating new systems, new training, new resources and new opportunities. But we’re not spending money for the sake of it. Everything is about providing the best new tools, training and mentoring to our consultants.”
The last 2 years have been the hardest ever for the travel industry as a whole. To come through them stronger than ever is testament to both the resilience of our franchisees and the level of support & leadership delivered by the business.
And we’re just getting started!
