After years of working in IT, James desperately wanted to shake things up. His wife Natasha worked in the NHS and was looking for a change too.
In the throes of Covid, the couple knew they wanted to carve a new life. They also knew they didn’t want to work for anyone else.
Hence they started to look at various franchises – from coffee shops to ice cream vans. However, it was when their holiday was cancelled during the pandemic that the horrendous customer service that they received sent them down the travel path.
“Travel is our biggest passion and that terrible experience made us think: ‘Surely we could do better?’”
“I soon realised there were a whole host of possibilities out there to set ourselves up as a travel agent,” said James.
After lots of research, James narrowed it down to a couple of travel franchises. He even picked up the phone and spoke to a number of random travel consultants to gauge their honest opinions.
“It was the middle of Covid and not a plane in the sky, yet they were all so positive about their jobs.”
When James mooted the idea to Natasha she thought he was bonkers. No one was travelling and the industry had collapsed. Who would launch a travel business during Covid?
Well, after watching the Discovery videos on our website and chatting to our co-founder Paul Harrison, Natasha and James did just that.
That was three years ago and today they’ve clocked up about £3.8 million worth of holiday bookings and recently opened their brand new swanky shop in their local garden centre.
Neither had ever worked in travel before, yet it was on their last day of onboard training with us that they made their first booking. And the bookings have continued from there – and so has the training.
Our training doesn’t stop once you’ve completed the five days of live online training. It’s ongoing.
All our franchisees are appointed a business development manager (BDM) who is there to guide them, advise them, motivate them and congratulate them every step of the way.
“Our success is partly due to the training because training is there all the time,” said James.
“We’ve got a BDM who we can WhatsApp if we need help. And we’ve got the great head office team to help guide us through any issues that occasionally occur.”
Alongside regular webinars and online training sessions, our Elite packages include two overseas training retreats. FIrst up is a Millionaire’s Retreat to a short-haul destination to enable franchisees to evaluate their day-to-day operations and formulate a business plan.
After gaining more experience they then attend our luxurious, VIP Elite Experience, in a luxury, long-haul destination with the focus on thinking more strategically about where they want their business to go and how they’re going to achieve it.
Past Elite Experiences have taken place in Mauritius, Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
“One of the greatest experiences for me was the Elite trip in Jamaica. It took me out of the business to really analyse what was working, what wasn’t working and where we wanted the business to go. We then looked at what tweaks needed to be made in order for us to achieve that plan. It was a real game changer.”
Natasha and James also cruised with us on board Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady at our first overseas conference and joined our Cruise Division to help master the art of selling cruise holidays – one of the fastest growing and most lucrative sectors of the travel industry.
“Cruise is a massive part of our business now – typically around a third of bookings. Joining the Cruise Division really allowed us to gain an understanding of the cruise lines that we weren’t aware of. This knowledge then puts us in a position to be able to sell even more.”
Not only is selling cruise lucrative due to higher commissions, but cruising typically attracts a high level of repeat business.
“We often find with cruise customers, they haven’t just got one cruise booked, they’ve got the second, they’ve got the third, potentially even the fourth booked. Plus, the commissions are really good – anything up to 21%.”
And while James and Natasha enjoy cruising, they take advantage of any opportunity to travel as part of the ‘job’.
Taking advantage of discounted fares, they like to check out destinations and resorts that they know their own clients would like, posting photos to inspire their customers to follow in their footsteps.
“Earlier this year we went to Siyam World Resort in the Maldives. By the time we got back, we’d sold three trips to that island – all made while sitting on the terrace of our over-water villa!”
Then, in September when the couple were in Mauritius, they found time to book two family holidays and a vow renewal package.
“Our customers love to see that we’ve been somewhere that we’re recommending. They know we’re coming from a position of authority, that we’ve been there, we know it. So travelling ourselves helps from a business perspective.”
The joy of this job is that you really can do it from anywhere in the world.
Like Natasha and James you could be making bookings while on a cruise in the middle of the ocean or while sitting on your terrace in the Maldives – all you need is a laptop and an internet connection.
“Sometimes when I’m away, I’ll even put customers on a WhatsApp video call so they can see where we are. And that really does help with closing the sale.”
Saying that, the couple has just moved into a plush shop at their local, upmarket garden centre so they can meet their customers face-to-face.
“We love being able to say hello to all of our new customers and existing customers in our new premises. It’s certainly a very light and airy place to work.”
Although as a Not Just Travel agent there are no set working days – some agents choose to work part-time, full-time or in their spare time – Natasha and James are choosing to be at their shop five days a week.
So does this mean no more travel for them? Absolutely not. Being a Not Just Travel agent is all about flexibility. When they are on their regular trips, clients who come to the new shop can still get in contact with them, either via a QR code or via WhatsApp.
“Clients like to see that travel agents are travelling. Being in a garden centre is not like being on a high street – we’re more specialist than that. As long as they can get in contact with us, that’s what matters. They can chat to us if we’re away or make an appointment to pop in and see us as soon as we’re back.
“For us, we are very successful working remotely. About 50% of our business is done over Zoom or on a call. However, we’re finding that a number of new clients initially come to us because they’re bogged down with the information available online. They just want to come in and speak to someone. Initially we bring them in, we have a conversation, and then once they’ve seen us once, everything is generally done remotely.”
The new shop is going to capture a lot of new clients who want that initial face-to-face reassurance. And as the business grows, the couple may well appoint a member of staff to help them out.
This will allow them to build the business further and pursue their passion even more. The world truly is their oyster – for business and pleasure.
Do you want to build a business while travelling the world? Your first step should be to watch our 10-minute Discovery video.
Jenny Farenden
Head of The Travel Franchise
Jenny has spent the better part of two decades helping franchise businesses grow – not just in numbers, but in reputation, reach, and meaning. She joined The Travel Franchise in 2022 and has been central to its transformation into the most recognised and awarded travel franchise in the UK.
