Travel Counsellors focused on leisure sales have a “big opportunity” for growth by tapping into the corporate space.
Corporate sales accounted for £150m of Travel Counsellors’ £660m turnover in the year to October 31.
Alison Warren, business travel executive, told delegates at Travel Counsellors’ 25th anniversary conference that there was a “£2 billion opportunity in this space in the UK”.
She urged Travel Counsellors, as personal travel agents, to target small and medium-sized businesses and said corporate business was more secure in times of political uncertainty.
Around two thirds (65%) of Travel Counsellors made no corporate sales in the last 12 months, but the top-earning Travel Counsellor of the last year, Anthony Guy, specialises in corporate sales.
Warren split those who do sell business travel into three groups: corporate specialists, ‘tasters’ booking it for select clients, and ‘hybrid’ TCs selling both leisure and corporate.
She said: “You don’t have to have a million-pound account to sell corporate. Small and medium-sized businesses really value the personal service.
“There’s a misconception that in the business travel environment it’s a transactional relationship with your customer. That’s just not the case.”
She shared some examples of Travel Counsellors who had had success in the corporate space having started off as leisure specialists and suggested those interested in branching into the sector should “use the TC community” for advice.
“Corporate is a big opportunity for everybody,” she said. “We want to be able to support you so you can confidently move into this space.
“Business travel is exciting, it’s much more than just men in grey suits flying to New York every Monday. You can all benefit from this opportunity – just find what works for you.
“We don’t want to be a standard TMC, we want to be personal.”
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