Two former homeworkers are joining forces to set up an online travel agency and homeworking network under Barrhead Travel’s Brilliant Travel brand.
Managing director Garry Butcher and director Alistair Stewart have worked as travel agents for around five years and ran homeworking franchise The Travel Service together before deciding to go it alone.
Their new business, Travel Portfolio, will operate as a managed service travel partner of Barrhead Travel. It is currently working on website brands which will feed calls to a small homeworking network.
Travel Portfolio will operate under Barrhead’s Atol and have access to the group’s suppliers.
By joining the Brilliant brand, which aims to double in size this year, it also has the option to open a shop in the future.
Butcher, who also worked as business development manager for agency RubyBlue Travel and has experience of helping small businesses use social media, said: “At present we need to focus on getting the brands up and running. Once they are, we will start to get a profile on social media.”
The websites under production include Caribbean Dreams, Vacation USA and Cruiselines.co.uk. Future brands could include Dreams of Africa and Dreams of India.
Butcher hopes to recruit around six to eight homeworkers in total. So far it has appointed two.
He said: “The Travel Portfolio will develop and market the brands for our network of specialist and general travel homeworkers.”
Agents will receive 60% of the commission earned for working from enquiries generated by the group’s OTA but could earn up to 75% for self-generated sales.