Holiday Experts is hoping to recruit 100 homeworkers in the next two years after helping them increase their average commission earnings by 41% to more than £50,000 in the last year.
Speaking at the firm’s conference in Manchester last week, Holiday Experts chief executive Peter Healey said the agency was hoping to recruit 50 agents in 2010 and another 50 in 2011.
He stressed the recruitment to the current 30-strong team will be in line with the company’s growth, which he claimed is now paying the highest commissions in the industry.
Healey said: “We have spent the initial period following the acquisition restructuring the business, and next month we will be launching a recruitment drive that will see the number of homeworkers triple over the next two years.
“Our continued investment will not only allow opportunities for our existing homeworkers, but also offer great opportunities for travel industry professionals who wish to start their own business.”
He said the growth of the average commission payments to £50,000, which was paid out for the year ending March 2009, was thanks to Holiday Experts’ use of websites and direct-mail campaigns to improve repeat business and further build customer profiles.
Healey said the company now has dedicated websites for seven short- and medium-haul properties popular with Brits. The sites can be easily found online, and direct consumer phone enquiries go through to Holiday Experts agents.
The tactic has been so successful Healey is hoping to sign up a further 13 properties to the scheme by the end of the year.
He said: “The inclusion of Holiday Experts into the Vertical Group has allowed us to focus on new media opportunities and roll out a series of new websites that are generating good quality leads, steering us away from traditional homeworking media channels.
“Our homeworkers are excellent sales people and an improved conversion level offers an increased return on investment to plough back into the business.”
The conference was the first held by the homeworking company since its acquisition by the Vertical Group in the summer.