Agents hit by Covid-19 job losses are among more than 50 enquiries received by Advantage Travel Partnership about joining a new homeworking division.
The Travel Specialists by Advantage concept was unveiled less than a month ago by the independent agents’ consortium.
Interest has come from existing homeworkers attracted by the offer of a “competitive fee structure”, and a significant number of new start-ups, driven predominantly by redundancy due to the pandemic or existing agents looking to set up on their own.
This demonstrates there could be more small, agile businesses competing with established brands in 2021 and beyond, Advantage predicted.
The group has also received a number of business travel enquiries.
Advantage Travel Partnership leisure director Kelly Cookes said: “We’re really pleased with the interest and leads we’ve had over the last couple of weeks for Travel Specialists by Advantage.
“As a hybrid between a traditional homeworking organisation and a managed services model, we’ve had lots of feedback from agents to say that the ring fenced trust account for customers monies, management of supplier payments and administrative and out of hours support are a huge draw.
“This model is a great option for travel agents looking for the security that comes with being part of a consortium with the flexibility of homeworking.”