Not Just Travel agent Amy Howerd tells Samantha Mayling about turning her hobby into a full-time business – despite the pandemic.
Q. How did you set up with Not Just Travel?
A. I joined in November 2019. I’d never worked in travel before and wanted a company that provided lots of support. Not Just Travel was head and shoulders above the others and I was excited by their Money Back Challenge, which gave me the opportunity to receive my franchise fee back. If I hit a certain target within my first year, NJT would repay my fee. This was extended beyond a year, because of Covid, but I still reached it within 13 months.
I was excited by [Not Just Travel’s] Money Back Challenge, which gave me the opportunity to receive my franchise fee back
Q. Why did you set up your homeworking business?
A. I had a part-time administrative role for a software company – I worked there for 15 years – and had recently returned after having my second child. I was passionate about travel and planned to run the business alongside my part-time job, with a view to becoming a full-time agent. Working from home meant I could do school runs and fit the business around family life. I’ve set up an office in my house – I live near Bath in Somerset.
Q. How did you cope during the pandemic?
A. Having only been in business for four months, I couldn’t believe my bad luck when Covid hit. I’d had a few fantastic months and had planned to resign at the end of March 2020 – sadly this did not happen. Luckily, I didn’t have a huge number of cancellations. I continued taking bookings throughout the pandemic. I had a rocky year or two but, in August 2021, I resigned from my employed position and haven’t looked back.
I was passionate about travel and planned to run the business alongside my part-time job, with a view to becoming a full-time agent
Q. What is your background in travel?
A. My employed position involved organising some corporate travel but, aside from that, I had a real passion for travel. It was like a hobby. We’d always travelled a lot and I would constantly help friends and family with travel plans as I loved it so much.
Q. What was your first booking as a homeworker?
A. I made a booking for Orlando the day after my training, which was exciting as I’m a huge Florida fan and we visit most years. Sadly, it didn’t happen because of the pandemic, but they have since booked other trips with me.
I made a booking for Orlando the day after my training, which was exciting as I’m a huge Florida fan and we visit most years
Q. Have you made some large bookings?
A. I’ve booked quite a few large group holidays and cruises, which are always quite challenging as you want to please everyone. The largest booking was a family of 18 on a Royal Caribbean cruise around Greece and Italy last year.
They’d been waiting so long to get together, and it was a pleasure to help. There’s a trend for big groups making up for lost time and I’ve made quite a lot of bookings like this. Many want to make it an annual or bi-annual occasion and they’ve returned from one trip ready to book the next. Lots of my customers are families, so school holidays are always my busiest times – August is looking crazy. I have customers booked to travel up until the end of 2024.
Europe is always popular – particularly Spain and Greece. I’ve noticed more demand for Australia and New Zealand because lots of people want to visit friends and family for the first time since Covid. My average booking value is about £3,500.
[My] largest booking was a family of 18 on a Royal Caribbean cruise around Greece and Italy last year
Q. How do you find your customers?
A. Lots of my customers are local and most of my business comes through recommendations. I have branding on my car and occasionally sponsor local events. I advertise on social media and Facebook is invaluable. Most of my customer contact comes through there.
Q. How does NJT support you?
A. Consultants are allocated a business development manager and I meet mine every couple of weeks. We discuss how I’m going to achieve my targets. There is a huge amount of supplier training and regular webinars. I’ve signed up for NJT’s Concierge Service, which supports my customers and allows me to focus on sales. I want to increase my sales – I have a target for £1 million in sales in 2023. I have passed £2 million since I started.
I’ve signed up for NJT’s Concierge Service, which supports my customers and allows me to focus on sales
Tell us about your own travels
In the past year, I’ve been to Tenerife with easyJet holidays on a fam trip. It was pretty full-on as we visited about 18 hotels during the four days that we were there. It was brilliant for me, though, as they were all hotels that I regularly sell and you can’t beat actually seeing a property for yourself.
I’ve also been to Mexico with Not Just Travel on their Elite Experience. We stayed at a Dreams property for four nights and a Secrets property for two nights. We had lots of training while we were there and went on excursions. It was a fantastic week. Since Covid, we’ve really made the most of our own family holidays and have been to Disneyland Paris, Orlando and skiing in France.
In February we went to Portugal because our daughter Harper, aged nine, qualified to play in the World Junior Golf Championship. Our next family holiday will be three weeks away in Florida during August. We like to spend a couple of weeks visiting the theme parks and then we’ll head to the beach.