InteleTravel boss counters criticism in The Sun article

The boss of InteleTravel in the UK has defended the homeworking agency’s business model after it came under fire in The Sun newspaper.

 

Tricia Handley-Hughes, UK and Ireland managing director of InteleTravel, told Travel Weekly she also plans to develop a forum for greater collaboration among homeworking businesses.

 

Furthermore, the partnership with PlanNet Marketing – the US-headquartered company that recruits agents for InteleTravel – looks set to be reviewed at a group level.

 

More: All publicity is good publicity – or is it?

 

Her comments came after the article about the US-owned travel agency network outlined fears about the way agents were recruited and had limited earning potential.

 

She first mooted a homeworking forum last autumn but has been busy this year with expansion, recruitment of head office staff and an office move.

 

“Now we’ve got the team in place, it allows me to focus strategically on some other issues…and the forum will be one, because when I’ve spoken to other agency forums at events, they showed a real interest in working together to try to measure, discuss business and share best practice among us all,” she said.

 

She highlighted the amount of training that InteleTravel offers agents as well as future initiatives such as an agent recognition programme that will be unveiled at the agency’s forthcoming conference, and a new onboarding programme that will start in September.

 

“We do focus on training, because we know how important it is, but sadly, I think that’s not always picked up by others who do not understand the business model,” she said.

 

“I think that our business model remains robust. It still provides opportunities to earn an income.”

She said the top 50 individual transactions over the last four weeks generated £1.7 million.

 

“Agents can earn money, and I don’t agree with the fact that agents cannot earn money on a part-time basis,” she told Travel Weekly.

 

“If you look at lots of other homeworking agencies, a lot of homeworkers will be female.

 

“They’ll be perhaps mums and parents who cannot work full-time on a business, but yet they’re perfectly capable of making a contribution, providing they’ve got the flexibility.

 

“We need to change as an industry, because even if you work part time, that doesn’t make you any less professional, and it doesn’t make you care less.”

She also pointed out that she has not seen negative comments from InteleTravel partners and suppliers, adding: “They work so closely with us that they do understand the business model, and they are seeing the rewards and the results.”

 

In the wake of the article from The Sun, Handley-Hughes contacted UK bodies such as Abta and the Civil Aviation Authority “to assure them that we remain committed to the UK travel industry”.

 

She said: “We continue to have really close relationships with them, perhaps even more so than some other agencies.

 

“I did [get in touch with them] because I felt that was the courteous and the responsible thing to do.”

 

She also shared the article with PlanNet Marketing but couldn’t comment on the criticisms of the recruitment firm as it is a separate business.

 

Asked if InteleTravel will continue to use PlanNet for recruitment, she said: “It’s probably true to say that every single contract has to be reviewed at some point. I’m sure that strategically as a group business, that will happen too, but it does have to happen as a group…we will be having a discussion.”

 

She also addressed the claim that agents are pressured into staying with the agency, saying: “Agents do have the opportunity – if they realise that homeworking is not going to work for them, it’s not going to be successful, they don’t have a customer base – they will get their money back. It’s as simple as that, and there is a process in place to do that.

 

“But if you look at the support mechanisms, it’s like any career – you will be a success if you put the hard work in.”

She described the agency’s onboarding and Dream Maker induction events, plus ongoing training, as a “huge amount” of support, added: “We know that we’ve got some of the best training in the industry.

 

“[But] travel and homeworking isn’t for everyone, and it’s not going to be 100% successful, but if it isn’t, then come and talk to us and we will refund your money.”

 

Another element in the article by The Sun was the experience of customer Marisa Noyce, from Hampshire, who alleged a holiday “turned into a nightmare after she booked through an InteleTravel agent”.

 

Handley-Hughes said the agent in question had been “a very good agent in terms of sales” for a couple of years – but then she was arrested by Winchester police last September as a result of an investigation into alleged fraud.

 

“We reacted really quickly to this, and we were able to secure [the customer] some alternative accommodation, and of course, paid in full immediately,” she said.

 

She said the back-office systems keep tabs on the group’s 35,000 agents in the UK, noting: “We can see those agents that are making sales [and] those agents that aren’t making any sales, so we’ll start reviewing how we can support those and improve them.

 

“If we can identify those agents, nurture those good ones, and support the ones that are struggling, we feel that we’re playing our part.

 

“I feel that we’ve achieved so much. Our revenues are up. We’ve won awards now from our suppliers and the cruise industry.

 

“We’ll carry on being as transparent and honest as we can.

 

“If anybody does come across any examples that they hear of that I need to be aware of, raise those with me, and I will take them on board and deal with them.”

 

Travel Weekly has approached PlanNet Marketing for comment.

 

More: InteleTravel expands UK team with two new appointments

 

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