Six new homeworkers have joined Personal Travel Consultants in partnership with Blue Bay Travel to bring the total number of self-employed agents to 33.
The autumn additions come just a year since the brand was established.
The new recruits, who joined in September and October, include some who have held careers in teaching and hospitality prior to joining the travel industry.
More: Travel Weekly’s Homeworking Directory
PTC sales manager Abbie Heaton added: “We are really excited to welcome our new starters.
“The six new additions are bright and passionate and will make an invaluable contribution to the continued success for our homeworking division. We’re looking forward welcoming more new faces in the not-too-distant future.”
Among the newcomers are agents who were either made redundant or left the industry during the pandemic.
Former Your Co-op Travel consultant Kerry Jones said: “After I was made redundant from Co-op, I didn’t want my next move to be another high street agency role.
“I had proved I could lead a team, but I wanted to get back to doing what I truly love – selling holidays.
“Being a self-employed homeworker with Blue Bay is great for me as it allows me real flexibility, I love interacting with people and customers.”
Nicola Szymanowski, with 20 years industry experience, added: “After the pandemic I found, like many, that I’d fallen out of love with travel.
“I took two years out during the pandemic to look after my young son and, when I was considering a return to travel, Blue Bay really stood out as it offers great flexibility and good earning potential.
“As someone coming back to travel after some time out, the Blue Bay-generated customer leads have provided financial stability whilst I build up my own client base.”
Rebecca Bagnoli joined the industry just before the pandemic hit after being a teacher for 16 years.
She returned to supply teaching while furloughed during Covid and then joined Bawtry Travel as a homeworker in partnership with a friend.
Bagnoli said: “My mum passed away before the pandemic and it really forced me to re-think what’s truly important, so I decided to take the plunge and swapped teaching for travel.
“My travel agent friend encouraged me, not only into the industry in the first place, but also to have the confidence to set up on my own and I’m so glad I did it.
“Having joined the industry during a time when people couldn’t travel, and the majority of my time was spent moving and cancelling holidays, it feels incredibly positive and buoyant currently.
“I love working as part of the PTCs as the admin and marketing support is invaluable. Having someone else to chase up payments for me, so that I can focus on selling, is a godsend.”