Homeworkers bring in plenty of business, so what are suppliers doing to engage with these sought-after travel sellers? Katie McGonagle reports
As a way of getting in front of travel agents, suppliers make stops at high street travel stores across the country – meeting agents face to face, sharing product updates, delivering in-store training and establishing that all-important personal connection to a company.
However, the impracticality of a face to face visit when home-based agents are spread all over the country means that suppliers are having to become more inventive to ensure this group of agents aren’t missing out.
Now, you might be as likely to find business development managers (BDMs) offering appointments in local coffee shops, updates via Zoom or putting on company wide webinars to provide product training
and maintain those connections.
Some tour operators have even gone so far as to hire homeworker-focused BDMs to try to tailor their approach to the specific needs of home-based agents, especially where those requirements differ from their high street or call centre-based counterparts.
While suppliers are increasingly engaging with homeworkers, some are going above and beyond to court their affections. We find out how these business relationships are sustained, even in the new world of hybrid working.
Individual attention
Gold Medal lays claim to being the first tour operator to bring a dedicated homeworker account manager on board, having decided to advertise in October 2019. “We could see the number of homeworking agents was growing, with more and more agents opting to take the lower-cost model of working from home,” says Karen Fletcher, trade partnerships director for Gold Medal.
“What was also clear was the fact that these agents needed a specific team to support and engage them as opposed to retail agents. Someone to consider their bespoke working lives and to champion them.
The important thing is that we have someone helping homeworkers grow their business and we will tailor our approach to what is needed
“They are individual business owners who are passionate and creative about making their own business succeed. The growth we’ve seen from these partners is phenomenal – we love our homeworkers, and it was absolutely the right thing to do with many other operators following suit, but we were the first!”
While the pandemic moved most supplier relations online for some time, Fletcher says the past 18 months have been “incredible”, with two trade partnership managers – Nichola Marston for the north and Hannah Eldridge for the south – focusing on training, supporting and networking with home-based
agents, often answering messages well into the evening to reflect their non-standard hours.
Spread the word
More companies are wising up to the benefits of a homeworker-focused sales team. Riviera Travel and TTC Tour Brands (which incorporates Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Trafalgar, Costsaver and Contiki) are among the latest to have created new roles, with both citing the growth in homeworking business for their expansion.
Vicky Billing, head of trade and partnerships UK & Ireland at Riviera Travel, says: “The number of homeworkers is growing all the time and they do not always work a nine-to-five routine. We wanted to provide a more tailored approach, and with Amanda [Docherty, key account manager for homeworkers] joining, we can do just that.
The homeworkers attending our evening events do so with other colleagues, using it as an opportunity to catch up and network
“The important thing is that we have someone dedicated to helping homeworkers grow their business. And we will tailor our approach to what is needed.”
Docherty works with agents via webinars, virtual meetings and face to face meet-ups. The company reports trade sales have risen 50% year on year, with homeworkers accounting for “a significant part of that growth”.
TTC Tour Brands, meanwhile, recruited Donna Nelson for the new position of homeworker area sales manager. Kelly Walker, TTC Tour Brands’ director of sales for the UK, Ireland and Europe, says: “We wanted our team to show as much support as possible, and to work differently to accommodate these agents, which make up a growing sector of the industry.
“Donna will do her best to suit the agent, whether that’s face-to-face, a dog walk or a Zoom call. A TTC tour customer is highly likely to be a returning customer. Home-based agents are generally self-employed and therefore retaining customers is imperative for them.”
Face time
There are many more networking opportunities to harness outside formal training, with agent roadshows, conferences and events designed to foster relationships between frontline sellers and suppliers in a more relaxed environment.
For cruise specialists, the flagship conferences and themed agent events from Clia (Cruise Lines International Association) are a must, while those looking to focus on the touring, adventure and expedition sector will find the annual conference and regional roadshows from Atas (Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers) are a chance to get to know a host of new brands.
Atas director Claire Brighton says: “We see great attendance from homeworkers at all of our events. This gives them a great opportunity to get in front of tour operators because it is more challenging for suppliers to see homeworkers individually compared with store visits. We move our agent events around the country each year so different people can engage with us.”
Also bringing together a range of suppliers, membership group Tipto (Truly Independent Professional Travel Organisation) holds regular ‘Face 2 Face’ events featuring 12 suppliers, plus ‘SuperShows’ with 25 in attendance.
Since the organisation’s 25th anniversary year began in September, it has hosted 20 events and training days, drawing nearly 1,100 agents – 47% of whom have been homeworkers, which is nearly double the 24% seen in the previous year.
Chairman Richard Forde says many of these homeworkers are new to Tipto. “We are seeing a strong split across all of the major groups including Hays Personal Travel Consultants, Travel Counsellors, Not Just Travel and InteleTravel, along with some of the smaller groups.
“While our events and activities are open to all, we find that our daytime training days are particularly popular with homeworking agents,” he says. “These days are typically held in the autumn and winter, and are tailored to operate inside school hours (10am-2pm), so they are more
accessible to homeworkers with children.”
But it’s not just suppliers that home-based agents can connect with at these events. “We find that homeworkers attending our evening events do so with other colleagues, using it as an opportunity to catch up and network,” says Forde. “We always try to seat agents with their colleagues and friends, particularly if they’re new, and we find that this experience leads to recommendations and agents bringing new colleagues along to try our events first-hand.”
Train to gain
Old-school face-to-face networking is almost always the best way to build a long-term relationship, but while you’re busy running a business, there are other online resources that can help maintain knowledge and contacts when it’s not practical to get out and about.
OTT (Online Travel Training) has the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of travel agent training, focusing on destinations, products, skills and more. Forthcoming modules will feature need-to-know tips for home-based business owners.
You can ‘follow’ key partner companies via the online directory to be notified about course updates, prizes and incentives; access downloadable assets to help promote ancillary services such as airport parking, car hire, lounges, travel insurance and attraction tickets; and be part of the OTT community.
“Training and maintaining product knowledge are even more crucial for homeworkers due to the unique nature of their work environment,” says OTT’s head of global partnerships, Angelica Diaz-Arnett, who previously worked in a home-based role.
“Unlike travel agents in traditional office or retail settings, homeworkers operate independently, and may not have the opportunity to learn from colleagues or participate in regular team meetings.”
This is where technology comes to the fore. “With more people now working from home, travel brands don’t have the frontline exposure that they used to have, so technology must be incorporated,” says Diaz-Arnett. “Many travel brands want to be able to communicate directly with frontline sellers, which is why OTT is so beneficial, as the message goes directly to the agent.”
There are other incentive platforms that can offer an additional touchpoint to stay connected with preferred suppliers. My Booking Rewards offers sales support tools for various supplier rewards programmes, along with direct access to sales teams and, of course, rewards on bookings logged via the platform.
Almost one-third of its agents are home-based – a figure that is growing “exponentially month on month”, according to chief executive Darren Pearson.
“By April 2024, we had seen a 45% increase in homeworking agents joining compared with 2023,” he says. “April also saw the highest homeworker intake this year, so there appears to be an upward trend, which is great, as it is an important group and one that really benefits from our technology.
“In the past 12 months, UK homeworkers have reaped significant financial rewards worth up to £55,000 from almost 11,000 bookings logged. Suppliers have banked about £62 million in sales revenue from these.”
But Pearson explains that the benefits extend beyond financial gain.
“Homeworking agents can access support via our active MBR and Travel Professionals Facebook pages, which offer networking for those that need more flexibility from home,” he says. “Plus our suppliers regularly contact registered agents within the system with news, offers, incentives and selling tips.”
As new agents join the homeworking sector, it’s evident that they’ll be met with plenty of avenues to build and develop new relationships with suppliers – and this is set to continue growing in the future.
Working together: in numbers
43% of OTT users are home-based
47% of agents attending Tipto events are homeworkers
10% – 15% of Riviera Travel’s trade business comes via homeworkers
£55,000 total annual rewards earned by UK homeworkers via My Booking Rewards in past year
5 Gold Medal fam trips specifically for homeworkers in 2024
PICTURE: Steve Dunlop
Click here to read the 2024 edition of the Guide to Homeworking.