Fast-growing travel agency InteleTravel has defended its business model after criticism of home-based agents who choose to work part-time and lack the experience and knowledge of more established travel sellers.
Designer Travel co-founder Amanda Matthews used last week’s Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards to praise more than 150 of her agency’s homeworkers, adding they “work for a career, not a side hustle”.
Matthews, who picked up the Outstanding Contribution honour with co-founder Karen Pocock, later added: “We are true travel agents. We don’t try to pretend to be anything other than travel agents.
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“We are not fair-weather friends to our suppliers. We value our partnerships and work hard with our suppliers.”
Her comments were seen as an attack on companies such as InteleTravel, which has 20,000 agents across the UK and Ireland.
In response to the criticism, InteleTravel UK and Ireland managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes offered a robust defence of the “significant number” of the company’s agents who have another job as a way of supplementing their income.
She insisted: “A secondary income was a lifeline during Covid for so many people who either lost their jobs or were put on the furlough scheme.
“Now, our business model opens up a new opportunity to enter the travel industry and run a business without incurring any large financial burden.
“We are proud to remove barriers to entry and grow the sales pipeline.”
She added: “InteleTravel has advisors who have been with us for a number of years and have successfully transitioned into full-time travel agency businesses.
“The proof is in the response from our suppliers, who welcome the revenues generated through new distribution channels and are overwhelmed by our performance.”
She said the agency’s training was “extremely thorough” and “one of
the most stringent programmes in the industry,” adding: “We regularly evaluate it and never rest on our laurels.”
The public criticism came as some in the industry debated whether the title ‘travel agent’ properly reflected the role, stressing the breadth of knowledge and additional work now required.
In a LinkedIn post, travel counsellor Ally Case described the role of a modern-day agent as ranging from curating bespoke experiences and managing complex itineraries to providing invaluable support throughout a client’s entire trip.
“When I get asked what I do, I find that I am really struggling with the title ‘travel agent’,” she said.
“Agents are strategic planners, consultants and customer service specialists rolled into one.”
The Advantage Travel Partnership chief commercial officer Kelly Cookes said: “Today, travel agents not only offer personalised assistance throughout the whole process of planning and booking holidays, business trips and other experiences, but also provide expert advice on destinations, transport and accommodation, while also considering affordability and securing the best deals.
“They are also on hand to provide expert support and are available for when things do go wrong.”
Cookes added: “We are also increasingly seeing agents use social media and take on the role of an influencer, inspiring their followers to seek their next trip. As the role broadens, agents continue to adapt.”
She said the consortium “fully embraced” all agents who worked in the industry and brought new talent to the sector.