Janine Loves Travel is planning to host its first conference and roll out a new reservation system to make booking easier and quicker after reaching 300 agents.
The homeworking group, part of JLT Travel, increased from about 200 members in August last year to 300 by November. It turned over more than £6.8 million in 2024.
Janine Marshall, who set up the agency during Covid, said the group’s fast, organic growth, and the chance for agents to meet and network with suppliers, were behind the decision to host a conference.
More: New homeworking firm Janine Loves Travel ‘on track for 300 agents’ [August 24]
The ‘JLT Jamboree’ will be held at Mottram Hall in Cheshire on March 27. More than 100 homeworking agents have already signed up to attend, plus 25 suppliers, tourist boards and hoteliers.
There is capacity for up to 300 at the event, which includes an overnight stay with a gala dinner, entertainment, charity raffle and agent awards. Supplier workshops, a ‘power hour’ for one-to-one chats, supplier bingo and a trade fair will also be held during the day.
Marshall said: “We’ve got a lovely community of agents and it will be really nice to get them together to meet each other face-to-face and meet the management team. We have agents coming from as far as Aberdeen and Devon.”
A key focus of the event will be the group’s new reservation system, which went live in December.
Devised in partnership with Top Dog Travel Systems, the system makes the group’s suppliers, including tour operators, flight consolidators and transfer companies, accessible for agents to book in one place.
“We can plug in our own suppliers so agents don’t have to go into each supplier’s portal to get prices,” said Marshall. “The search engine brings up package options from different suppliers. It’s a real time-saver.”
Dynamic packages represent 30% of sales by the group, which obtained its Atol in 2023 as part of Protected Trust Services.
Marshall added that Janine Loves Travel continued to attract new recruits but had no set target.
“We are open to taking on new agents who are serious about travel as a part-time or full-time business. Our new reservation system shows we are serious about making this a proper career for agents,” she said.