A paid stepping-stone to becoming a Travel Counsellor

Looking to become a Travel Counsellors (TC) business owner but worried about how you'll survive in the first year with no guaranteed income? Maybe you've been in travel for years, need a new challenge but jumping straight to running your own business sounds too daunting. Or you've heard about the significant earning potential that the TC model can provide but you're worried who will support you from the beginning. If so, then read on.

The role is predominantly - but not exclusively - that of a Business Travel Consultant. I am looking for an experienced travel consultant to join my business for a one year salaried contract, after which time, you can become a fully fledged TC business owner. The person can be from a leisure background but the key skill is GDS proficiency, preferably Galileo.

In case you don't know, the TC community is like no other. There are nearly 2000 TCs globally and the consistent care for our clients is unrivalled. We are self-employed business owners which generally attracts a certain type of person; positive, motivated, confident, collaborative and very supportive of each other. It's hard to understand until 'you're in' but it truly is a special community of travel professionals that celebrate each other's successes. No room for negativity :-)

The biggest apprehension for most new joiners is losing their guaranteed salary and backing themselves to survive on uncertain income streams until their own business is up and running. I've been there ... your doubts creep in: What happens if no one books with me? Where will I find my clients? Who will mentor me? How will I pay my mortgage? If only there was a way to ease into it..........

If the above rings true, then this might be the role for you. Here's a bit about my business. Before TC, I specialised in longhaul tailormade holidays. As a TC, I started out promoting these holidays specifically, but soon diversified and found success in corporate travel. With some mentoring from the TC community, I learned 'corporate' and won some big accounts. Swift and sustained growth enabled me to assemble a team of amazing TCs who support me across my accounts. The team now includes myself, 7 business travel consultants, 1 administrator and a handful of leisure TCs who handle any cruise, ski and European holiday enquiries. Business travel (including Sports and Groups) accounts for about 75% of my sales. Clients vary by sector but include Sports, Media, Construction, Tech, Education, Finance, Recruitment and Aviation. Accessible travel features heavily on some accounts.

The business continues to grow rapidly based on referrals and I'm looking to expand the team to support me. Whilst the conventional TC starters have no set salary, I would offer you a basic salary (￡22,000) for the first year, giving you a safety net while you learn the TC ropes. There will also be the potential for uncapped commission, generated from booking my clients travel and any business you create from your own network. During the first year, I will mentor you and give you the opportunity to build your own business, ready for launch the following year.? It is the perfect way for you to learn on the job from an established TC, ensuring you have a steady income and expert mentorship ready to launch your own business the following year.

Duties to include:

• Handling standard business travel requests - booking flights, hotels, car hire, transfers, ferries, rail, etc.
• Managing Group travel and MICE bookings
• Handling crisis when needed - rebooking, relocating or reprotecting travel
• Handling occasion leisure enquiries (subject to experience and passion)
• Admin examples include loading client information to secure database, airline Qs, online check ins, preparing documentation, reconfirming bookings and special requests, booking restaurants or activities, contacting airlines

The above is not exhaustive of the entire role but a fair overview. Whilst these duties can be trained, I need you to bring to the role an existing and comprehensive experience of booking flights and different airfare types. The hours will typically be business hours, Monday to Friday (working remotely and it can be from anywhere......The Maldives as long as your productive and professional). This is a flexible position to make sure you can have a good work life balance. If you're interested to know more, please reach out to me at [email protected] and we can have an informal Zoom chat over a coffee.