Travel Homeworking Tech

Posted on June 12, 2019 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Tech

To be the best travel homeworker you can be, you need the best travel homeworking tech to run your business from.

Just recently Holidaysplease was named TTGTop50 Online Agent of the Year for the 2nd time in three years. You can I’m sure imagine how proud we are of this achievement, especially as the technology and systems that we have developed for Holidaysplease Homeworkers has been a major factor in those two wins.

Charles picking up the TTGtop50 Online Agency of the Year 2019 award for Holidaysplease with Jess from Latin Routes and her Alpaca plus Pippa from TTG.

One of the key reasons behind the successful growth of Holidaysplease over the last 16 years is our inhouse tech team. From the word go we wanted to be masters of our own tech destiny. This means that we develop and build our own systems tailormade for how we want to work, in the way that serves our homeworkers and, perhaps most importantly, our customers best.

The Holidaysplease travel homeworking tech empowers our team to run a super-efficient business. Everything they need to be 100% on top of managing new enquiries through to sales, and looking after bookings is to hand.

The system keeps them in touch with latest news from HQ and includes a chat function via which the team support each other.

Sales and target reports keep Holidaysplease homeworkers totally up to speed with the performance of their business, and e-marketing functionality makes it easy for our homeworkers to stay in touch with their customer base.

And the best news of all is that the Holidaysplease system is easy to use and easily accessible. No horrible system download that takes up all the memory on your laptop. No having to be hard-wired in to an HQ server. The Holidaysplease travel homeworking technology is accessed online, all you need as a homeworker is an internet connection.

Your business is portable! Work from home, the local coffee shop, a shared office area…..or even from abroad should you wish to stay in control from the comfort of your poolside sun lounger!

To find out more about how we work at Holidaysplease email agne@holidaysplease or just pick up the phone, we’re on 0121 200 5720.

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The real meaning of Travel Homeworking support

Posted on April 25, 2019 | Comments Off on The real meaning of Travel Homeworking support

Support is a word often seen on Travel Homeworking recruitment adverts or heard in conversations between travel homeworking companies and prospective homeworkers.

As support is usually important to people considering homeworking as a future option, companies are happy to give it a mention.

What every prospective travel homeworker must do is explore below the surface of that mention to establish exactly what this support actually looks like. Because the fact of the matter is that the real meaning of Travel Homeworking support can vary greatly from one travel homeworking company to the next.

Real support often lies below the surface.

At Holidaysplease we value our customer service above anything else, and from the word go have applied this same mentality to how we work with and support our multi-award winning team of homeworkers.

Rather than recruit numbers to satisfy our vanity, we have always recruited based on productivity.

We don’t want loads of people doing very little, we prefer a smaller more productive team! So, we are totally committed to the success of each and every person that we invite to become a Holidaysplease Homeworker.

Which means pro-active support. It means regular calls from our Head Office team leaders, often daily calls through the all-important early months.

It means kicking off every month with a one to one business building call with one of our leaders to review the month just gone and set the agenda for the month ahead.

It means weekly video conference calls with the team broken down into small groups, plus weekly product and training webinars with suppliers.

It means team leaders and Directors visiting homeworkers to stay in touch. A few weeks after every induction one of our Senior Leaders will spend a day working with every new homeworker in their home as part of our onboarding process.

It means homeworkers spending time with us at HQ to refresh existing skills and develop new ones.

It means that any homeworker can speak with any of the Directors about their business at any time.

It means head office resource is in place to support any homeworker who is on holiday. We are often booking holidays for customers whose personal homeworker is on holiday, and by the way that homeworker still receives their full commission on that booking!

It means a sales team leader being available 7 days a week until 10pm at night to assist homeworkers with any issues or provide help and advice to bag a booking.

It means a unique intranet chat room where homeworkers share tips and news and support each other with product knowledge to secure sales.

And of course it means all the marketing, tech and admin support from a team of 30 head office staff with a genuine desire to be of service.

It really is no accident that the average productivity per homeworker at Holidaysplease is up there with the very best in the business.

Holidaysplease Homeworkers are never recruited and then left to bumble along on their own. We maintain a high ratio of team leaders to homeworkers to ensure that we deliver the support we talk about.

When you talk support with us at Holidaysplease, be ready for a long conversation!

We are ready to chat when you are : 0121 200 5720.

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Travel Homeworking Certainty

Posted on March 26, 2019 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Certainty

It could be said that with travel homeworking certainty is hard to find.

Working on a self-employed commission only basis means that whilst your earning potential is uncapped and many travel homeworkers do take home significantly more than the average travel agent on the high street or in a call-centre, your income can be uncertain.

And for many homeworkers finding and retaining customers is sometimes uncertain…..although Holidaysplease homeworkers have more certainty than most in this area as highlighted in this recent BLOG.

The thing with certainty is that right now it’s pretty hard to find full stop!

Just last week Thomas Cook announced a further 21 store closures with 320 retail jobs at risk. There has not been much certainty working for one of travel’s oldest names for quite some time now.

And with the whole Brexit in or out hokey cokey farce certainty is a rarity across practically every walk of life!

Image courtesy of alamy stock photo

The good news for self-employed travel homeworkers is that they have perhaps more certainty in these uncertain times than if they were in an employed position.

As a travel homeworker with Holidaysplease you are in control. You control when you work and what you work on.

And of course, the old adage of “the more you put in the more you get out” could not be more apt.  More often than not the travel homeworkers who earn the most (and therefore achieve certainty in their income) are those that work hardest. Need to earn more? Work more hours! In most salaried positions you often end up working more hours for no more money!!

Over the last 20 years some of the fastest growing and most successful companies in travel have been travel homeworking companies. Holidaysplease has achieved consistent double-digit growth pretty much every year of the 15 we have been in business.

Whilst the number of high street travel agents has close to halved in recent years to 3,500 the travel homeworking community has grown to a similar number.

At the 2018 AITO Overseas Conference last November ABTA director John de Vial said “I can see the number of homeworkers overtaking the number of physical travel agencies in the next few years.”

So yes, travel homeworking certainty can be hard to find. At the same time, it’s fair to say that there is more certainty in travel homeworking than there is across pretty much every sector of the travel industry currently.

Anytime you fancy a chat about homeworking with Holidaysplease we are just a quick call away on 0121 200 5720.

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Travel Homeworking Growth

Posted on February 11, 2019 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Growth

Reading updates in the travel trade press it is clear that across the industry it is Travel Homeworking growth that has been the bright spot of this years January trading.

Both Travel Weekly and TTG have been running reports of record Travel Homeworking growth from a number of the key Travel Homeworking companies, including Holidaysplease of course!

Whilst trading amongst the high street travel agents appears to have been patchy at best, Travel Homeworkers have shown again that with the right attitude and work ethic records are there to be smashed!!

And the Holidaysplease Homeworking team really did smash it this January!

  • The 2nd week of the month saw us break through the £1million sales mark in a week for the first time to set a new record week which, the following week, we exceeded!
  • And we set a new record for sales in a month achieving sales in excess of £4million for the first time.

Individually many of the Holidaysplease Homeworking team had a super-rewarding January.

  • A third of the team set new personal records for sales in a month.
  • 20% of of the team exceeded the magic £100,000 mark for sales in a month, our greatest number ever.
  • The average sales per homeworker in January was over £50,000 in a month for the first time ever. This is industry leading productivity.

The Holidaysplease Travel Homeworking growth in January was achieved by established and new homeworkers. One team member that joined us in November booked £144,000’s worth of holidays in January, whilst at the same time a homeworker who has been with Holidaysplease for over 10 years and has consistently achieved fantastic results, enjoyed her best month ever with us.

And of course the hard work that brought this success brings incredible rewards. Those 20% of homeworkers who hit the £100k mark for the month will have earned at least £5,000 in the month. Our top homeworker for the month earned commission in excess of £10,000 in January!

In travel terms these earnings are way way above average salaries paid on the high street or in call centres. Whilst always remembering that every single penny earned as a travel homeworker is hard-earned, lets also remember that these top earners are not some super human breed of travel agent ninja’s!

They all come from typical travel backgrounds. High Street travel agents, multiples and independents. Call-centres, Tour Operators both large and specialist.

The only thing that sets them apart is the belief, energy, determination and vision that they bring. That is where the Travel Homeworking growth comes from.

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Travel Homeworking Attitude

Posted on December 27, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Attitude

In Travel Homeworking attitude is the biggest key to success.

The kind of attitude you need to be a super successful travel homeworker is encapsulated perfectly by Henry Ford’s famous quote :

For Travel Homeworkers December and January are months that highlight this perhaps better than at any other time of the year.

Historically December is the slowest sales month of the year for the travel industry, January the busiest. So most people in travel think a lot about January, and not much thought goes into December.

Which of course is a massive mistake!

At Holidaysplease our attitude is always that we can make something happen, no matter the day, week or month. Throughout this December our marketing team have been on it generating fresh leads for the Holidaysplease Homeworking Team. The result : enquiries UP 31% year on year, and sales commission UP 34%!

If you think you can…..

And whilst as a team we have been working hard through December to make sales, we’ve also been thinking about January and taking action to make sure we are ready to go from the off.

The thing is, just because lots of people tend to book holidays in January, no-one in travel should just think that they will. Which is why having the right Travel Homeworking attitude before and throughout peaks is critical.

Success cannot be assumed or taken for granted. It has to be worked hard for and when the opportunity is there, take each one, then push for more!

That is the kind of Travel Homeworking attitude that can bring massive rewards as it did for the top producing Holidaysplease Homeworker last January.

Are you the kind of person that makes stuff happen? Whilst your colleagues are waiting for customers to sit down at their desk, are you jumping up from your seat to welcome them into your shop?

Who is coming up with marketing ideas in the team you work in? Which of your fellow travel sales people are really chasing each sale, haggling with suppliers to get the best deals, following up with customers, and hitting targets?

Is that person you? Then you have the attitude that goes along way to being a super successful Travel Homeworker, and we’d love to chat! 0121 200 5720 gets you straight through to us 🙂

 

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Travel Homeworking Customers

Posted on November 13, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Customers

One of the most common concerns for people considering becoming a travel homeworker is where they will find their travel homeworking customers.

The odd person will have a bank of customers already established, however the vast majority of travel agents leaving the high street or a call centre to become a travel homeworker do not. They’ll have a few family members and friends that will book with them, but that’s usually as far as it goes.

So how do you build a super successful travel homeworking business when you have no customers?

Well the first thing you should do is partner up with a travel homeworking company that has a proven track record in producing leads.

And secondly, you need to look very carefully into how that travel homeworking company manages the relationship between customers and their homeworkers.

It is all very well having a lead and selling a holiday once. The thing is that to build a sustainable and rewarding travel homeworking business it is imperative to build a loyal base of repeat customers. With some homeworking models this is very hard to achieve as repeat customers are not directed back to the agent that they previously booked with. And often new customers who are close to booking but need a short time before making a final decision, never find their way back to the original homeworker who has done all the ground work when calling back to book.

The way we work at Holidaysplease is completely different! Our ethos is all about building the relationship between the customer and their homeworker from the start and then repeatedly.

From the moment a Holidaysplease Homeworker claims a lead, they “own” the customer. This means that whether the customer books on each occasion they enquire or not, the Holidaysplease CRM system is programmed so that the customer will always be in the ownership of that homeworker, and therefore directed back to that homeworker every time the customer gets in touch.

What’s more, at Holidaysplease we have a unique customer rewards programme designed specifically to encourage customers to make repeat booking with their Holidaysplease Homeworker. The rewards scheme now has over 14,000 customers signed up to it.

So with Holidaysplease, travel homeworking customers come from leads that we generate via our central marketing campaigns which then become repeat customers for the individual homeworker who “owns” that customer. Leads and repeats are the first two pillars when building your travel homeworking customer base.

Your third and final pillar comes from referrals. Here again the Holidaysplease CRM is a powerful tool working automatically on behalf of each homeworker by encouraging customers to refer family and friends to their personal Holidaysplease Homeworker and sending a nice thank-you gift to the referrer when a new customer they refer books.

Every new business has to have prospects. Turn those prospects into buying customers, and then turn those customers into repeat buyers. In simple terms, that is how every sustainable business is built.

At Holidaysplease we truly understand this, and that understanding is underpinned throughout the ethos and culture of how we work with our customers and travel homeworkers.

Many top performing Holidaysplease Homeworkers have built fantastic and consistently rewarding businesses which all started with travel homeworking customers generated for them by the Holidaysplease Marketing Team.

Get in touch today and let us explain how you could do exactly the same!

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Travel Homeworking Seasonal Rewards

Posted on October 5, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Seasonal Rewards

In travel homeworking seasonal rewards are key. You need opportunities year round to make sales and earn money, and cannot afford any quiet times.

Travel agents working in retail stores often worry about slow sales in November and December every year.

As the streets and shopping centres fill up with people looking to prepare for the festive season, high street travel stores become somewhat empty and quiet, and agents suffer from low bookings.

With Holidaysplease you don’t need to worry!

Our experienced marketing team take the responsibility to generate enquiries for you all year long, so when the high street stores are quiet Holidaysplease Homeworkers remain busy working away and making sales right through November and December.

Once Christmas is behind us, peaks kick in and we enter what is traditionally the busiest time of year in travel.

Being a homeworker can be extremely rewarding throughout the year, especially so during January.

Everyone selling holidays through peaks will be working long hours, the trouble is that those working on the high street get very little reward for the extra work they put in.

Whereas working for yourself as a Holidaysplease Homeworker means that you get the commission you deserve!

Yes, as a homeworker you will probably still work long hours throughout January, but it all becomes worth it when you are able to buy yourself something nice for all the commission you will earn. Maybe a new car? Maybe splash out on a nice family holiday next year?

The OPPORTUNITY is here, you just need to GRAB IT and make it your own!

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Travel Homeworking Agent of the Year

Posted on September 18, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Agent of the Year

At Holidaysplease we have a fantastic group of travel homeworkers, and the amazing news is that we now have the TTG Travel Homeworking Agent of the Year for 2018/19, Andrea White.

Andrea joined the Holidaysplease Team around 6 years ago and has grown into one of our most consistent high performers.

With four kids to look after Andrea has an incredibly busy family life and in recent times has come through some extremely tough personal challenges.

As well as continuing to grow her own business she has also found time to help two new Holidaysplease Homeworkers local to her through their tough first 12-18 months.

Andrea’s spirit, energy, determination and positive outlook are an inspiration. We are very proud to have her on the Holidaysplease Team and delighted for her to receive the recognition of her travel industry peers by winning the award as TTG Travel Homeworking Agent of the Year.

Well done Andrea!

 

 

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Travel Homeworking Personal

Posted on August 15, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Personal

Despite the advance of tech, by keeping travel homeworking personal I believe that travel homeworkers have a great future ahead of them.

A recent opinion column I wrote for TTG talked about being wowed by a new robotic restaurant in Boston.

Whilst the point of the piece was to challenge travel to be more inventive and ambitious in our use of tech, there can be little doubt how much technology already has and continues to change our industry.

Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, robots can all now be found in retail travel, call-centres and airports enhancing the customer experience via inspiration and improved efficiency.

Nevertheless, to suggest that the future of travel lies solely in the hands of technology is foolhardy. Travel itself is all about personal experience. From looking to booking, to travelling, returning, and sharing each moment across every social channel along the way, the whole journey is “mine”.

Which is why people will always have the opportunity to play an integral part in the booking process turning holiday dreams into reality. However, the only people that will be able to grasp and profit from that opportunity will be those that bring more to the customer than a computer can.

That means truly outstanding personal service and knowledge from the very first interaction a travel sales person has with a customer, through the sales process to pre and post departure and beyond.

If you as a prospective homeworker are not prepared or equipped to bring more to your customer than a computer…..walk away now, travel homeworking is not for you!

The success of Holidaysplease over the last 15 years has been founded on the principle of the old and the new. Old school travel agent knowledge, service and sales skills married to new technology, new ways of doing things, smarter, faster, and always customer-centric. Everything we do starts and ends with the customer in mind.

The robotic restaurant is a reality. Can I envisage a robotic travel agency built around artificial intelligence, 100% I can! It will succeed because it will be quick and cheap due to efficiency savings and of course no staff salaries.

At the same time the “human” travel agent that continues to evolve by embracing the new and enhancing the old will also thrive. And in my mind travel homeworkers are in a unique position to be the ones that fill that space.

Focus effort and energy on keeping travel homeworking personal by being innovative when building relationships and always providing more to customers than a computer can, and you may just end up with a highly successful travel homeworking business!

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Travel Homeworking Responsible Recruitment

Posted on June 22, 2018 | Comments Off on Travel Homeworking Responsible Recruitment

Since being named as TTG’s Top Homeworking Agency of the Year just a few weeks ago, our inhouse Recruitment Exec Agne has been super busy!

New travel homeworking enquiries have been coming in thick and fast the result of which is some great people lined up to join the award winning Holidaysplease Homeworking Team over the next few weeks.

We’ve also had to let down a few people. Why? Well firstly we are fussy. You don’t achieve the Trustpilot customer services ratings we do at Holidaysplease without a great deal of commitment and expertise from our homeworking team. We cannot afford to take on anything but the best.

And secondly, we recruit responsibly. The easy option for us would be to sell the dream and paint an irresistible picture of homeworking being a land filled with milk and honey where the sales just flow in and commission is easily earned.

If only that were true! And as it is not true we don’t take the easy option. We tell it as it is!

Yes, over time by doing the right things consistently well and working with real commitment you can build an amazing homeworking business with Holidaysplease, and many of our team have done so. But it is no easy ride.

When recruiting it is our responsibility to be sure in our minds that every person that we invite to join the Holidaysplease Travel Homeworking team has a realistic chance of achieving the goals and rewards to which they aspire.

If we are not sure that someone can achieve what they want as a Travel Homeworker with Holidaysplease then it would be irresponsible for us to take them on board.

Should you be a travel expert with a strong desire to build a homeworking business of your own with TTG’s Top Homeworking Agency of the Year then please drop Agne a line on agne@holidaysplease.com or call her on 0121 200 5720.

Just don’t expect anything other than an honest, to the point, open conversation!

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