The luxury villa operator shared the update earlier this week, proving the collaboration with its new trade partner is already paying off. 

“Although our core destination is France with over 1600 properties, it’s been quite interesting to see that the Travel Counsellors have had a strong interest in Croatia,” Fern Higgins, Distribution and Travel Advisor Manager at Oliver’s Travels, told TTG.

“Croatia is already a core location for us with 845 villas, but that’s given us a good boost.”

Higgins added that Travel Counsellors have also been sending their clients to the Oliver’s Travels’ villas in Spain and Portugal. 

“It’s now gone above £100,000 in confirmed bookings and the demand is higher than that,” she said. “We’ve already had 250 Travel Counsellors sign up to work with us, and we are hoping to see this number grow. They have 1,700 agents in the UK so hopefully we can end up in the four-digit numbers.” 

The Oliver's Travels villas in the Dolomites that work for a variety of clients

Though Oliver’s Travels has a history of partnering with select advisors, this collaboration will greatly expand its reach with the travel agent community. 

“We’d always wanted to work with Travel Counsellors but we weren’t able to until we had an agreement in place,” Higgins explained. “We’d been hoping to get this set up for years so it’s really exciting.” 

Along with receiving 9% commission on confirmed Oliver’s Travels bookings, all Travel Counsellors will be supported by the operator’s dedicated trade team. 

“We really want to help those agents who might feel overwhelmed,” said Higgins. “Charlotte Heinrich, our Trade Growth Executive, is on hand to onboard all new agents. There’s also a dedicated agents’ inbox and a direct line to our sales team to support every inquiry.” 

There are also plans to run webinars and training sessions for advisors who aren’t yet comfortable booking villas or would simply like to know more about Oliver’s Travels signature product. 

“It can be difficult to know how to match clients with the right villa for their specific needs,” Higgins explained. 

Oliver’s Travels is also considering hosting its first-ever fam trip for agents, with Travel Counsellors “absolutely on the invite list.”  

“We would focus on Provence for it, because we have a really strong portfolio there of nearly 400 villas,” Higgins revealed.  

Other support services include Oliver’s Travels’ concierge department, who work closely with agents to deliver VIP experiences for their clients. From dog chefs to string quartets, Higgins says there are very few wishes the lifestyle management team can’t fulfil. 

“It’s pretty impressive what they’ve got over the line,” she added. “But that’s the benefit of a villa – it’s so much easier for tailoring experiences than a hotel would be.” 

Higgins also hopes that this partnership will empower the Travel Counsellors network to sell villas more confidently and seamlessly. Though she appreciates the product can appear “complicated” at first, she emphasises that the Oliver’s Travels team can make the process far simpler. 

Higgins also dismissed the notion that villas are only suitable for ultra-high-net-worth travellers, highlighting that rented residences can be “excellent value” for families or groups. “The more people you have, the more accessible they are, really. It doesn’t have to be out of reach.”