The homeworking arm of The Travel Network Group (TTNG) is headed up by managing director Gary Gillespie, former head of trade sales at Super Break. “I joined in November 2019, I just got my feet under the table, then we had the pandemic," he told TTG on Wednesday (5 April).

“Weirdly, it enabled me and the team to get down to the details at a level we had never done. We looked at our offering and ways to improve it. As a result, we have cut credit card fees and introduced a better performance scheme.”

To this end, ITE has reduced the percentage it takes from its agents’ commission. “We take a split of the 100%, so they now keep 61% when they first join and as they make more sales it increases right up to 80%,” Gillespie explained. “There used to be a big gap before you increased your level – it’s a lot smaller now and every month we have someone move up a level.”

Lessons learned during the pandemic, “when all the homeworkers at some stage had an individual wobble”, led to the appointment of two support executives who act as business development managers and also take on a pastoral role too, in addition to being agents themselves. “That has worked really well, it’s pretty much 24/7 support,” said Gillespie, who added more staff would be brought into these roles as the group expanded.

Training is also under review, with plans to recruit a training manager, while the launch in a few months of a New to Travel course will cover industry basics for the benefit of recruits without a formal travel background.

Gillespie is convinced the ITE model fits around new ways of working brought by the pandemic, which has seen ITE seek to recruit both experienced agents and talented individuals from outside travel. “We don’t have minimum criteria as to hours or targets," he continued. "They can dip in and out as they like, so long as they remain engaged – maybe they have a young family or another job.”

In terms of size, Gillespie said ITE lay “somewhere in the middle” within the league of homeworking brands, but stressed that through combined sales and the backing of TTNG, the business was able to attract preferential rates of commission from suppliers.

’Plan of action’

Gillespie said there was no expansion target for ITE, which currently oversees 90 homeworkers. “We don’t have any specific criteria for acceptance, it’s more about their potential," he stressed. "Some of our top sellers don’t have agency experience. We are going to be recruiting actively, but we have no targets. We just have to provide the same level of support we currently give.

“They all do a business plan; we like a niche focus rather than just ‘travel agent’. It’s very easy to say I’m going to focus on wellness breaks and then advertise Jet2holidays; before they know it, they’re inundated with people wanting to price match; that’s why we come up with a plan of action.

“We have one agent who just does the Maldives, she’s in the top three. Some are doing over £100,000 in cleared commission, but they are the exception – full-time, you can expect £25,000 to £30,000.”

Gillespie believes more travel professionals will migrate towards the homeworking format. “People generally are more focused on their work-life balance, and a lot more want to work from home – plus people’s circumstances change.”

However, he added: “There is always going to be room for retail. People like the confidence of being sat in front of someone. I think homeworking will level off; it won’t go totally that way.”

Gillespie is happy with current trading: “It’s pretty buoyant; our peaks were great; January was our best ever month.” He said sales generally were “well above 2019 levels”, adding: “We’re in a good place.”

He advised anyone considering becoming a homeworker to establish the differences between the brands. “They look very similar, but there are key differences," he cautioned. "I would say speak to other homeworkers already working with them and ask about the strengths and weaknesses, then you’ll find the one for you.”