Darren Bien, previously Cook’s Birmingham and Bristol regional sales manager, and Jayne Marlor, previously Manchester central regional sales manager, have both taken up roles as Thomas Cook liaison officers to help their colleagues’ transition to Travel Counsellors.
The homeworking company said it expected new hires to launch more than 30 leisure travel businesses from home or shared office spaces before the end of next month.
Travel Counsellors said it will be running “back-to-back” induction courses over the next two months to meet the demand from travel professionals who lost their jobs due to Cook’s collapse.
The news of its flurry of appointments came as the company finished its tour of Thomas Cook Care events across the UK, which saw ex-Cook staff attend workshops focused on supporting their next career move and offering advice on health and mental wellbeing.
The injection of new Travel Counsellor business owners comes as the company reports a 10% increase in global sales year-on-year.
Chief executive Steve Byrne, said: “With 20% of Travel Counsellor business owners already hailing from the Thomas Cook community in the last five years, we are keen to ensure new joiners feel at home.
“We feel a real synergy between the customer-first focus our new business owners from Thomas Cook hold dear, and the people-first approach we champion at Travel Counsellors, nurturing a community of like-minded, caring travel professionals who support and look out for each other, and our customers.
“For the new Travel Counsellors who have already joined from Thomas Cook, and for those set to attend our induction courses and launch their new businesses over the next few weeks, we are only too pleased, and very humbled by the fact that they can now feel safe, secure and positive about their future in travel again.”
