Freeman and Bannister's promotions follow a company restructure, coinciding with the departure of Chief Executive and Co-Founder Jake Cullum-Hollins. The agency now supports a network of more than 70 homeworking agents.
Freeman started her career in travel with Going Places in 1996 as a trainee travel advisor before going on to gain experience repping and working in accommodation, insurance and holiday lets, familiarising herself with the full customer journey from booking to departure and beyond.
She has been with The Good Travel Agent since it was founded in October 2023, supporting agents with training and business development, heading up the admin team, building and maintaining supplier relationships and overseeing day-to-day operations.
"I'm incredibly proud to be stepping into this role," said Freeman. "I started out in travel 30 years ago as a trainee, and I've never lost the excitement that helping people plan their dream holidays brings.
"Having been part of The Good Travel Agent since day one, I've seen first-hand how much our agents and head office team bring to both the company and the industry as a whole - they make The Good Travel Agent what it is, and I'm looking forward to building on that in my new role.”
Stepping up
Bannister, meanwhile, steps up from the role of Agent Support Manager to Business Development Manager. After joining The Good Travel Agent from Tui in 2024, he has become a customer service champion within the business and a "go-to source of information and advice" for the business's agents.
In his new role, he will be responsible for driving sales growth through agent engagement and education, growing the agency's network, strengthening tour operator and supplier relationships, and championing training and development.
"I've spent the last few years supporting our agents day to day, and that's shown me exactly who thrives here: people who love travel, who look after their customers, and who want to build something that feels like their own," said Bannister.
"My focus now is helping more of those people find us. There's a lot of talent out there, in high street shops and in home working setups, who'd do really well with the freedom we offer and the backing that comes with it. I want to make sure they know the door's open.
"I'm still a travel agent at heart, and I'll keep looking after my own customers alongside my new role. That matters to me. It keeps me honest about what agents actually need, and it means I'm not asking anyone to do something I'm not doing myself."
Restructure
Elsewhere, Good Travel Agent Co-Founder Rob Bryer has assumed full ownership of the business after Chief Executive and fellow Co-Founder Jake Cullum-Hollins sold his stake to pursue a career in social media, as recently reported by TTG.
Over the coming months, it will be brought into closer alignment with the wider Good Group, which includes The Good Travel Agent, with the aim of giving agents access to shared technology and support infrastructure.
It follows what The Good Travel Agent claims has been the largest investment in technology in the company's historic. This includes a new app designed to help agents produce quotes more quickly and draw up smarter itineraries.
Bryer, who founded The Good Travel Agent with Cullum-Hollins in October 2023, said the changes combined with the investment was "a moment to go bigger, not smaller".
"We're bringing the 'Good' businesses much closer together and putting serious money into technology, because I think the next few years in travel will be won by whoever gives agents the best tools," he said.
"That starts with our new platform and app, and it doesn't finish there. Our agents will have better technology than anyone else in the market. That's the whole plan."
