YOUR STORIES 2H Ż ƈ ŵ Ɩ ŭ ƈ I ŭ Reports by Samantha Mayling and Phil Davies CLUB VOYAGES


Homeworking agency boosts training and base commission


Tailor-made specialist travel agency Club Voyages has introduced a training scheme and improved the commission structure for its team of 18 homeworkers. The business was launched online


by former travel trade journalist Sam Ballard in 2022 and opened its first bricks-and-mortar shop in Clarendon Park, Leicester, in September 2024. The new commission structure


aims to reward loyalty, Ballard said. “We’re constantly looking for


ways in which to improve the value of our homeworker offering, and rewarding loyalty seemed like a natural next step,” he explained. “We want to grow with our


homeworkers and support them with their businesses, hence the commission uplift based on a year’s service and a pretty low profit target (£12,000). “From now on, our homeworkers will


earn a base level of 65% commission rather than 60%.” Ballard is also investing in a


development scheme for his agents, called C.L.U.B, which is being run by Debbee Dale, the founder of Debbee Dale


aspiretravelclub.co.uk DESIGNER TRAVEL


Coffee savings fund kids’ kit


Designer Travel has raised £1,000 to help buy sports equipment for children at a school in South Africa. The agency’s Kick A Coffee


initiative encouraged staff and customers to forgo coffee for a set period and donate the resulting savings via a JustGiving page. The initial aim was to raise £500


for pupils at the Thageng Primary School in Madikwe but the figure was doubled during the fundraising month of October 2024. The equipment needed was


OWNER: Sam Ballard, Club Voyages


Development. He said the initials stand for Confident, Loyal, Understanding and Bold, reflecting the agency’s ethos. “The new training programme is


another part of that value offering. We’ve partnered with the brilliant Debbee Dale to create a four-part C.L.U.B training programme that helps our agents – many of whom don’t necessarily come from a sales background – with those fundamental core skills,” Ballard said.


identified, ordered and then delivered in March, in partnership with nearby Jaci’s Lodges, located within the Madikwe Game Reserve. The children now have footballs, boots, water bottles and netball kits.


DELIVERED: Kit arrives in Madikwe


JUNE 2025 ASPIRE


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