Advantage targets homeworkers Ben Ireland


The Advantage Travel Partnership has launched its first dedicated homeworking division to tap into growing demand for opportunities for travel agents to work remotely. The Travel Specialists by


Advantage is designed as a “hybrid model between a traditional homeworking organisation and a managed services consortium model”, the group said. It will offer agents who sign up


the chance to use either their own branding or the Advantage name, and is targeting both new and established homeworking agents. Advantage said homeworking


had grown in recent years, and leisure director Kelly Cookes said the Covid-19 lockdown had “accelerated


the appetite” for remote working and “changed the way we engage with consumers”. “We’ve been working on this for


almost a year and feel that now is the right time to launch,” she said. “It was a gap in our offering. “We’re all now more comfortable


engaging with people remotely. “That was something


homeworkers always did, but other agents who haven’t been working from home have had the opportunity to try it. Some are really enjoying it and finding it works well. “That, coupled with the fact that


unfortunately we are seeing quite a large number of redundancies across the industry, means we will see more people going into homeworking. “It fits for a lot of people. It’s a


great entry point into the market but


Jet2, Abta and JMG chiefs join speaker line-up


Jet2holidays chief executive Steve Heapy, Abta chairman Alistair Rowland and Jacobs Media Group chairman Clive Jacobs have been added to the speaker line-up for Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Week in September. They join speakers already


confirmed for the virtual event, to be held in partnership with Google from September 14-18, including easyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren, Carnival Corporation chief executive Arnold Donald and Hays Travel owners John and Irene Hays.


6 20 AUGUST 2020 The Future of Travel Week


follows the success of the inaugural Future of Travel Selling Conference in 2019 and will feature a range of virtual debates, webinars and interviews as the industry faces its greatest challenge.


The event will also include


exclusive insights on consumer trends and contributions from Google and partners. Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief of


Travel Weekly, said: “We are delighted to confirm another three outstanding speakers for our Future of Travel Week, with more details of the line-up and sessions to be revealed in the coming weeks. “We had an incredible response


to last year’s Future of Travel Selling Conference, and are proud to continue our relationship with


Advantage’s marketing and business development teams, commercial deals, incentives, education, administrative support and out-of- hours support. It will be operated using a trust account model. Cookes, who was responsible for


also suits people who have been in the industry for a number of years and perhaps want to change direction or scale back.” Advantage will levy 2% of


the turnover of Travel Specialists homeworkers as well as its share of commission. In exchange for this, homeworkers will have access to


homeworking in her previous role at Freedom Travel Group, said the model would provide agents with “a richer share of commission” than the typical 60% she said was common in the industry. She added: “All the data we’re


getting, particularly since March, shows that the use of an agent is increasing – whether that is engaging with an agent on the high street or an agent at home. Some people will prefer to go into a high street branch and some to work with a homeworker. It’s about what’s right for the customer.”


Clive Jacobs


Steve Heapy


Google as we bring together industry leaders from the UK and around the world to discuss key issues including aviation, cruise, distribution, regulation and sustainability.” She added: “Our speakers have a


wealth of experience and will offer fascinating insights into how the industry will need to evolve as it faces unprecedented challenges.” Each day’s content will last about


two hours across a mix of sessions. i Registration for Travel Weekly’s Future


of Travel Week is free. To register, visit: www2.travelweekly.co.uk/future-of-travel


travelweekly.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44