Barrhead’s division for self-employed agents, Brilliant Travel, has seen a 15% increase in sales so far this year, but Director Linda Pyle says it will be selective in taking on new members.
It currently has 44 Managed Service Travel Partner shops (MSTPs) and 37 homeworkers.
Eight new homeworkers have joined this year, and Linda said she hopes a new recruitment campaign will lead to see similar growth in 2025, but with those that are the right fit for the company.
She explained: “We have to be quite selective on who we take on – we ask them to produce a business plan. It’s having quality over quantity – we’d rather have people that are going to do business, rather than having loads of people sitting there doing one or to bookings a year, that’s not what we are about.”
Linda added that Brilliant Travel is keen to attract agents with particular specialisms. For example, this year one of the new homeworkers focuses purely on Africa.
Many of the MSTPs have also seen expansion within their individual businesses. Northeast-based Now Lets Travel, which was set up by Paul Johnstone from home in 2020, has recently opened a sixth branch in the region, and Darren Owen from Snowdonia Travel opened a second branch in the town of Prestatyn in Wales. Ashley Hunt and Shaun Jones also moved their business, Swindon Travel Hub, from online into a retail store.
Linda added: “What’s been great is that this year, it wasn’t just about bringing new members onboard, it was about seeing our current members grow their own businesses.
“We like to see people succeed. For me seeing members growing and really embracing their local market is key.”