Intele agents' 'thirst to learn' driving homeworking giant to £200m sales target
Ilaria Grasso MacolaThe boss of InteleTravel says the “energy and thirst to learn” among its UK and Irish homeworkers sets the agency apart from others as he plotted a path to achieving £200 million in sales next year.
President and co-founder James Ferrara said the enthusiasm among agents to increase their product knowledge is supported by InteleTravel’s company-wide focus on training.
The homeworking giant has achieved record sales in 2024, with UK and Irish homeworkers achieving £95 million in the eight months to the end of August – up from £85 million last year.
“There is an energy and a thirst to learn in our community of agents,” Ferrara told TTG. “That is what sets us apart, that spirit that helps people feel more confident and sell more.”
Last February InteleTravel celebrated its second-best month since launching in the UK in 2018, as it reported a 47% surge against the same month last year.
But UK managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes said the agency’s sales performance in August “blew me away”.
In August, InteleTravel reported a 69% increase in bookings year-on-year while revenue went up 66% compared to 2023.
“August blew me away. It’s traditionally a very quiet month as people are on holiday, but our figures for August were so good.”
Handley-Hughes pinned this achievement on increasing the number of products available plus the rapid rise of UK and Irish agents joining InteleTravel. It currently has around 20,000 homeworkers in its ranks.
Looking ahead to 2025, Ferrara has already set the ambitious targets for the UK and Ireland. It is projecting 2024 sales will reach £143 million in this market – up 70% on 2023.
“Tricia and I are working on the budget for next year but it looks like £200 million will be our projection even though in 2024 we achieved a 70% year-on-year growth,” he concluded.
“We may very well outperform that but that’s the target we’re going to work towards next year because we don’t have the hubris to say [that we will achieve again] a growth of 70%.”
Taking Major Travel to ‘the next level’
Earlier this year, InteleTravel acquired a majority stake in London-based operator Major Travel, which is now plotting an expansion into Ireland before launching in North America.
“The reason why we acquired Major Travel was because we were impressed with the business and we felt it needed a capital investment to grow to the next level,” Ferrara explained.
Major Travel has now joined InteleTravel’s back office and has made some of its products available only to InteleTravel agents in the hope that it will help expand the trade-only tour operator’s reach significantly.
“In the first quarter [of 2025] we’ll announce to our US advisors that they can sell Major Travel products that have been designed just for them and that’s a huge new market for Major,” Ferrara continued.
Ferrara also revealed that InteleTravel plans to start operating in Germany next year.
“The travel habits of German nationals are excellent and their economy – and especially their credit card economy – is excellent,” he says. “It’s the right place for us to start operations in the EU next year."
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Ilaria Grasso Macola
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