Do you aspire to own your own travel franchise, with hopes of sending honeymooners on vacations in paradise and helping families take a well-earned break?
Join us as we explore the realities of setting up your own home-based travel agency franchise and why it may just be your dream career...
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A travel franchise provides the opportunity for someone with no previous travel experience to be self-employed and start a new business in the travel industry from the comfort of their own home.
This could be as a side hustle to another job, or a full-time opportunity. Working from home provides the flexibility to manage your life and family commitments, too.
A travel franchise will provide you with the training, tools and support to start your new entrepreneurial adventure in the travel industry, although the support you receive will depend on the travel franchise company you select to partner with, so it’s a good idea to check out what training they deliver for franchisees.
British holidaymakers are looking for chances to escape the cost of living crisis and capture a touch of sunny sparkle somewhere abroad.
As a result, the outbound holiday market is buoyant, with statistics revealing that market value is expected to reach £72.44 billion by the end of 2025.
Additionally, there's a rising trend in consumers planning overseas holidays, with 41% planning trips of at least five days and 30% looking at weekend trips.
In terms of destination, search engine results are showing that in January 2025, the United States was the leading outbound travel market for UK travellers. People are becoming more interested in long-haul destinations and discovering experiences at competitive prices.
So how can you make the most of this holiday wave of opportunity and begin your own travel agency franchise in the UK?
In essence, your travel franchise will work around you. You get to choose your hours and what types of travel you want to specialise in.
Sam Lewis is an experienced travel journalist and has her own travel franchise with The Travel Franchise. This franchise company helps people to switch careers and start their own travel agency from home, with around 98% of their franchisees joining without having former travel experience.
Training and support are key, as Sam describes, “A lot of franchisees come from stressful careers in the police, NHS or teaching. Many are mums who want to be there for their families and need flexibility. We don’t insist that people work full time, so they can work part-time or in their spare time.”
Joining a travel franchise gives you access to a wide variety of travel operators. The Travel Franchise has partnerships with over 450 travel suppliers and operators, such as Kuoni and other well-known travel operators.
The travel franchise business model typically works with travel agents being paid a commission from the travel suppliers when holidays are booked.
Cherie Richards is the head of business development at Explorer Franchise by Hays Travel. Cherie explains that the franchise is owned by Hays Travel and other franchises are also part of Hays Travel, as an example of how franchises may work overall.
“There are also many self-employed, new-to-travel models available that may not specifically be a franchise,” says Cherie. “This is why it’s important for anyone wanting to get into the travel industry to review all their options.”
Sam Lewis believes that you can make a travel franchise into exactly what you want. For example, The Travel Franchise has a strong cruise division for those interested in a cruise franchise. The commercial team negotiates special deals with travel suppliers and the franchisees get to go on company cruises and learn from cruise experts with training on board.
Sam’s focus is on luxury and adventure trips. “I have my own horse and I organise riding safaris for clients,” says Sam. “As a riding instructor, I have the specialist insight to help clients access all available opportunities, such as knowing what levels people need to be to gallop with a herd of antelope and zebra across the plains in Africa.”
Ultimately, there are plenty of opportunities with an online travel agency franchise for interested people who want a career in travel, holidays and experiences.
The best place to start when considering starting your own travel franchise is online research. Read independent reviews as well as current franchisee case studies. These can be a goldmine of valuable insights from people who have started from the beginning and know the industry landscape.
Many travel franchise companies offer training on essentials such as business skills and financial management. The Travel Franchise provides training to new franchisees with five days of virtual live training, then franchisees can start planning and taking travel bookings.
“Every week there’s a free webinar from one of our travel suppliers,” Sam from The Travel Franchise shares. “Typically, there’ll be offers, launches, new destinations and lots of advice, tips and further support to access.”
Cherie from the Explorer Franchise by Hays Travel advises new franchisees to check their chosen franchise is a member of the British Franchise Association – an influential trade association that supports both franchisors and franchisees.
Providing good customer service is likely to help you retain business and encourage your clients to return and book their next holiday with you.
Building relationships is key to being a successful online travel agency franchise. Happy clients will also recommend you to others, so that you can expand.
“Networking is vital to growing your business,” says Sam Lewis. “This helps you to connect with new customers. Business networking groups are great for getting the word out about your travel franchise services. Being active on social media and attending local events can boost your visibility too.”
Bernadette Trueman, a travel franchisee at Galactic Travels thinks that setting your own goals is important: “Think about the amount of money you need over a certain period of time to live on. Plan your marketing early, from the moment you sign up. Let everyone know about your new venture.”
Notably, franchisors look for a match in terms of personality and values. They want to be sure that you’ll enjoy being part of their network and have the potential to be successful. Making sure you have a real passion for the service you’ll be providing is essential.
You'll likely work with customers who are looking to book a trip of a lifetime that they've saved hard for. Being a good listener and meeting as many of their requirements as possible will help you close the sale and make your clients very happy.
A travel franchise opportunity can be very rewarding. How much you earn depends on a variety of factors, such as the time you can dedicate to your franchise and how you convert enquiries into bookings.
“What product you sell may also be a factor,” explains Cherie. “Selling bucket and spade style holidays might result in a lower average selling price. Specialising in long haul where the average booking is higher in value can create larger profit margins.”
For the savvier franchisees, providing great customer service will help ensure your customers are fully prepared for their holiday. Enhance trips for your clients by selling ancillary items such as airport parking and lounges, car hire or attraction tickets. These will carry additional commission earnings for the franchisee, boosting your profits.
If you’re looking to buy a travel agency franchise, there are some important aspects to consider. Moving from a reliable job to being your own boss can be a huge jump.
There’s likely to be a steep learning curve when it comes to managing your business finances and developing consistent processes that help you connect with more clients and support returning customers.
As you begin to build your home-based travel agency franchise, you may have to forego some things you’ve been used to in the past. Expensive holidays and a fixed monthly salary may be sidelined for a while as you set up, develop and run your own travel franchise business.
If you’re successful, it won’t be long before you’re enjoying a relaxing holiday again.
It really does help to include the people you love in your business. “Setting up a new business can often involve partners or spouses in the decision-making process,” says Cherie from the Explorer Franchise by Hays Travel.
“Running a business often requires long hours and sacrifices so it’s essential that you have considered this with your family network.”
Franchises thrive on trusted systems and processes, so tapping into these should give you the right level of support and consistency across your business.
Finding your travel franchise niche can open up all sorts of opportunities for you, but following your franchisor’s guidance will help you flourish and grow your business in a sustainable way that helps to build your future.
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