Women have traditionally been the dominant buyers and sellers of travel, yet their numbers aren’t always reflected in the highest decision-making positions
The Travel Franchise (TTF) has become the latest member of EWiF, a not-for-profit organisation that provides advice and guidance to Encourage Women into Franchising.
Although founded by two men, Steve Witt and Paul Harrison, The Travel Franchise and its customer-facing brand Not Just Travel have a strong female presence, with women making up over 60 per cent of the senior management.
TTF head of marketing, Jenny Farenden, is determined to champion women in the workplace even further and show that travel franchising is a sector that enables equal opportunities.
She said: “The Travel Franchise enables anyone, regardless of experience, to open a travel consultancy, be their own boss, set their own goals, decide on their own salary and recruit who they wish if the business expands. It also enables the owner to choose their own hours.
“Many of our highest achievers are women who have stayed at home to bring up a family or wish to stay at home in order to be there for their kids. A travel consultancy allows these types of franchisees to be successful in business, but still have the flexibility to attend school runs, sports events and other extracurricular activities.”
Over 73 per cent of the company’s highest earners (Plat 3 or above) are women and over 70 per cent of franchisees who have succeeded in achieving TTF’s unique Money-Back Challenge – where your franchise fee is refunded if you sell a certain amount of bookings in a set time period – are female.
Jenny added: “Owning a travel franchise can provide equal opportunity regardless of your sex, age or previous career. We offer the training and support to help anyone who works hard to succeed. We also have plenty of female franchisees who are inspirational ambassadors having set up a thriving business despite having to look after three young kids, attend hospital for chemotherapy or hold down a full-time job at the same time.”
Palvi Harvey, a frustrated 40-something mum that made £3 million in sales in five years, is a testament to how TTF can change women’s lives.
She said: “I can juggle my hours around the girls – although sometimes I have to work late or on weekends. But the satisfaction I get is immeasurable. I’m glad I took the plunge – it was a big risk, but one I’ll never regret.”
Another example is Reshma Aggarwal, mum of three boys under eight, who joined the network during the pandemic and sold 1.2 million worth of holidays in under 18 months.
She said: “It’s changed my life. I juggle work around my three young boys but I’m also doing something really amazing: making friends and money.”