The brand is aiming to open one of travel's most lucrative markets to its franchisees
The Travel Franchise, the UK’s leading travel franchise for people new to the industry and the business behind consumer brand Not Just Travel, has launched a new luxury strategy that opens one of the fastest-growing and most profitable sectors of travel to its entire franchisee network. The move, first revealed at the company’s biggest ever conference, responds to a decisive shift in consumer behaviour, with clients trading up on hotels and seeking more personalised, higher-value experiences across every part of the market.
Luxury demand is no longer confined to the ultra-wealthy. Premium products from mainstream operators, such as Jet2’s Indulgent Escapes and easyJet holidays’ Luxury Collection, illustrate how high-end travel has filtered down to a far wider audience, and the company’s own numbers tell the same story.
“Customers are spending more on quality,” commented co-founder of The Travel Franchise and Not Just Travel Steve Witt. “We see it through partners such as Beachcomber Tours, whose premium Mauritius resorts have become a key part of our training calendar. Sales through Beachcomber have grown four-fold since becoming a key trade partner, giving consultants the confidence to sell high-end resort stays.”
The new luxury model is structured across three tiers, ensuring franchisees at every stage of their journey can benefit from the growing luxury market.
The first tier is free to every Not Just Travel consultant and includes access to the Luxury Standard podcast alongside new training resources for identifying and selling luxury add-ons, upgrades that raise the value of everyday bookings. The second tier, the Elevation Programme, develops deep knowledge of luxury travel products and equips consultants to serve the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth market, with limited places allocated on an application-only basis.
The third and most exclusive tier, Signature by NJT, specialises in curating ultra-luxury journeys supported by a premium concierge service, with accepted consultants gaining access to specialist luxury events and corporate hosting conferences both in the UK and overseas.
“Sales tripled because of our focus on consultant development and trade opportunities”
For franchisees, the commercial logic is compelling. Higher-value bookings generate substantially higher commissions for a similar amount of work, and the programme provides the product knowledge, supplier relationships and marketing support to serve that market with genuine confidence.
The company describes the luxury launch as its biggest strategic upgrade since September 2022, when it launched its dedicated cruise division. That initiative, built on the same combination of high-level training, product immersion and direct supplier access, resulted in the company tripling its cruise sales and inspired the creation of the Cruise Experts Club, which provides members with a personalised cruise website, CLIA membership and regular ship visits and familiarisation trips.
“Our cruise division proved what happens when you give consultants high-level training, immerse them in the product and put them in front of the right suppliers,” commented Steve Witt. “Sales tripled because of our focus on consultant development and trade opportunities, empowering them to become confident specialists. We will do exactly the same with luxury.”
Josie Allen, head of marketing at Not Just Travel, added that the programme reflects the company’s definition of what luxury really means: “Luxury is a term that the travel industry struggles to define. For us, luxury is providing an exceptional experience tailored to the client. We are supporting our consultants at every stage with transformative in-depth training, support and marketing collateral.”
For anyone considering starting a home-based travel business, the luxury launch demonstrates something that distinguishes The Travel Franchise within the sector: a consistent pattern of investment in new earning opportunities for its network. In recent years the company has built a cruise division that tripled cruise sales, developed NJT Smart AI, a proprietary artificial intelligence platform provided free to all consultants, introduced a lower-cost Lite Mentorship Programme now available from £995, and now committed to its most ambitious development yet in luxury travel.
Notably, 98% of the company’s consultants joined with no prior travel industry experience. The franchise model is built specifically to train complete newcomers into confident specialists, and the new luxury programme extends that promise into one of the most rewarding areas of the entire industry.
The company has confirmed that further announcements on supplier partnerships and future luxury programme developments will follow in the coming months.