While many homeworking franchises can feel isolating and keep you tethered to your desk, The Travel Franchise has proved that it’s possible to explore the world while fostering lifelong friendships with fellow travel consultants and make a meaningful impact by contributing to charitable causes.
21 of its consultants and corporate team began trekking the challenging Inca trail walking up to nine hours on one day to raise over £10,000 for breast cancer charity Pink Ribbon Foundation in honour of one of the company’s consultants, Rachael Coyne, a former police officer, who has twice survived multiple types of breast cancer while running her highly successful travel business.
Nicknamed the ‘Breast Trek Ever’, the 26-mile trek saw franchisees climb to altitudes of 4,200m and, on the third night, wake at 2am to trek the final stretch to step through the famous Sun Gate to the forgotten city of Machu Picchu.
“I can’t believe we made it, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Laura Simpson, head of experience and operations. “There’s been highs and lows along the way with tears and laughter but despite altitude sickness and other aches and pains, we’ve also had an incredible time getting to know each other and our incredible guides who have kept us going.”
On a recent company cruise, Laura managed to squeeze in a training session with The Travel Franchise brand ambassador and Double Olympic Champion, Daley Thompson CBE, in preparation for the trek. “The expedition is not just a physical challenge, but a testament to the power of teamwork and purpose. It was an honour to get tips from Daley and then share them on the trip.”
And the Peru trek isn’t the only charitable initiative run by The Travel Franchise.
Its customer-facing brand Not Just Travel enables franchisees to raise funds for their chosen charity via its pioneering Partners in Travel scheme.
Consultants simply partner with a charity and split any commission made from holidays that come via referrals. All admin is done by head office meaning consultants concentrate on making bookings and delivering top customer service.
Personal travel consultant Kelly, from Aspire Travel, raised over £11,000 from more than 83 holiday bookings after setting up a Partner in Travel. The money has gone towards funding a local girl, Caitlin, who suffers from juvenile Batten disease and has lost almost all of her vision.
“Being able to support Caitlin through our fundraising efforts has been incredibly meaningful to me and everyone at Aspire Travel,” said Kelly.This money is making a real difference in Caitlin’s life.”
The Travel Franchise also enables agents to contribute to a raft of climate, environmental and social initiatives via its new Positive Impact Project.
The result? Its franchisees are not only earning money doing something they love, they are also positively contributing to charitable projects and schemes while travelling the world.
If you want to make a difference, find out how you too could launch a travel business even if you’ve never worked in travel before at www.the-travel-franchise.com
