Swords Travel has recruited Surrey-based agency Tailoring Travel as its first affiliate partner. 

Amelia Atkinson, who founded Tailoring Travel in 2017, will work alongside Swords Travel's back office team on a commission split basis while retaining her clientele in the Surrey Hills, Guildford and Godalming areas.

Swords Travel will support Atkinson with marketing and advice, and she will also have access to the agency’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and quoting systems.

Atkinson has 20 years’ experience in the industry and has worked in sales and marketing roles for luxury hotels including The Ritz London and The Goring, and in product for family holiday specialist Tots to Travel.

Atkinson, who was previously a member of Independent Travel Experts (ITE), said she was excited to take her business “to the next level”.

“The pandemic has been a time of reflection as well as a time of many challenges, and personally it felt like it was presenting me an opportunity to make a change,” she said.

“I have spent the last four years learning where my niche lay while also allowing the business take me in a natural direction, and hence I have ended up fitting in perfectly with the Swords Travel brand.

“I was only ever going to move into a partnership with a like-minded company that held the same principles as me for the sake of my treasured customers. From the first time I discussed the prospect of partnering with [Swords Travel owners] Mark and Stuart, it felt right. 

“I love the drive they have to take the business and the brand to the next level, always looking for new ideas to develop, but always with service standards held as the top priority.”

Swords Travel launched a new travel associate scheme in July last year after changing its business model in light of the pandemic.

The Wimbledon-based agency now employs seven self-employed associates, who predominantly work remotely on a 60/40 commission-split basis.

“The associates scheme didn’t quite fit with Amelia because she wants to work under her own brand,” said Mark.

“So we decided to compromise and come up with an affiliate scheme for people who have their own established travel businesses and want to keep their brand, where they can work with us in partnership so that they get the best of it and so do we.

“I think one of the biggest things for Amelia was being part of a team that focuses on luxury. Our focus is all around luxury product because that's the direction we want to go in, so as long as somebody is [moving] in that same direction, we want to work with them.”

Confirming Swords Travel would be looking to grow the affiliate scheme in the future, he added: “Individuals who have their own luxury client base but want to grow their own brand would be ideal.”