Independent agency Travel Matters is to launch a new team of remote advisors and ambassadors after achieving B Corp certification. 

Karen Simmonds, who founded the agency in southwest London in 1999, said she had intended to recruit a group of self-employed agents three years ago as a way of scaling the business, but the pandemic had put plans on pause. 

“When we got the B Corp, it made sense to reassess that and try and relaunch it,” she said.

“It is a bit of a soft launch because we realise there's plenty of franchises out there and other companies that [operate on this model] already. 

“People wouldn't be going on the payroll, they would be self-employed. We're looking for character, we're looking for people that love travelling, love researching or planning holidays, but equally, we're looking for ambassadors that really understand the values of what it is to work for a travel B Corp.”

Simmonds said the advisor and ambassador positions would be split into two different roles. 

Advisors who have their own network of clients and are able to put holidays together themselves will be offered a higher commission cut, while ambassadors will operate on a referral service and receive a lower commission share.

Simmonds said all new recruits would be provided with training. Advisors will also be given access to the agency’s systems and preferred partners and offered support on how to sell product. 

Simmonds said she wanted to focus on recruiting the right people rather than targeting a certain team size, and was open to those without travel selling experience. 

“I'd like to try and tap into the entrepreneurs that are out there travelling, and give them a bit of a leg up when it comes to setting up on their own,” she said. 

“Primarily for the last 24 years, we've relied on word of mouth for the business and having a local market, but I think with everyone being used to the idea of hybrid working, that means we could attract customers from anywhere and everywhere.

“It's about expanding our reach nationally, as opposed to just southwest London.”

Simmonds also reflected on achieving B Corp status earlier this month following a 12-month form-filling process, which saw the agency answer 226 questions about its social and environmental standards.

“The business could have been a B Corp about five years ago but you just get wrapped up with the day-to-day operations of a small business,” she said.

“The pandemic was certainly the motivation to look at how we work with our B2B customer base as opposed to just B2C, and start trying to nudge our partners into behaviour change around sustainability.

“It doesn’t matter how small you are, you can still have a big voice. I’ve realised that even at a micro level you can help affect change.”