Blue Bay homeworkers say cruise leads way for ‘booking boom’

Blue Bay Travel’s new homeworking venture has reported a “booking boom” with cruise sales leading the way.

Formed in June 2021, The Personal Travel Consultants in Partnership with Blue Bay Travel currently works with 25 self-employed homeworkers, with plans to grow to 50 by the end of 2022.

Abbie Heaton, sales manager for the division, said: “For the first time ever, cruising proved to be our most popular trip type for March, April, and May for our homeworkers.

“With many of the cruise companies increasing their promotional activity, there are some exceptional offers currently available and amazing incentives for agents.”

She said cruising was followed by the Spanish islands, the Maldives, Mauritius and Greece during the quarter as the most popular options for clients.

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The success of the two long-haul destinations, the Maldives and Mauritius, is driven by the “market-leading offers” that Blue Bay Travel can secure as an operator, to which the homeworkers have full access, added Heaton.

She said the recovery of travel also means homeworkers are generating more of their own leads.

 “Historically, Blue Bay’s own customer leads have been responsible for generating up to 65% of the sales for our homeworking division,” she explained.

“January to May, however, has seen a significant shift, with agents relying on only 35-40% of leads from Blue Bay PTCs and bringing to the table an excellent 60-65% of self-generated leads.

“We’re thrilled with the buzz, excitement, and bookings it has generated. Our best day was January 31, 2022, when we transacted over £250,000 in revenue.

“This was much helped by a significant booking of almost £100,000 to Las Vegas.

“We also had a superb day on April 2 when we made £93,000 of sales. Our average booking value has been around £4,500.”

Another factor in the agents’ success is the fact they are available to customers outside traditional working hours.

The peak time of day for bookings in recent months has been 5pm, when most retail agents are finishing for the day.

Furthermore, the disruption seen at airports has “reinforced the benefits of booking with a specialised travel consultant”, added Heaton.

“Congratulations to the agents across the industry who have spent a significant amount of time in recent months amending and rebooking to make sure their clients receive the very best service and minimal disruption,” she said.

“We expect demand for summer 2022 to continue to be strong. That said, we released some amazing deals to Maldives and St Lucia in June, which have flown for the winter 22/23 season.

“Customers are looking ahead to summer 2023, in order to lock in prices.”