Travel Counsellors boosts support team with two new appointments

Here at Travel Counsellors, we’ve recently made two new appointments to support the growth of our independent business owners.

Premium leisure travel professional, Jon Hardcastle, has kickstarted his role as Business Performance Manager – a newly created position that will see him spend time both at our Support Hub in Manchester, and on-the-road supporting our top performing business owners.

With a 30-year tenure in leisure travel, including 15 years in luxury sales strategy and business development, Jon’s previous roles include Marriott International, Elegant Resorts and ITC.

He said: “I am delighted to support the business growth of individual Travel Counsellors, many of whom I know from my previous roles, and ensure that they have the structures and plans in place to achieve their business goals. Travel Counsellors is renowned in the industry for providing the best customer care by handcrafting luxury travel experiences, and I’m really looking forward to bringing my experience to the role and working alongside Travel Counsellors to help fuel individual business growth.”

Global Sales Director, Jim Eastwood, said: “Our aim is always to support our Travel Counsellors and their businesses with the best tools, technology, training and coaching possible. Jon’s skillset and highly relational approach makes him the perfect addition to the team, helping our franchisees to attract new business, nurture a loyal customer base by showing the greatest levels of care, and fully maximise our technology platform to achieve their business goals.”

Additionally, Travel Counsellors for Business has hired Corporate Account Manager, Karen Crick, who will be responsible for supporting the company’s top performing corporate business owners and their clients.

With over two decades experience in corporate travel, with tenures at CTM, GetThere and Radius Network, Crick will also support some of the top Travel Counsellors in the UK.

Karen said: “It’s exciting to join Travel Counsellors for Business as the corporate travel wing grows from strength to strength, fuelled by the care and attention each Travel Counsellor delivers to their clients. I’m looking forward to playing a part in the positive trajectory corporate travel is taking at Travel Counsellors, and the many individuals behind its ongoing success.”

Director of Corporate Travel, Mel Quinn, adds, “We are so pleased to welcome Karen to our corporate support team. Karen brings a wealth of experience with her and we’re sure our corporate Travel Counsellors will take full advantage of her skillset to support their businesses, as well as the individual travel requirements of their clients.”

Highlighting the continued growth of Travel Counsellors for Business, we named the top 10 business owners in the country at our Annual Global Conference in November. Nine out of the 10 top Travel Counsellors recognised are running corporate travel businesses. We also crowned the Top Performing Global Travel Counsellor for 2024, Chris Donovan, whose business has boomed through delivering corporate travel solutions to SME clients.

Whether you’re a corporate travel professional, working in leisure sales, or are thinking of a career change, Travel Counsellors is for anyone – but it’s not for everyone. If you’re passionate about travel and delivering exceptional customer service, and want to run a travel business on a full-time basis, we could be the ideal next step in your career. We’ll invest in you, giving you the tools, support, training, technology, and learning opportunities you need to thrive. Sound exciting? Book onto one of our Discovery events to learn more about becoming a Travel Counsellor.