More agents join criticism of Katie Price recruitment promotion

More agents and trade specialists have backed Inspire Europe chief executive Lisa Henning after she slammed celebrities for attempting to recruit ‘part-time’ agents while the industry is dealing with the fallout from the Iran War.

Henning spoke out after former models Katie Price and Danielle Lloyd promoted a recruitment event on Thursday and encouraged social media followers to “hear how you can earn money from travel around your other commitments”.

The recruitment activity, which is understood to have have run in conjunction with PlanNet Marketing, directed potential recruits to a company called Travel Smarter.

That company’s website and social media feeds feature Lloyd as “co-founder” and in a post from four days ago claims its team made bookings “worth $2.8 million in just 28 days”.

Francesca Barone, owner of Elite Cruises, said she had “nothing against either of these women per-se” but added: “Pop up TAs shouldn’t be taken seriously.”

She said: “There is no such thing as easy money in this business – it’s a passion and requires true grit and a determination to succeed come what may and to offer our clients the best possible service in what are sometimes the most challenging of circumstances.”

Posting on the Travel Weekly website, Association of Atol Companies advisor Alan Bowen added: “This is just another attempt to make money from those who don’t know what they’re doing.”

Commenting on Travel Weekly’s Facebook page, Travel Counsellor Vikki Coe said: “I think Abta and advertising standards surely need to do something as we know they are only making money from signing people up and not selling holidays.

“Yes there are a few and literally a "few" that actually sell holidays, but the majority are just bringing the whole ethics of the industry down. I do not understand how a blatant pyramid scheme has been allowed to snowball like this.”

Julie Owen from Inspire Europe said: “So proud of you our Lisa for speaking up. Those of us working in this industry know the cruel reality behind the scenes when there’s global disruption. Early mornings, late nights or all-nighters, even in the last 10 days so we can communicate across different times zones.

“It’s about always being there for our clients when things don’t go to plan and unpaid too!

“This is a profession built on trust, protection and experience. Thank you for standing up for the agents doing it the right way.”

By 1pm on Friday Henning’s original post had almost 200 likes and had generated 132 comments, with posters highlighting other celebrities such as Kerry Katona who are also promoting recruitment events.

However, one poster also highlighted that negative comments relating to InteleTravel agents due to its relationship with PlanNet and Price’s ability to book and support clients were wide of the mark as her posts were focused purely on recruitment.

Helen Filbee said: “I am an InteleTravel agent, I am a ‘real travel agent’ working 24/7 looking after my customers, especially during the challenging past couple of weeks.

“For those who think they know, but don’t really, we have at least five training sessions provided every single week plus lots of organised events, which on speaking with other agents, is a lot more than most host agencies.

“So, as someone who works really hard for my customers, I am happy to receive your thanks and praise for agents who ‘do this job properly’.”