Travel Counsellors is celebrating after smashing the company’s sales records, breaking through the £5 million barrier for the second time in its 25-year history last week.

With January 31st delivering the highest figure achieved in a single day, the month also saw 369 of the company’s business owners enjoy their best ever sales.

The corporate travel arm, Travel Counsellors for Business, which now represents a third of the company’s total revenue, boosted the surge in January sales with a 60% increase in corporate travel bookings made in the previous month, and a 10% increase in bookings made in the same period last year.

January represented one of Travel Counsellors for Business’ best ever months, with corporate sales on 24 January topping £1.1m for the first time in the company’s history.

Record levels of bookings were sourced through the company’s in-house booking platform, Phenix, with £2.52m in sales secured through the bespoke-built technology platform on 31 January alone.

The company also reported an over 40% increase in corporate travellers taking advantage of Travel Counsellors dedicated travel app and secure payment portal, ‘myTC’, with 8,000 new customer accounts created in January 2020. Following more than £1m in investment per year, the 4+* Apple and Android rated app uses customer data to create seamless travel and booking experiences.

Travel Counsellors CEO, Steve Byrne, says;

“Corporate clients frequently tell us that they love having the option to contact their Travel Counsellor at a tap of a button. The continuous investment into myTC reflects the innovative spirit that’s fueled Travel Counsellors double-digit growth for the last quarter of a century, ensuring the uniquely human touch our business owners provide for their clients is complemented by highly personalised digital experiences.”

Byrne confirmed that 75% of customers who receive a quote from their Travel Counsellor via myTC go on to make a booking within seven days.

The company, which now has over 1900 independent franchisees running their own corporate and leisure travel businesses in seven countries, achieved global sales of £90m last month. In total 3 out of 5 of the firm’s top sales days were achieved in January 2020.

Top destinations booked in January for corporate travel in 2020 were the USA, UAE and South Africa.

The record-breaking sales news was broadcast to the company’s international community with a special edition of its in-house programme TCTV, which also celebrated the company achieving a five star rating on the global customer review platform, Trustpilot, and a consistent customer satisfaction score of 96% throughout the month.

Travel Counsellors CEO, Steve Byrne, said:

“These results are thanks to the hard work, dedication, commitment and unconditional care for clients that our business owners and support team colleagues across the globe have demonstrated non-stop throughout the month.

“As we look forward to another 25 years of success, we’re committed to building a supportive community and technology powered platform that enables corporate Travel Counsellors to grow their businesses and realise their full potential, through providing clients with unrivalled levels of care and personalisation every step of the way.”

The momentous month was supported by a dedicated sales incentive that saw top-selling agents win over 60 prizes worth £50,000 in total, including exclusive trips to Florida, India and Barbados.

Byrne continues,

“Clients are still keen to travel this year, but our sales results prove that they want a positive booking experience from a trusted travel advisor. Each and every customer travels with the benefit of their corporate Travel Counsellor’s insight, advice and care, and with the support of our global business and duty office should they ever need it, providing piece of mind and complete financial protection wherever they are in the world.

“It’s a great start to the year for Travel Counsellors for Business, and we’ll continue to provide the very best digital platform that supports the growth of our corporate travel business owners, more of whom are now using this platform and the wider Travel Counsellor community to scale their business through, for example, working in teams or in shared office spaces.

“Regardless of their location every Travel Counsellor and support team colleague shares a common purpose to reinvent and redefine what personal service means in the corporate travel industry, by putting people at the heart of everything we do.”

Travel Counsellors January sales results follow a record-breaking year for the company trading period 01 January – 20 December 2019, with total transaction value surpassing £650m for the first time since its launch in 1994. The company confirms that total sales in 2020 are expected to exceed £700m.