Homeworker: Mafia boss was 'kind and generous'

By Chloe Berman 

The Mafia boss arrested by British police at his home in Uxbridge on Wednesday has been described  as "kind and generous to a fault" by a travel agent who worked with him for more than 12 years.

Murray Harrold, a homeworker for Eton Travel, corrected widespread claims that Domenico Rancadore had been running a travel agency from his home in Uxbridge, west London.

Harrold said Rancadore's wife was a business travel agent in the meetings and events sector, while Rancadore ran a chauffeur drive business called Executive Travel.

Rancadore, who had been living in the UK under the alias Marco Skinner since 1994, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today where District Judge Quentin Purdy will decide whether he can be allowed bail.

He is facing a seven-year term in an Italian jail for being part of a criminal organisation between 1987 and 1995.

Harrold told Travel Weekly: "Marco was the most kind, generous, thoughtful person you could meet. It has really pained me that he's been presented as an ogre in the press. His children were polite and diligent too."

Harrold met Anne when she was working in Gerrards Cross. He was running a chauffeur business at the time and Anne suggested her husband get involved.

"Anne said hubby's at home not doing a lot, so he started driving. He would get up at 5am to take someone to the airport and sit outside a restaurant until late at night waiting for them. He was very hardworking."

Rancadore took over the business, which because known as Executive Travel, five years ago when Harrold decided to concentrate on his travel agency. He had many high-profile and blue-chip clients.

Harrold said Rancadore's Jaguar was a "tool of the trade" rather than evidence of a lavish lifestyle.

He said: "I nearly fell off my chair when I read about this. His history is none of my business. I only know the man I know. He used to come round my house with his kids and he came to my wedding."

Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with 'discovery days'

By Phil Davies 

Travel Counsellors today reported an “unprecedented” rise in job seekers following Thomas Cook announcing the closure of 195 agency branches and 2,500 redundancies.

The homeworking agency says there is a future for “talented travel professsionals” and is organising a number of recruitment initiatives including ‘discovery days’ across the UK.

These will offer an insight to the future of travel and show retail agents that there is an alternative to life on the high street.

Cook staff facing job losses are being invited to annual mini-conferences being held in Manchester, Birmingham and London on April 15-27. A special webcast will also be held.

Travel Counsellors who have previously worked on the high street, and for Cook in particular, will be attending the discovery days and will host the webcast.

Some existing Travel Counsellors have offered to open their homes to those interested in joining so they can see how the company works and answer questions.

“This will give potential recruits the chance to speak directly with people who have been in their position before, and hear why they took the leap to run their own business,” Travel Counsellors said.

The company believes its impressive sales for the start of the year is proving a “compelling reason” for Cook employees to express interest in joining Travel Counsellors.

Average earnings for UK Travel Counsellors are up to £21,000 in the past year, with the top 100 earning £59,871.

Head of global recruitment Simon Burke said: “We have had to reprint a new batch of our information packs as the demand has outstripped our normal supply.

“We are mindful that this is very difficult time for Thomas Cook employees and we want to give them as much support as possible, so this is why we’re going to lengths to ensure they see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Travel Counsellors quoted former Cook employee Donna Horner who said the idea of working from home had worried her but "it really has been the best thing I’ve ever done".

“I’ve never known support like it, not in all the years I worked on the high street. I feel far from isolated, in fact that couldn’t be further from the truth – I felt more isolated when I was working on the high street. 

"Importantly, I do earn decent money. I can understand why some Thomas Cook employees may feel anxious about taking the leap and may want to try to find a job on the high street, but all I can say is taking the step to work for Travel Counsellors have allowed me to truly enjoy working in travel again.”

Facebook Graph Search seen as ‘game changer’

By Laura Del Rosso

Home-based agents who only have been dipping their toes into social media, questioning whether such efforts generate a return on investment, may want to rethink their position as Facebook rolls out Graph Search, a program that could dramatically improve travel marketing opportunities.

Susan Black, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Travel Impressions, calls Graph Search a “game changer.”

“For those travel agents who haven't gotten the [social media] bug, this is going to be what Google was to the Internet,” Black said. “It's going to be unbelievable how it will change the way people use Facebook.”

Graph Search, which has been available to some users in beta testing and is being rolled out gradually to all Facebook users, is a search engine that has been described as a cross between Google, Yelp and LinkedIn.

It enables Facebook users to search for people, places and things based on their friends and their location. For example, a user can search “Friends who have been to Cancun” or “Hotels in Montreal” and any relevant tagged photos pop up.

For agents, the potential is enormous, said Black, because any photos that are tagged from vacations and other trips will show up in searches.

“Say someone wants to travel to Cancun and wants to get information. They can search their friends and even friends of friends and pull up photos of Cancun that have been tagged. … This is an amazing opportunity for travel agents who have been to a place and know it well to demonstrate their expertise.”

Black said that even without Graph Search, Facebook offers much opportunity for marketing, particularly to engage with potential clients in ways that show travel knowledge and to promote not solely based on price.

“What travel agents do best is to use their expertise and inside information, and that's what they should be showing on social media. It's like going to a cocktail party. You wouldn't just introduce yourself at a party and immediately tell someone there's a Caribbean package available for $899. You'd engage with them first, build a relationship and show your expertise. It should be 80% telling your story and 20% making the sale.”

Black and Katie Gorga, senior manager of social media, conduct social media workshops for agents through Travel Impressions' Social U program, most recently at the New York Times Travel Show where 150 agents heard their presentation “Going Viral in 2013: 42 Tips to Get More Fans, Generate Buzz and Drive Sales.”

Graph Search will be the topic of the next Social U seminar on March 12 at 2 p.m. Eastern online.