Prior to her participation in the Love Island villa, content creator Yasmin Hadlow assured her online audience that they could enjoy travel opportunities while earning money simultaneously. She invited interested viewers to message her with the keyword “freedom” to learn more.
The 23-year-old is part of a group of influencers, including former Geordie Shore personality Vicky Pattison, who are affiliated with PlanNet Marketing. This organization recruits individuals to become independent travel agents in partnership with InteleTravel, a business based in the United States.
Pattison promotes her Instagram page, Vickys Vacays, as a platform that helps women gain confidence, generate income, and achieve freedom through a collaborative online travel venture.
While this may appear to be an appealing opportunity for financial gain, an investigation by The Guardian revealed that seven individuals, who were recruited as InteleTravel agents by different representatives of PlanNet Marketing, reported difficulties in turning a profit after accounting for initial sign-up fees and ongoing monthly expenses.
Many of these individuals indicated that their recruiters encouraged them to focus on bringing in new recruits for PlanNet Marketing rather than selling travel packages, which became their primary objective.
Mark, who aspired to be a travel agent, was introduced to InteleTravel by a PlanNet representative in 2021 at the age of 28. After being furloughed due to the pandemic, he was seeking a career transition and exploring various pathways to realize his dream job.
Mark paid a sign-up fee of approximately £150 to InteleTravel, in addition to monthly fees ranging from £30 to £40 for access to the booking platform and training resources.
As agents earn about 70% of the roughly 10% commission provided by suppliers on bookings, selling £10,000 worth of holidays would yield £700 for the agent from a total commission of £1,000.
After dedicating about 18 months and long hours to the role, Mark reported only making a few sales. He stated, “I wasn’t earning any money from travel,” and noted that his recruiter suggested he shift his focus toward recruitment with PlanNet Marketing instead.
While joining PlanNet Marketing is optional for InteleTravel agents, those who choose to enroll incur an additional monthly fee of approximately £14. They can earn around $4 (about £3) for each new active travel agent they recruit, along with referral bonuses and additional payouts based on the size of their recruitment network.
Mark recounted, “I ended up leading a team of 10 people, but it never felt authentic to me. The initial reason for joining was to be a travel agent, not a recruiter.”
The annual income disclosure from PlanNet Marketing indicates that earnings from recruitment are generally very modest. The latest statistics suggest that the average yearly income for its representatives is around $40.
During his two-year tenure with InteleTravel and PlanNet Marketing, Mark noted he secured about three bookings and earned approximately £1,000 in commission, while incurring monthly fees of £32 and a £100 sign-up cost. “It wasn’t due to a lack of skill on my part. The system isn’t structured for success,” he explained.
An InteleTravel spokesperson commented, “As with any self-employed entrepreneur, there are no guarantees of sustained profit and success when establishing a business… A promise of significant earnings is not assured and cannot be guaranteed, as is typical with self-employment.” They clarified that the joining fees covered essential costs such as regulatory licensing, operational insurance, mandatory training, and booking systems to comply with UK travel regulations.
InteleTravel offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing agents to cancel for a refund, with any commissions earned during that initial month deducted from the refunded amount.
The company also has a “first-year profit guarantee,” which pledges to reimburse agents if they do not recover their fees within the first 12 months, provided they meet specific contractual criteria. For example, agents must maintain a valid adviser status for one year, purchase branded business cards, create a website, complete at least one hotel booking every quarter, and file their refund request within 30 days after their one-year mark.
Shelley, a 52-year-old nurse from Suffolk, joined InteleTravel in 2021 after seeing an advertisement on Facebook. She expressed her enthusiasm for travel and thought the pandemic offered an opportunity to acquire knowledge and training for future endeavors.
After filling out an application, she was contacted by a local PlanNet recruiter who promised support, training, and “excellent commission,” and she subsequently connected with the recruiter’s manager on social media. “It was presented very persuasively; the impression was that you couldn’t possibly lose,” she remarked.
However, she quickly realized the situation was not as favorable as it appeared. “Once I was outside the money-back guarantee period—having paid a £142 joining fee with a 30-day guarantee—I felt abandoned. If I had questions, the manager would tell me to refer to the training videos instead,” she explained.
After factoring in expenditures for business cards, flyers, and a website, Shelley estimates her total profit over about two years was only between £500 and £1,000. “I was led to believe by my recruiter that I could earn a living from this… I feel misled into thinking this could become a full-time job,” she stated.
PlanNet Marketing maintains that it exclusively collaborates with InteleTravel and is referred to as its “exclusive enrollment partner” on InteleTravel’s sign-up page.
Some critics have raised concerns that this business model resembles multi-level marketing (MLM), a controversial but legal structure where agents primarily earn income through recruitment rather than product sales.
PlanNet Marketing did not provide comments regarding the nature of its business structure.
