Newcastle travel company is flooded with applications for 40 new jobs

Newcastle-based Monster Travel has been inundated with job applications after advertising for 40 new positions.

Some of those applying are employees of Freedom Direct Holidays, also based in Newcastle, which ceased trading this week.

Monster managing director David Hawke said the firm had received 500 applications in just three days and over 200 people had turned up at an open evening earlier in the week.

“About 20% of applications are from very experienced travel professionals,” he said. “It’s a sad indictment of the times we are in that so many people are looking for employment.”

He said half the positions available are for sales staff and other roles are in operations, product and commercial.

Many of the positions will service a new fulfilment contract with a third party partner which will be announced next week.

The firm, which celebrated its first birthday earlier this month, has a mix of online and call centre business.

Hawke said it is very similar to failed Freedom Direct, but was in the process of adapting its business.

“Certainly at this point we’re a very similar business, but by the end of the year we will have developed into something quite different," he said.

“We’re certainly very sad about what happened to Freedom Diretct. Although we are competitors we used to meet up and exchange ideas.”

Asked why he thought Freedom had failed, Hawke said he believed it was down to a combination of large overheads, the economic downturn, recent investment in web development which did not have time to bear fruit, and a lack of clarity over bonding.

He said Monster would be talking to Freedom’s administrators in the next week or so with the view of possibly taking on some of the business.

Monster’s affiliate partners already include Travelsupermarket and Teletext, both online and TV.

“We will now be looking at driving more business direct to our own website and using more and more marketing channels,” said Hawke.

Monster is also planning to launch websites dedicated to cruise and to luxury holidays shortly.

Hawke, formerly head of call centre business for TUI, founded Monster Travel with his partner Julie Gilmore.

The company currently employs over 60 people at its Newcastle headquarters.

Its passenger numbers have reached 40,000 in its first year of operation.

By Bev Fearis

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