5 Signs Your Travel Company Has Outgrown DIY Recruitment

After two decades in travel recruitment, I've witnessed countless travel companies reach that pivotal moment where DIY hiring transforms from a cost-saving measure into a costly mistake. It's a conversation I have regularly with managing directors across the industry - that honest moment when they admit their internal recruitment efforts are no longer serving their business growth.

The travel industry is beautifully unique. We're not just filling positions; we're finding individuals who understand the magic of creating unforgettable journeys for others. This requires a very specific type of person - someone with genuine passion for travel, cultural awareness, and the ability to translate wanderlust into profitable business relationships. Recognising when you need specialist help to find these rare gems is crucial for your company's future success.

Here are the five clear signs I see time and again that indicate it's time to partner with travel recruitment specialists:

1. Your Best Candidates Are Going to Competitors

There's nothing more frustrating than watching brilliant candidates slip through your fingers, only to see them excel at a competitor six months later. This happened to one of my clients recently - a luxury tour operator who'd been managing their own recruitment for years. They'd identified a phenomenal product manager but took eight weeks to make an offer. By then, she'd accepted a role with their main competitor.

In today's candidate-driven market, the best travel professionals have multiple options. They're often passive candidates who aren't actively job hunting but will move for the right opportunity presented in the right way. Speed and industry knowledge matter enormously. When I approach a candidate, they know I understand their world - the challenges of managing relationships with overseas suppliers, the pressure of creating unique itineraries, the satisfaction of exceeding client expectations.

If you're consistently hearing 'they've accepted another offer' or finding that your preferred candidates withdraw from your process, it's a clear indicator that your approach needs professionalising.

2. You're Drowning in CVs but Starving for Quality

I often hear from travel companies who've posted on job boards and received hundreds of applications, yet none truly fit their requirements. It's exhausting and soul-destroying, isn't it? You're spending hours sifting through CVs from candidates who've never worked in travel, don't understand the industry dynamics, or worse still, are clearly using a scattergun approach to job applications.

Quality travel recruitment isn't about volume; it's about precision. When I work with clients, I'm drawing from years of relationship building within the industry. I know which product managers have experience with your specific destinations, which sales executives have the relationship skills to nurture trade partnerships, and which marketing professionals understand the nuances of selling experiences rather than products.

The truth is, the best travel professionals aren't scrolling job boards. They're busy creating extraordinary holidays, building supplier relationships, or crafting marketing campaigns that inspire wanderlust. Reaching them requires industry connections and a deep understanding of career motivations within our sector.

3. Your Hiring Managers Are Burning Out

I've seen brilliant heads of product, sales directors, and marketing managers reach breaking point trying to juggle their day jobs with recruitment responsibilities. One client confided that her team was working evenings and weekends just to keep up with their core responsibilities because so much time was being consumed by hiring activities.

Recruitment is a full-time profession for good reason. From writing compelling job specifications that attract the right candidates to conducting thorough interviews that reveal cultural fit, it requires dedicated time and expertise. Your senior team's energy is better invested in growing your business, developing new products, and nurturing client relationships - not learning recruitment skills on the job.

When I see hiring managers looking exhausted or notice that recruitment quality drops because they're rushing through processes, it's a clear sign that professional support is needed.

4. You're Struggling to Attract Diverse Talent

The travel industry thrives on diversity - different perspectives create better products, more innovative marketing, and stronger relationships with our increasingly global clientele. Yet I regularly meet companies who've inadvertently created hiring processes that attract the same type of candidate repeatedly.

This often happens when companies rely on their existing network or use the same recruitment channels consistently. While employee referrals can be valuable, they sometimes perpetuate existing team dynamics rather than introducing fresh thinking.

Specialist recruiters have access to diverse talent pools and understand how to craft job opportunities that appeal to candidates from various backgrounds. We know which platforms different demographic groups use, how to write inclusive job descriptions, and how to create interview processes that allow all candidates to shine.

5. Your New Hires Aren't Staying

Perhaps the most costly sign that DIY recruitment isn't working is poor retention rates. When new employees leave within their first year, it's not just the recruitment cost you're losing - it's the onboarding time, training investment, and the disruption to team dynamics.

Often, this happens because there's been a mismatch between candidate expectations and company reality. Maybe the role was oversold, the company culture wasn't properly explained, or the candidate's motivations weren't fully understood during the hiring process.

Experienced travel recruiters act as honest brokers in this relationship. We're transparent with candidates about challenges as well as opportunities, ensuring they have realistic expectations. We also understand what makes travel professionals tick - whether it's the opportunity for international travel, the satisfaction of creating bespoke experiences, or the chance to work with prestigious destinations.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

I'm always honest with potential clients about the true cost of poor recruitment decisions. A bad hire in travel can damage supplier relationships, disappoint clients who've trusted you with their dream holidays, and demoralise existing team members who have to compensate for poor performance.

When you factor in advertising costs, internal time spent reviewing applications and interviewing, training expenses, and the opportunity cost of having the wrong person in a crucial role, professional recruitment investment often pays for itself with the first successful placement.

Moving Forward

Recognising these signs in your business isn't an admission of failure - it's smart business sense. The most successful travel companies I work with understand that recruitment is a specialist skill, just like product development or financial management.

If any of these scenarios resonate with your current situation, I'd encourage you to consider how specialist recruitment support could transform your hiring success. The travel industry deserves passionate professionals who understand our unique challenges and share our commitment to creating extraordinary experiences.

After all, we're not just filling positions - we're building the teams that will shape the future of travel.

Jayne Peirce is founder of Jayne Peirce Travel Recruitment, specialists in luxury travel recruitment with over two decades of industry experience.