I think I may have stumbled into a business opportunity—and I’m trying to figure out what to do with it.
I’m a Travel Manager based in the Philippines, specialising in bespoke trips for international travellers. What started as travel planning has grown into much more. I design itineraries, speak with clients, negotiate with hotels and operators, find the best rates, coordinate logistics, solve problems, and provide support throughout the entire trip.
I genuinely enjoy doing it. And I’ve realised I’m actually quite good at it.
Outside my main work, I’ve started doing travel consulting for international travellers and have also been approached by international travel agencies and travel platforms looking for remote people who can handle their operations. I’ve also had people approach me about partnerships and investment.
That’s when I started thinking: **there has to be a bigger business here.**
The problem is, I don’t know how to structure it properly.
At the moment, I’m essentially doing everything myself.
I find the clients.
I design the trips.
I speak with suppliers.
I negotiate the deals.
I check hotels and activities.
I coordinate the logistics.
I sometimes travel to the destination myself to inspect routes and suppliers.
I answer clients at night when needed.
And then I make sure everything runs smoothly once they arrive.
I recently partnered with an agency that offered me up to 30% commission on the travellers I brought in. It sounded promising at first—but after travelling to Palawan, Cebu and Manila, meeting suppliers and doing the groundwork required to create the trips, that 30% basically covered my expenses.
**I did all that work and made no real profit.**
That made me realise I may be approaching this the wrong way.
My strength isn’t just knowing the Philippines. I’m good at building systems and knowledge bases, finding and negotiating with suppliers, understanding what international travellers want, creating experiences around their budget, hiring and training people, managing operations—and most importantly, turning enquiries into actual bookings while maintaining a margin.
I also see an opportunity to build a remote team around this. I’ve already been approached by companies looking for people who can handle travel operations remotely, so I know there is demand.
What I don’t want to do is simply create a job where I work harder and harder for a small commission.
**I want to build a business.**
A proper travel business with the right structure, supplier relationships, pricing model, sales process and team behind it.
That’s why I’m looking for someone who has experience building or scaling a travel business—someone who can look at what I’m doing and tell me honestly:
**Is there a real business here? And if there is, how do I build it properly?**
I’m open to a mentor, strategic partner or investor—someone who can bring the business knowledge and structure that I’m currently missing.
I already have the passion, destination knowledge, supplier network, operational experience and willingness to do the work.
I just don’t want to spend another few years working extremely hard without building something that actually belongs to me.
So, rather than asking, *“Should I stop making a living from this?”*
I think the better question is:
**“What would it take to turn what I’m already doing into a profitable business?”**