Travel
Like The
"Rich and Famous. . ."
Discover How A Pauper
Travels Like A King!
What Is A Home Based Travel
Agent?
by: Jennifer Dugan
Many people are unclear about the travel industry.
Travel agents are
often thought to be the same as real estate agents. Becoming a travel
agent or more specifically a home based travel agent is an exciting
career change or retirement option. Some people do it full time while
many do it as a part time business.
A travel agent books travel for customers and is
paid by
suppliers a commission on the booking. For bookings that suppliers do
not pay a commission on, a travel agent also can charge the client a
service fee for his/her time. An example is if you were to book a hotel
for a client, the hotel would then send a check to the agency after the
client checked out. Most hotels pay 10% of the price of the hotel
before taxes and fees. A $100 per night hotel reservation would mean
$10 a night for the travel agent who made the booking. This hotel would
cost the same whether the customer uses a travel agent or books through
the hotel directly. In many cases the travel agent can get a better
price. It costs the customer nothing to use the travel agent unless the
travel agent charges service fees.
Can anyone do this? In order to work with
suppliers, you must
have an account set up with the supplier. Most require an agency to
hold an IATAN, CLIA or ARC number. IATAN stands for International
Airlines Travel Agent Network. CLIA stands for Cruise Lines
International Association. ARC stands for Airline Reporting
Corporation. Each of these memberships requires different things
including sales, money in the bank, experience or training in the
industry, and membership fees. Many will require Errors and Omissions
insurance of $1,000,000 or more.
For the average travel agent, membership is not a
possibility
with some organizations so the agent will team up with an agency and
work as an independent agent or outside agent. There are also
advantages of working with an agency because most travel agents cannot
make enough in sales with a particular supplier to obtain higher
commission levels and bonuses. Working with an agency with many agents
can increase the commission percentages the agent gets because of the
joint sales of all the agents at the agency. Support is also a very
important aspect of being a successful agent. Agents who do not work
with others tend to feel more isolated and have to learn to do it all
solo. Since no agent can have the experience of being everywhere in the
world or staying at every hotel or resort, having others that you can
get advice from is really helpful.
The future of travel agencies is always
questioned. The truth
is the industry has changed in many ways. Some changes were for the
better, some for the worse. Many airlines have cut commissions for
travel agents. However, there are many other suppliers who are paying
travel agents more than they were ten years ago. Cruises used to be
booked by only the rich and now people in every income book cruises.
Each year more and more people go on cruises. Most people say they want
to go on a cruise at least once and many who go on their first come
home to want to book another.
You can earn commission on many travel
reservations.
Hotels
Rental Cars
Tour Packages
Cruises
Some airline tickets
International airline tickets
Travel insurance
Ground transportation including limos
Attraction tickets
Train tickets
People all need travel arrangements at some point
in time. Those who
take road trips need hotel reservations. Those who need to travel for
business need airline tickets, rental cars, and hotel reservations.
Families want to experience vacations with their loved ones. People
visit family and relatives. Most people who win money say they are
going to spend it to take a nice vacation. Newly married couples go on
honeymoons. You are not selling something that is hard to sell. People
contact you for help, you are not calling them or approaching them
trying to sell them something they don’t want.
Educating the public is the main thing any travel
agent must
do. Most people put travel agents into the same category as real estate
agents. They believe it costs additional to use a travel agent. This is
untrue. In many cases a travel agent can get a better price than the
general public through the suppliers who work only with travel agents.
Many people do not know all the options for booking a vacation. A good
travel agent does. Once people are educated on how a travel agent gets
paid, they are more willing to work with travel agents. If a person
knows that if he or she let you book a hotel and it will cost the same
price regardless, she or he will work with you. It is important to let
people know how you can help them save time and money on their travel
arrangements.
So how do you get into the industry? Many people
think they
must go to school or become certified. This is not true. You can get
into the industry and begin training. I don’t recommend anyone spend
thousands on a travel school until he or she knows this is a career
that he or she will really want to pursue. The truth is you do not have
to spend thousands to get trained. There are many courses free to
travel agents from suppliers. There are also organizations such as ICTA
(Institute of Certified Travel Agents) who offer courses as you get
more years experience in the industry. CLIA also offers courses. There
are some agencies that will offer training. Even if you decide this is
a career you would like to pursue, you do not need to spend thousands
to become an educated and competent travel agent. There are many
courses you can take with suppliers and organizations to get a better
education in travel. I truly believe a hands’ on approach is the best
way to become a better travel agent. Learning to work with suppliers
and how to find the information your clients need is an important part
of becoming a good travel agent.
How can you find an agency to work with? There are
a few
organizations dedicated to independent travel agents. NACTA and OSSN
are the top organizations. NACTA stands for National Association of
Commissioned Travel Agents. OSSN stands for Outside Sales Support
Network. You can also search online for home-based travel agent
programs. I would never recommend anyone spending a lot of money to
start this business. It is key to first try and see if it is something
you would really want to do and get training before you invest too much
money into it. Get involved in the industry first and see if it is
really a career that is best for you.
Mother of two who started a homebased travel
agency in 1997. She
has over 200 outside agents working with her agency and is active in
the travel industry. She has been an agent since 1993. She is the
author of three ebooks.
Todays Travel Tip
Lots of the new ships are now charging for extra activities like
miniature golf and in line skating, among others things. Be sure
and find out what activities are not included before making a
commitment. These fun & games can really add up. Our Pauper
enjoys playing as well as the next guy; he just likes doing so with
money in his pocket! Check back tomorrow for
another tip.
P.S.
If you have ever wanted to travel like the "rich and famous," here is
your opportunity. The Pauper's Secret Confessions alone, are
worth 10 times the cost of this book. Never take another trip
without being prepared!
