Tweet

Becoming a Travel Agent from Home is Easy when Working with a Host Travel Agency

Guest post by: Shafi Farooqui

Article Overview: With more and more individuals looking for venues to make extra money, many are researching home-based opportunities. With the current travel industry booming, coupled with more individuals turning to actual travel agents rather than online travel booking websites, becoming a travel agent from home has never been more lucrative. With its host of opportunities, many seasoned home-based travel agency vets recommend aligning your travel agency with a host travel agency. Although working on your own will provide you with 100 percent of the commission for booking travel arrangements, it can be daunting to handle numerous accounts, track money, and establish relationships with various travel suppliers. Only practiced travel agents should start an independent travel agency. For others interested in becoming a travel agent from home, working with

Becoming a Travel Agent from Home is Easy when Working with a Host Travel Agency

With more and more individuals looking for venues to make extra money, many are researching home-based opportunities. With the current travel industry booming, coupled with more individuals turning to actual travel agents rather than online travel booking websites, becoming a travel agent from home has never been more lucrative. With its host of opportunities, many seasoned home-based travel agency vets recommend aligning your travel agency with a host travel agency. Although working on your own will provide you with 100 percent of the commission for booking travel arrangements, it can be daunting to handle numerous accounts, track money, and establish relationships with various travel suppliers. Only practiced travel agents should start an independent travel agency. For others interested in becoming a travel agent from home, working with a host agency can be very fruitful. Working with a host travel agency will provide you with a variety of benefits. They are independent contractors with an established business. Many host agencies assist those interested in becoming a travel agent from home with initial training, as well as commission tracking, back-office accounting, and booking engines. Because of their increased sales volume, they are better equipped to negotiate high commissions than you would on your own with a small amount, or no, sales volumes. Working with a host travel agency also provides you with direct access to their consortium, allowing you to offer the best deals to different clients. You can also benefit by using the travel credentials of that host agency, including IATAN and ARC. Using these credentials not only makes clients feel more comfortable, but it also opens up a venue to book travel arrangements directly with various travel suppliers.

When you are researching different host travel agencies, the best place to start your research is by asking other home-based travel agents for referrals. After three to four referrals have been obtained, visit the websites; research the available support, benefits, and various credentials, licenses, and affiliations. Check with the licensing board, credential organizations, and the Better Business Bureau to ensure the host travel agency is legitimate. Compare the benefits and fees of the different host travel agencies. This includes the commission percentage you will receive, available support, and training. For example, some host agencies may not require start-up fees, and a number of agencies have a continued monthly fee to cover shipping costs of supplies. Balance the commission percentage offered with associated fees of working with that host travel agency to determine which one will provide you with a higher income bracket.

Aside from money and benefits, there are a few additional items that you need to know before selecting a host travel agency when becoming a travel agent from home. One item is determining if the host travel agency has errors and omissions insurance included in their agreement. This insurance coverage protects you if there is a claim of damages due to faulty performance. Also determine if the host travel agency requires you to track your sales and commissions, of if they do it. More professional host travel agencies will do it for you. Lastly, a professional host travel agency will offer continuing education on how to be a better travel agent through online courses.

Related Articles
  How to Become a Home Based Travel Agent
  Become an Online Travel Agent
  How to Become a Travel Agent Online
  Travel Agent Business Opportunity
  Best Travel Agent Programs
  Travel Agent Programs
  Become A Travel Agent – Reap The Benefits
  The Benefits of Becoming a Travel Agent from Home
  Home Based Travel Agent – What You Need To Know
  Become A Home Based Travel Agent And Help People To Discover The World Around Them
  Becoming a Travel Agent Online
  What is an Adventure Travel Agent
  What Are Some Of The Reasons Why You Should Be Relying On A Travel Agent?
  The Benefits That You Can Reap From Getting In Touch With A Travel Agent
  Responsibilities of a Medical Travel Agent
  Are You In The Game?
  How to Find Caribbean Luxury Resorts Online
  Travel Insurance - for when you least expect it!
  An Easy Home Based Business Opportunity Combines Travel with the Baby Boomer Generation
  Travel Professional- Make Your Travel Plans Come True

Article Tags: becoming a travel agent, booking travel, extra money, homebased opportunities, homebased travel agency, host travel agency, independent travel agency, relationships, track money, travel agents, travel arrangements, travel booking, travel industry, travel suppliers
Referred by: http://jaykubassek.com



Related Forum Posts
Re: Looking for business partners in travel and telecom areas - Michael, In order to help I would need more detail. Travel and Telecom are pretty broad categories. I develop and design websites and I could help but not without a lot more information on what niche's your targeting. For example are you trying to just target people in and around Chicago or the whole United States.
Re: What is Your Favorite Thing About Owning A Business? - [quote="freddyb45":1t3lpfi8]For me it's the fact that all the time and effort you put in is worth a lot more, due to it making you "business" more profitable. Working for yourself is also a positive, although employing people you can trust is quite different.[/quote:1t3lpfi8] I like this idea. Working for yourself means you are investing in your own future, not someone else's, although there is value in working for someone else first to gain experience and confidence. Working for yourself does not automatically mean success, fame and fortune. For most entrepreneurs, it takes much work and dedication to get to the point of financial success and comfort - sometimes years. But the benefit is, again, you know you are investing in yourself and building equity for your own future. GT :-]
Re: e-Commerce and e-Payment providers - When I came back to Japan in 1999 I sometimes used to ask my students if they would buy anything on the Internet and at that time most thought it was too risky. I'd encourage them to try by using well known sites such as Amazon.co.jp and also pointed out that using a credit card on a reputable site was safer than using it at a restaurant. I can't remember the last time I had that discussion or when the "tipping point" occurred in Japan. To answer your other question, I use Paypal for several reasons: 1. Brand familiarity 2. Easy to use 3. Free to withdraw 50,000yen+ to my Japanese bank account - a huge benefit (but maybe other systems also offer that...?) 4. Easy to cancel subscriptions On the down side, their transaction fees are quite costly, they are difficult to contact and when disputes arise you can sometimes lose even when you can prove via your tracking service that the disputed item was "delivered" to the customer's address!
Re: Domain name sugestion - Hi Anelly, Support-Box.com sounds very good to me. Easy and catchy.
Re: Trade Shows - Are They Worth It? - HI, I have used trade shows (not participated) to collect potential clients. For example, the Home & Garden Industry is extremely behind the time in regards to their websites. I attended an Home & Garden Expo in Denver and collected all the companies contact information. I plan on cold calling & mailing information to each business. It also gave me time to research the industry more, talk directly to the owners in many cases, and learn more about what they need. Jeff


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Biggest Domain Name Myth

Are You Reaching Out?

Effective Leadership

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.