Do you make money as a travel agent

A generation ago, in the heyday of the travel agentfees and commissions were plentiful. There was no Travfl, so planning a trip was definitely not just a click away. Travel agents could probably get away with hou you a fee and rake in commission as well booking your vacation. And, unlike today, airplane tickets were the ayent money. But, in the s, airlines dropped commissions to travel agents as technological advances meant people could very easily book their own tickets and trips over the phone or the Internet and actual paper tickets became a thing of the past. As Internet accessibility became the norm and travelers could shop, book and pay for travel themselves online, the life of the agent became a bit more difficult—to say the. The pendulum is swinging back in their favor as moneyy new generation of travelers realizes that the travel agent still provides people with the same thing that they were looking for all those many years ago—value and convenience. But without their enormous commissions, how do agents get paid?

A Typical Day…

One of the first questions most new agents have is about the potential income that can be generated by a home based travel agent. Many are retired from other carriers and have pensions and investments they depend on and enjoy the benefits of being in the travel industry as their primary motivation. Other agents sell travel to family and friends part time and also maintain a full time career in another industry. So, while the numbers seem depressed, be assured that there are a good number of home based travel agents making excellent incomes from their business. And, the answer is certainly much more complex than the question. In its most simplistic form, profits are generated by the payment of a commission from the supplier to the agent. Commissions are paid for handling the sale on behalf of the supplier and virtually every supplier has different remuneration programs. Many suppliers offer override programs based on the total volume of business the agent books with the supplier. To make matters even more confusing, a supplier may also have money to invest in promotions and promotional materials on top of the commission and overrides that are paid to the agent. The trick is to access these base commissions, overrides and promotional cooperative funds to generate the highest possible yield in your revenue. This is accomplished by focusing your business in a highly productive and complex niche where the rewards are substantial.

Why Become a Travel Agent?

NCFs Non Commissionable Fares have increased dramatically thereby reducing the overall percentage of commission on selling mass-market cruises. The River Cruise market is extremely popular right now and also quite competitive among river cruise companies and represents an excellent opportunity to earn very attractive margins. All cruise lines have override programs and also money to invest in well thought out promotions with productive agents. There are also many tour companies such as Globus that offer worldwide tours to virtually every destination around the world. Virtually all tour operators offer well defined override programs and also have cooperative promotional and advertising funds available for agents. Specializing in complex FIT and Escorted international tours is an excellent way to generate a large income. I know of one agent who specializes in luxury all inclusive resorts and is generating over five million in sales annually between he and his wife and three independent agents. By focusing the bookings with operators that handle all inclusives such as FunJet and Apple, they gain considerable overrides and other benefits. You can focus your attention on a certain level of all inclusive, or on a particular destination. However, you must be able to add expert value to the client booking with you to really capture the market. Groups: Groups can be highly profitable, especially if you are packaging complex international groups and adding specific value that the client finds invaluable.

Commissions

Usually the people asking are either those who are interested in becoming a travel agent or it’s coming from those who find out I work in the travel industry and they can’t believe travel agencies are even still around! Um, they are, and they’re the new darlings of the time-starved, information-overloaded travelers of today! I’ll go more in-depth in just a second, but here’s the basic step-by-step of how most travel agents make money:. Now, if you’re looking for how travel agents make money that are employees of an agency, that falls more into the territory of travel agent salaries. You’re at the right site, just the wrong article. To give you an answer on how travel agents make money, it’s important to know a little history.

A Shift in Business Models

Fees and commissions comprise the bulk of many travel agencies’ revenues. Travel agencies earn money from the clients they serve and the travel vendors they market. How that is proportioned depends on a number of factors: the types of travel they handle, the types of clients they serve and the level of expertise they can offer. The rise of Internet channels for booking — making obsolete the need for the average person to pick up the phone to book a basic flight, for example — has significantly changed the role of many agents and, in turn, their revenue streams. Travel agents often earn commissions from travel vendors they book for their clients, though this is a much smaller portion of their revenue than it once was. Airlines in particular have moved away from giving agents a commission on booking, since the Internet age has made it so easy for travelers to book their own flights. In rare cases, airlines provide commissions if they want to build traffic on a new route or an agent gives them a heavy volume of business. Tour operators, cruises and hotels still often pay travel agents commissions for bookings. With commissions off the table, many travel agencies earn the bulk of their revenue through fees.

Ask about the kinds of hotels and activities they prefer and the experiences they enjoy. I mean i want to stay and work in home. Provide complimentary extras to surprise your clients. Have visual aids on hand. Currently m staying at home without a job since we have relocated to another country just cz of my husbands job. Recent Posts. Most customers don’t realize that as a travel agent, you can often get better deals than they can. What your customers need you for is the more complicated trips. She only writes about things that work. That way, they can do so at their convenience. Be upfront about fees. It looks like Facebook Groups. Consider working as a Travel Agent.

How much do travel agents make? All of ’em.

I work when I can! Patience, organization, and a love for what you sell. Any cons to becoming a Travel Agent? It takes work but it will be worth it. Plus, most people like talking about the great vacation they just had! By continuing to use tavel site, you agree to our cookie policy.

A Short History

Love to travel? Do you often fantasize about planning your next trip or do friends always ask you for travel planning advice? You may be able to cash in on your passion by becoming a home-based travel agent. A travel agent helps others plan vacations and trips.

By doing this, they also sell travel-related products and services to travep customers on behalf of third party travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotels and cruise lines. Traditionally, travel agencies used to be brick and mortar which required you to work in-office but now, you have more flexibility to work online from home afent don’t need to go through rigorous training to get started. Most travel agents are either self-employed or work flexible hours as an at-home agent for a travel company.

I will mention some of those companies that hire agents later in this post. I recently sat down with my friend GiGi a home-based travel agent for the past year to learn first hand about what it takes to get started and become successful. People become interested in this profession for a variety of reasons. For Gigi, this job represented skills makee interests she already had which made it seem fulfilling.

Some people come to me because they want to travel, but don’t know where to go so I use my travel systems and vendors to help them save time by researching their options and save lots of money on monej actual trip. Since Gigi is a certified travel agent, she moeny a relationship with back-office vendors that the average person can’t even access.

These vendors provide her with discounted rates on travel-related products to offer her yoh. Some people may not think they need a travel agent with sites like Expedia and TripAdvisor, but the role of an experienced travel agent is still very necessary if you want a guaranteed way to agen time, money, and travel-related headaches when booking your trip. Aside from helping other people book dream vacations and trips, you also might want to become a travel agent so you can travel more yourself by using direct discounts from back-end vendors.

Think of it as an employee discount. Gigi works as a travel agent part-time. She is a single mom going to school and also working a full-time job. She loves how flexible and fun this side job is since she can do it from anywhere during her spare time. She has her own search engine site that is a one-stop-shop where people can look at travel packages and compare destinations, hotels, rental car options, and. You don’t need to become a certified travel agent to get started, but Gigi chose to because she knew it would give her more training in order to enhance the experience for clients.

She took a course through Xtreme Travel University in order to get certified. After successfully completing the course, she then gained access to the TraVerus Global travel vendor network system to use to help clients book affordable trips. Aside from having an interest in travel and possibly a certification, you’ll also need a phone and a computer with high-speed internet. Gigi privatizes her cell phone number in order to have a separate phone number solely for business.

This is a simple way keep personal calls and those for your home-based business separate while still using just one phone.

As a travel agent, you’ll want to work through a company like TraVerus so you can get access to discounted travel-related products and create your own professional search engine website for your business. Most travel agents earn a commission. If don’t want to start your own solo business when you obtain your certification, you could work with a travel agent network or apply for employment with a well-known company in the travel industry. All of these companies provide ongoing training and support.

Other options for employment include these companies:. Agents who work in niche markets like corporate travel or destination weddings can earn considerably.

Gigi is paid by commission from her vendors and each vendor has their own percentage. Yoj a client is insisting on assistance with booking their flight, Gigi says she is always more than willing to help regardless if it will enhance their travel experience.

It’s also important to note that Gigi doesn’t get compensated until clients actually book a travel package. While research is a crucial part of the job, it helps to work with clients who are serious about booking travel in order to make the best use of your time. Home-based travel agents ageny work as independent contractors which means you’ll be responsible for paying your own taxes.

Be sure to deduct expenses like office expenses, your cell phone and internet bill, fuel costs if you have to travel to meet up with a client, along with marketing and advertising expenses. Gigi had a few tips for new or aspiring travel agents to become successful and I was all ears.

Quality of service is important to Gigi and has contributed to her business travdl. She researches and plans trips for others the same persistence and attention to detail as if she was planning a trip for. People see something that they’ve never seen before and it’s exciting so you must be friendly and approachable. It’s also important to be a great researcher and be well educated about travel. You must know about every little detail from the weather and transportation system to other insider tips.

Gigi focuses on marketing to people on a larger scale by using social media and her own travel Facebook pageattending expos and conferences, as well as utilizing word of mouth referrals. It’s also important to be constantly learning about the industry to improve yourself which is why she also recommends taking webinars from travel vendors to keep your skills sharp.

Would you ever consider becoming a home-based travel agent? What would you like best about the job? I will teach you how to start and build your own money-making blog from scratch q absolutely no blogging experience.

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It was published 6 years ago, which is about 60 years in internet time. Thus, it was in need of an update! It’s now updated to reflect travel agent salaries. If you’re here, it’s probably not your first time around the Google block. So you know that there are many answers to what you possibly thought was going to be a simple question.

How much do travel agents make? Travel agent employees only.

There is a whoooole lot yravel consider when looking at do you make money as a travel agent much travel agents make. There are also major factors such as type of agency or company, job title, niche, experience and whether or not an agent is an employee or independent. We’re also wary of those job salary websites offering ageht agent salary data—the one thing travel industry outsiders don’t understand?