#rematerialize

 Many people are unclear about the travel industry. Travel agents are often considered the same as real estate agents. Become a travel agent or more specifically a travel agent from home is an exciting career change or retirement option. Some people do it full time while many do as a part-time business. A travel agent books travel for customers and suppliers are paid a commission on the reservation. For bookings that suppliers do not pay a commission, a travel agent may also charge the customer a service fee for her time. An example is if you want to book a hotel for a client, the hotel would then send a check to the agency after the client checked. Most hotels pay 10% of hotel price excluding taxes and fees. A reserve of $ 100 per night hotel would mean $ 10 per night for the travel agent who made the reservation. This hotel would be the same cost as the customer uses a travel agent or book through the hotel directly. In many cases the travel agent can get a better price. It does not cost the customer to use the travel agent unless the agent travel requires a service fee. Can we do that? To work with suppliers, you must have an established account with the supplier. Most require an agency to hold an IATAN, CLIA or ARC number. IATAN stands for International Airlines Travel Agent Network. CLIA represents Cruise Lines International Association. CRA represents 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 need errors and omissions insurance of $ 1,000,000 or more. For the travel agent on average, membership is not a possibility with some organizations so the agent will be 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 can not make enough 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 sale of all officers of the agency. Support is also a very important aspect of being an agent of success. Agents who do not work with others tend to feel more isolated and have to learn to do everything solo. Since no agent can have the experience of being around the world or staying at every hotel or resort, having others 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 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 reserved only for rich people and now book cruises on all income. Each year, more and more people go on cruises. Most people say they want to cruise at least once and many who enter their home come first to want to book another. You can earn commission on many travel reservations. Hotels Car Rental Tour Packages Cruises Some tickets International airline tickets Travel insurance Ground transportation, including limousines attraction tickets Train tickets All peoples need travel arrangements at some point in time. Those traveling by road should hotel reservations. Those who need to travel for airline tickets business need, car rentals, hotel bookings. Families want to experience vacations with their families. People visit family and friends. Most people who win money say they will spend it to take a good vacation. newlyweds go on honeymoons. You're not selling something that is difficult to sell. People contact you to help you, you're not calling them or approaching them trying to sell them something they do not want. Public education is the main thing any travel agent to do. Most people put travel agents in the same category as real estate agents. They believe that the additional costs for using a travel agent. This is false. 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 is paid, they are more willing to work with travel agents. If a person knows that if he or she lets you book a hotel and it will cost the same price whatever he or she will work with you. It is important that people know how you can help save time and money on their travel arrangements. So how do you enter the industry? Many people think they should go to school or become certified. This is not true. You can enter the industry and begin training. I do not recommend anyone spend thousands on a school trip until he or she knows it's a career that he or she will really want to continue. The truth is that you do not have to spend thousands to form. 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 that you get more years of experience in the industry. CLIA also offers courses. There are organizations that offer training. Even if you decide it's a career you want to continue, you do not need to spend thousands to become a travel agent educated and skilled. There are many courses you can take with suppliers and organizations to gain a better education in travel. I truly believe a hands' on the approach is the best way to become a better travel agent. Learning to work with suppliers and how to find the information your customers need is an important part of becoming a good travel agent. How can you find an agency to work with? There are few organizations dedicated to independent travel agents. NACTA and OSSN are the best organizations. NACTA represents the National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents. OSSN is outside the network Sales Support. You can also search online for home based travel agent programs. I never recommend anyone spending a lot of money to start this business. It is essential to first try and see if it is something you really want to make and receive training before investing too much money in it. Get involved in the industry first and see if it really is a career that suits you best. Jennifer Dugan CTA Owner of Dugan's Travels Travel Agent since 1993 [http://www.duganstravels.com] Copyright 2004 Jennifer Dugan