Top 5 Reasons New Travel Agents Should Join a Host Travel Agency

As the economy rebounds and travel continues to increase, many entrepreneurs are eager to learn how to establish a successful home based business as a travel agent.

If you enjoy communicating with others and cultivating strong relationships, you are motivated and you love learning about travel around the globe, becoming a travel agent and having your own independent business can be ideal.

However, as a new travel agent you may not have the resources needed to get your business running successfully right away. One of the best choices a new travel agent can make is to create an affiliation with a leading travel agent host agency.

Discover some of the most common ways for a new travel agent to benefit from joining a host agency.

1. Help For Your Customers When You’re Unavailable

One of the reasons travelers book through agents rather than going online is often because of that personal touch and the comfort of knowing they have someone who is knowledgeable about traveling.

They feel that if anything should go wrong during their trip, they can rely on you as their travel agent to help them.

One of the perks of working with a host agency is that you can likely pre-arrange to have your host travel agency assist your clients for a set period of time if you know you will be unavailable for whatever reason to help them yourself.

2. After Hours Ticketing

As an independent travel agent, you will be fully responsible for booking trips for your clients and arranging exceptional travel experiences. However, your host agency should be able to handle after-hours ticketing services for you for a nominal fee. This is a major perk for your agency and will help your customers appreciate your reliability as an agent.

For example, Travel Planners International has a Reservation Center which is open 24 hours a day and can book air, car and hotel reservations, or help your clients make changes when necessary for reservations already in place. You will be able to provide your clients with a toll-free number to call.

3. Legitimacy Through IATAN and CLIA

As with most professionals, there are specific organizations that are important to become associated with to improve your credibility. For the travel industry two of these are the International Association of Travel Agents Network (IATAN) and the Cruise Lines International Organization (CLIA).

More than likely, through a sales threshold offered by your host agency or a certain number of training hours, you can become eligible for membership into one or both of these important organizations. Be sure to check on the specifics with the host agency you join for details as to how you can become a member.

4. Marketing Tips and Advertising Advice

If you are new to the travel industry, you might not be sure which forms of social media are the most popular among travelers or whether direct campaigns should be sent by mail or email.

A trustworthy travel agent host agency will be able to provide advice and marketing tips to help you see your business grow.

5. Special Offers to Customers and Bonus Incentives for You

Large host agencies have strong connections with leading vendors and are able to negotiate exclusive deals with their vendor for travel agents partnered with them.

Additionally, travel agents might be eligible for special commissions or incentives based on vendor sales. These are things to find out from the host agency with whom you choose to partner.

Clearly, new travel agents will have a distinct advantage over those who try to make it on their own when they take advantage of the resources made available by a host travel agency.

While there are a number of travel agent host agencies from which to choose, you can’t go wrong by choosing Travel Planners International to help you expand your customer base and grow your own travel agency. The reputation of TPI is strong and their agents have wonderful things to say about the support they receive from this premier host travel agency.

Call us today to find out more about getting started with Travel Planners International.