lss1

Is anyone on this site a home-based travel agent? I was just curious about what is involved in getting credentials. I have read a bit on the internet, but would like to hear some personal stories...either for or against...and different ways of becoming licensed. I love to plan trips for myself, family and have done so for many school groups...I was wondering if there is a way to do this part-time and earn free travel, etc.
Thanks....

cfntmpn

To be a true travel agent you should really hook up with an accredited travel agency first - by that I mean an agency who is partnered by American Express or Carlson Wagonlit.

The most difficult part of an agents job is learning the computer system. It is very antiquated and takes a lot of experience working on it before you can be fluent enough to start working independently from your home.

Most of the agents that I know working from their homes are those who are still affiliated with an agency and took pay cuts to work fewer hours but from their home.

Planning trips for the most part has nothing to do with being a hands-on agent ticketing flights, rooms, etc.

Now, if what you want to do is PLAN group travel or events, that is entirely a different story and has nothing to do with being an agent. It's a great job, you can be independent doing it, work from your home, travel the world, stay in great places, but it's really tough to get in.

And by the way, the days of free, or even cheap travel for agents are pretty much a thing of the past. I just recently gave up my IATA card because I got pretty much zero benefits from it. I would get upgraded once in a while at hotels and airlines, but as an event planner I get many more perks and I don't need the card.

What is your backround, age, schooling, etc...maybe with this background we can help you some more. Oh yes, what part of the country are you in, this can make a HUGE difference with oppty's.

GoTravel

It is pretty much a scam. As cfn said, any home based travel agents didn't start out that way.

They paid their dues and survived the massive industry layoffs after September 11th and the advent of internet travel.

Getting into meeting planning is lucrative, and many I know work from home, but I think it takes many years to build up your client list.

You can get your CMP or your CMM designation but I think you have to be in the business for five years before you can sit for either.

You could probably find a lot more ways to make better money working from home.

GoTravel

Quickly looking, you must be in the industry for 10 years before you can attempt to get your CMM designation and both the CMP and CMM are very time consuming, hard, and very expensive.

For more information about becoming a meeting planner, try this site: www.MPIWeb.org

ajcolorado

I have a friend who has become a home based travel agent through Joystar and seems pretty happy - see: www.hornicopiatravel.joystar.com/.

Another is doing YTB which seems to be more of a MLM. But here's a link w/ info: www.onlinetravelsavers.biz

Both of these have pre-designed web portals that seem to be similar to travelocity.

Another friend is more of a travel planner and he has more of a niche market. He works with a host agency that lets him book the commissionable componants and have access to online training programs - for example, the various cruise lines offer programs. He went through this host agency: www.travelwithgenie.com/employment.htm

dawnnoelm

I was a homebased travel agent..it was not a "scam" - I worked through an agency "Dugans Travels" and I booked travel et and was paid my commisions through her.

It was back pre 911 - and airlines were still paying commissions (cuts happened every day though)

I enjoyed it.

Regarding your question about earning free travel - it does not really happen that much (at least not in my experience) you can get some perks - many actually - I seemed to recall a lot of cruise deals for some reason..

It is not for the faint at heart - issues come up all the time and it can be very stressful if you are really working your business.

Now, if you just want to book your travel and friends and family- you can make a few bucks here and there.

I am not sure if Dugans is still around but if you google "Jennifer Dugan" you might find out.

FainaAgain

I can find a large reputable agency (Internet or yellow pages), confirm with BBB (in case you don't know, Better Business Bureau) it's legit and doesn't have problems with clients, OR I can use a home-based agent... guess what my choice would be?

otto

i spent 6 years in corporate sales for 2 international airlines. one year before sep. 11th, and 5 after it. the benefits and perks that agents were offered then, now barely exist, or are very hard to get, or are not much of a savings or deal. agents that even survived the economy after 2001 are now part of bigger (really big) corporate agencies (as mentioned, amex, carlson, etc...) i'm sure if you can do that you may enjoy it, but the times have just changed so much, and very fast in the recent years. it simply not what it used to be. the computer systems are certianly not easy as well.

dawnnoelm

Is it still SABRE that is used?

I agree with Fainia - most of the people I booked travel for were friends and family and then through referals -

Dh used a corporate agent for years with a large agency who then went out on her own - he stayed with her due to the customer service et but his company would have never permitted that if they had not already been using her for years.

GoTravel

dawn, now, not pre 9/11 were home based travel agencies scam operations. By that I mean now people try and sell you a membership or something or other so you can be a home based travel agent.

dawnnoelm

gotravel... I had no idea. After 9/11 I had very little interest in continuing to do the business. I felt it was really changing - and was concerned about being named in a lawsuit if something happened to one of my clients. (It happens) It was just not worth the hassle.

I paid the agency insurance cost - and obviously she took a part of the commmision. I will have to google her and see if she is still around.

dawnnoelm

http://www.travelathome.com/costinvolved.html

There is her website - please note - I am NOT endorsing nor suggesting anyone sign up to be an agent with her agency. It has been about 7 plus years - and I cannot speak for her.

GoTravel

No, I completely understand.

Being I was in the hotel business at the time, I saw the massive layoffs at the time after the events of September 11th almost destroyed the travel industry.

It is very different now.

If you google 'home based travel agent' you will find many of these just want your money and promise FAM trips and other perks that don't exist.

ajcolorado

I don't think there is anything preventing a home based agent from having an ad in the yellow pages or joining the Better Business Bureau.

From what my friend who uses the host agency says - the loss of airline commissions has made it a lot harder and a lot of brick & mortar agencies have closed as a result. There just wasn't enough money to cover the overhead. So the home based agents are filling a niche. He said that well-known cruise agencies like Royal Caribbean have added special sections for on their agent portals just for home based agents.

As for the big agencies, my husband's company used Carson-Wagonlit and they always tried to book the guys on the high priced flights. For example, they tried to book him on a $1300 flight to Omaha. The company cancelled the trip due to the cost so then Carson-Wagonlit magically produced a $400 fare.

earthhopper

Homebased Travel Agents accredited to NACTA are quite reliable. But there's no dearth of scams by so-called agents who are not registered with any agency, but running a fake website.

dawnnoelm

Those FAM trips honestly were not there when I was around either. You can get some perks - but usually that is associated with booking large group travel (in my experience) and doing site visits.

I guess many moons ago they were around...

nytraveler

In several of my jobs I have run small to mid-sized meetings for client (but dealing with faculty and content only - and using a destination company to do all of the logistics).

Since they bought large blocks of rooms they were able to get themselves - and me and one or two co-workers free rooms immediately before or after the meeting. But that was only on the basis of booking dozens or hundreds of room nights in the same hotel at one time. And assumed that they had rooms free (if they had paying customers you got nothing).

We/they didn;t get any perqs from the airlines - since the volume just didn;t justify it.

If your main goal is perqs - they are very few and far between.

Probably your best choice is the travel department of a large corporation - and eventually you become a planner and get to do site visits and a few add-on days to trips.

Otherwise you will need to organize groups that are large enough to get you a free room - and that will rarely be 10 or 12 rooms - you usually need much larger groups.

lss1

Thank you for all of the feedback. I am 42, grown children, and have degrees in English and Postgraduate in English as a second language. I teach full-time, but have summers off.
I have organized tours for some groups just as a favor and in addition sometimes had my trip more or less paid for...by being the organizer.
I have gained many friends now who are bilingual - English with other languages and some are interested in getting together with me to offer tours to their home countries. So I think group travel, as you say, is a viable option. I was just wondering if my gaining additional credentials and the IATA? card, would be helpful.
I am not particularly looking to make any big bucks, just to help people travel and travel myself.
However, I also know the headaches of dealing with large group travels...it was just something that I thought I would enquire about.
Thanks.

GoTravel

Iss1, if you like what you are doing and are good doing this, keep doing it.

You'll eventually build the business up.

An IATA number will allow hotels, airlines, and attractions to cut you a check for commissions.

ajcolorado

You have to have something like $5000 in commissions in a 1 yr. period to get an Iatan card - that's why part time people become independent agents of a host agency, which carries the IATA number.