Foreword: This is a long article, by intention. If you want to skip directly to the resource, go to the resource block and follow it. This article is long because it provides a full and complete background on the various resources you might find, including the one in just refrenced. It will give you the insight as to not only how to become a travel agent, but also how to become profitable. If you understand the basics, you¡¯ll be in much better position to take action. But this IS a "mini textbook" so please be patient and read before acting. In the end, you¡¯ll be glad that you did.

Before we go into "how" to become a profitable agent, let¡¯s begin with the principles and ask "Is it even possible in the mid 2000¡¯s to do this?"

The answer is yes, and we should go farther to qualify this as both a part time independent agent, as well as a full time agent, and expand "profitable" to mean "the ability to earn at least a full time upper middle class living income". That will vary depending on your viewpoint, so let¡¯s put a number to it... $60,000 a year. For some this will be low; for others high.. but it¡¯s not an ¡°absolute¡± but only an idea of what is possible. You can go from there, up or down.

Of course the "cash" benefits are only a small part of the benefits of being an agent. One of the major benefits is the fact you can travel about any where, any time, for a fraction of what the general public is paying. What is not covered by "perks" and you spend out of pocket becomes a total tax deduction if managed properly. And of course you have the freedom to choose when, where, and how hard you want to work. You are your own boss.

With this out of the way, we should next look at the history of the travel agency/agent career field.

The basics are this: The hospitality, travel, and to an extent, the recreation industry, is over built and has excess capacity most of the times. There are vacant hotel and resort rooms daily; vacant cruise ship cabins; unfilled restaurant seats; unfilled tee times at major golf courses; unfilled campground sites and still unfilled transportation seats on airlines, planes, and other conveyances.

All of these suppliers of these services have fixed costs which are there regardless if they have empty capacity or full capacity, and they not only WANT to operate at a full capacity mode, but need to. For them, it is better to operate and fill an otherwise vacant resource for a small profit rather than have it sit vacant and generate NO profit. Those are direct expenses and revenue. It is also known that many of these resources have ancillary selling opportunities that if they can get a "body" into the primary facility (i.e., a cruise cabin stateroom), the traveler will spend dollars on ancillary services, usually as rack rate or asking price. Instead of having six shoppers in a on board boutique, there now may be 12, and that¡¯s additional revenue from six people that would not have otherwise developed. The examples are endless.

These vacanies occur in nearly every venue and almost 365 days per year, with the only exceptions being for certain holidays. At that time, and at that time only, does the travel facility provider operate at the efficienient 100% full rate.

And because of all of this, an inventory has developed, and along with that, the travel agent industry who can potentially reach more people to market to than the source provider could probably reach alone.

There is enough profit potential for the supplier in filling the otherwise vacant facility that they can pay someone to find clients for them.

This has been true for many, many years, including the airline industry which is about the only industry that in the recent future has found a way to operate independently to achieve close to 100% occupancy rates and not need an agent or pay a commission.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT JUST ABOUT EVERY SUPPLIER WILL GO TO ABOUT ANY LENGTH TO FILL THAT VACANT ASSET.

Looking At the Industry in Phases

No truly accurate historical records have been found by the article author. It¡¯s a reasonable assumption that using an agent or agents started many years ago, and most likely in the hotel and resort industry. Certainly those were "pre chain" times (i.e., no Sheratons, no Mariotts, etc), and certainly well before the Internet or even computers. Some research shows that wealthy individuals had someone do their research and booking of travel and recreation for them and this was the start of the industry.. that one or more of these people started offering their services and knowledge to others who also liked to travel, and negotiated "finders fees" or commissions with the various hospitality industry providers. Other research shows that a few major resorts and then ocean lines started with in house sales and marketing and decided to "outsource" the sale (well before that was a popular word as well). But it makes little difference in today¡¯s market as to how the business started. Suffice it to say that the person or persons acting as the " travel agent" had to be personally knowledgeable and very "hands on" as they had one thing to market: their personal reputation, and this is why you find many early travel agencies bearing the name of a person. The reputation was important to the agent as it was a tool to attract business, both in the form of clients.. and the more clients you could show a hospitality industry provider, the better position you would be in to show what influence you had and what you could do for them, and thus negotiate either better commission rates; exclusive rights, or both.

As technology progressed, we went from the telephone stage, early faxes for quick information, to the computer age, but essentially this was "pre Internet". There were networks, and early formations of travel related services which offered information and booking information on a relatively expensive subscription basis. Individuals interested in becoming agents essentially could not have access to these services as they were pricey; very often restricted to bona- fide agencies, and also sophisticated to use to the point that it took training from the provider such as "Sabre" to be able to use them.

About the same time, recognized trade associations started to form, and rough standards for becoming "a card carrying travel agent" were developed . A personal knowledge need for the agent continued to be essential, and the hospitality industry providers began to recognize this and the "FAM Trip" or "familiarization trip" began to evolve. This was to get the agent out to the destination or service, and was the provider¡¯s chance to "sell" the agent with the hope that they would achieve a ranking position. Over supply continued to develop and the hospitality providers recognized that paying a commission alone was not enough to have the agent choose them over a competitor. And so we move into the late1990s. This was the first phase.

The Second Phase Again, surplus capacity was a driving force, other than within the airline industry which became deregulated and began their restructuring to reduce their excess seats, and also to develop one of the most sophisticated pricing structures ever where at any time, any one seat could have a different price, changing as often as 3 times a day for the same seat on the same plane. Commissions to agents for airline travel plummeted and remain at an all time low.

And at the same time, the Internet began to evolve where now travel providers, particularly those in the airline, general hotel, and car rental industries started to "go direct" to the public. It began to look for general travel as if the playing field was very much leveled, and the need for agents was quickly disappearing.

The Third and Current Phase

This certainly has influenced the industry, and many traditional agencies have gone out of business.

BUT.. and here¡¯s the part those wanting to know about if they can make money as agents have been waiting for.. and where we are today:

Two key factors play a very prominent role:

1) Not everyone has access to the internet, and

2) Of those that do, many prefer NOT to take the personal time to do the research and would prefer to have someone else manage those details for them

Adding to that is the fact that the industry is very, very, very competitive and there are so many "resources" available, all making great claims.. that it¡¯s hard for the non professional to come into the marketplace and truly sort out the "best" from the average. Best may relate first to quality, and secondly value. We all know that not all resorts are created equal! Every one of us has probably stayed in a hotel that booked itself with 3 or 4 stars, but found that maybe the beds sagged just a little or even the sheets would not stay on tight; we have gone to a 4 star restaurant and found it truly "wanting" in service.

The Most Current Evolution

As we¡¯ve just discussed, a great many of hospitality service providers have sites and online and direct booking capability. And while many people do not have computers or the inclination to use them, still a great number of people DO have computers and are more than willing to use them. This is evidenced by the many sites such as Travelocity. But they are impersonal and "mass number" sites. And again, the hospitality service providers are in a very competitive situation and looking for "the edge" to get people to their site.

The most current evolution then is to specialty agency firms that work very closely with these providers and have made arrangements with them essentially for referral fees, or commissions. The circle has completed. The difference is YOU. You are given the opportunity to get to know these providers up close and personal and drive traffic to them, either by booking for clients directly, or offering your clients access to a special site that you control. One will be discussed in the resource block.

So where we are today now is that hospitality providers put their "wares" on display on the Internet; that certain Travel Agent type sites do a qualification for these providers as an attempt to "sort", then offer access to individuals on a selective basis, but one within the affordability range of anyone. And at the same time, those providers offer what is now the equivalent of the old "FAM" trips and these are substantial discounts to agents or members of this organization. This now means that the average person willing to invest just a small amount of time in training and also in the minimal licensing fees can become a travel agent with the same resources of what one used to have to belong to a major agency to qualify for.

The only major difference is that a person in a major "brick and mortar" agency may have a large "book" of commercial or business clients and do short notice, high volume business travel, where YOU will probably specialize in vacation and recreational travel and build your business with individuals vs. corporations.

This is not all bad because many corporations doing truly high volume travel have in house travel departments.. even if that "department" is staffed by only one or two people.

This means you have the freedom and flexibility to work full or part time as you see fit. You get to choose, rather than be assigned, who your clients are. You get to choose what "fam trips" you want, rather than be assigned them by a boss based upon possibly what client base that agency will assign you to.

It¡¯s really a two sided "sword" however. One side is the total freedom and flexibility you have. That good side also carries with it the fact the commissions that come in from the hospitality industry service provider are 100% yours. There¡¯s no paying the agency, then them paying you just a part of that, either in salary or reduced commission.. the money is 100% yours. You earn what you are worth; not what the perception of the job is worth. As you work from an office you choose which is very often in your home, you have all the qualifying deductions for tax purposes. The trips you take are tax deductions.

The other side of the "sword" is that you bear total responsibility for both sales and marketing. You also "front" your own expenses. You create your own fringe benefits and fund them at the level you are comfortable with. And you set your own work schedule and are accountable only to yourself and your own goals. Because of this side of the sword, this is not truly a business for everyone. The main reason is not that everyone could not do this, but many people just do not have the discipline to be in business for themselves, and before considering this as a business for yourself, you need to ask yourself, "can I effectively manage goals, time, and money?", or am I just looking for a "job" where I can trade my time for a certain dollar amount and let someone else effectively manage who I am and what I do?

Only you know the answer. The only for sure answer we can offer is that if you want a great future and business in the travel industry, the tools of the Internet and the 2000s make it now very possible. If you come in and treat it like a business, you can thrive. If you come in and treat it like a hobby, you¡¯ll only get "hobby" returns at best.

We hope this article has been helpful and informative to you in making your decision to become an independent travel agent.