I Love to Travel…Think I’ll be a Travel Agent

Is that right???!!!  You woke up this morning and that was your decision? Maybe you need some enlightenment.

Having owned businesses of various kinds for over 30 years, this is the most mentally difficult business I have ever owned.  The responsibility for a clients “dream” vacation or trip rests totally on my shoulders.  Even though there are a multitude of pieces in this puzzle, in my client’s eyes I am the airline, the cruise line, the hotel, the car rental and on and on.  24/7/365 is the length of responsibility.  You don’t clock out at 5 PM. 

In addition, you are holding control of thousands of dollars of someone else’s money.  Remembering the deadlines, keeping watch on all the supplier’s documents to be sure all the names, dates, dollars, destinations, etc. are correct.  Some of those supplier’s are minimum wage people who just don’t care!!  Let me break it down:

• Airlines.  Oh my, what can I say?  Getting harder all the time to work with them.  Every day we get “misconnects” and have to straighten those out.  They change people’s flight times, connections, even days of flying.  And they just aren’t nice.  Not to mention all the luggage regulations and new charges popping up daily.  Next you will need coins for the former attendants who have nothing to do now but sit at the bathroom doors and hand out tissue squares.
• Hotels.  Management changes, renovations, closures and on and on.  It can be a beautiful property one day and new management trashes it the next.  The biggest thing is location, location, location.  I have to know every little town in the whole world and where the good areas and bad areas are. 
• Car Rentals.  Not so much a challenge.  Just making sure the size holds all the luggage and size of passengers.  Automatic or stick?  Airconditioning?  And taxes…oh my word!!!  Almost more than the car rental.  And don’t forget total insurance coverage.  You can be stuck in a city or country for days if you try to use your own. 
• Cruise Lines.  Knowing all the lines and all the ships in each line.  What are the conditions of each ship?  Are they being maintained?  What are the new ships coming out?  Destinations…what are the ports all over the world?  What is the best and worst time of year to go somewhere?  And cabins…good locations vs. bad locations.  Cabin categories, what are they?  What sizes are the cabins?  Booking a cruise is like buying a pair of shoes..if it doesn’t fit you, you won’t ever cruise again. 
• Tours.  Escorted, guided, independent, and a mix.  The best and worst.  There are scores of tour companies.  Knowing them all takes a long time.  Getting passengers on a wrong one is disaster. 
• Destinations.  I am required to know the whole world, and to have traveled to all or most all of it.  That costs a lot of money and travel agents DO NOT travel free.  What is there to see in every area?  People often take too big a bite and have no idea how far distances are.  What are seasons for pricing? 
• Type of Travel.  There was a study some years back defining kinds of travelers.  Those who want total comfort to those who want a hammock in a hut.  Where do clients fit on that graph?  Now I have to find the right mix so they will come back happy.  And better still, tell all their friends and family.  Selling travel is about repeat business.

Now that your eyes are open, I will add a few more details.  You need education so you can educate your clients. 

• The Travel Institute has a 2 step process that takes about 6 years to complete.  It starts with CTA after you have been an agent for 5 years and then CTC, taking as long as you need.  A very difficult course.  I have my CTC.
• Cruise Lines International has a 3 step certification process starting with ACC – Accredited Cruise Counselor to MCC- Master Cruise Counselor to ECC-Elite Cruise Counselor.  This is an ongoing training until you reach ECC.  I was #43 to get my ECC out of 250,000 or so travel agents.  It took me 13 years to reach that point.  Very few home-based travel agents can achieve ECC because of the number of cruises we have to sell to reach that certification.
• Destination Specialist courses offered by The Travel Institute as well as Tourist Boards of various countries and cities.  These are ongoing.  I have several of these.
• Seminars, Conventions and Trade Shows are being held constantly.  In our local area there are scores of agents who never attend any.  There is no way to keep up on all the changes if you are not constantly being trained.  In larger agencies, representatives do onsite training and many will come to home-based offices. 

That’s a good start.  Now what do you think?  But most of all, what does the public think about someone who just hung out a shingle or someone who has been around the “block” and can give you the best service and advise?