How to Become a Travel Agent

Being a travel agent is a challenge nowadays. Most of the hotels and airlines now have their own websites and customers can directly go online and do their bookings. They can also surf the internet for websites of famous tourist attractions on the places they are planning to visit. People just don’t see the value in paying a travel agent.

However there are customers who doesn’t have the time to go online and do the bookings themselves, or they simply don’t like to be bothered with the nitty-gritty part of net surfing and researching, thus they entrust these tasks to a travel agent and the travel gets commission from these bookings.

If you have the flair for surfing for the best deal and you are computer savvy, have entrepreneurial skills and ability to deal with different types of people, then this could be a career for you. Here are the following tips to consider on how to become a travel agent:

Have at least a high school diploma. If you are planning to apply in a brick and mortar travel agency, a high school diploma is the minimum educational attainment most of these travel agencies require from their workers.
Be well versed about travel. You need to have wide knowledge about famous tourist destinations, its weather conditions, culture and quirks. You can gather travel catalogues or browse through these famous tourists destinations’ websites. Having a niche interest, like cruising or Italy for example, is also a benefit.
Nothing beats first-hand experience when giving travel advices. Since you have experienced traveling in a specific tourist destination yourself, then you will be able to give an expert opinion about that place.
Be computer savvy. Due to the recent growth of internet technology, airline and hotel bookings can now be easily accessed online. Brick and mortar travel agencies may vanish in the future but you can still continue being a travel agent and do it home based. All you need is a computer, high speed internet access, internet marketing and contacts.
Learn a foreign language. Your ability to speak a second language will give you an edge over other travel agents and will help you get international clients.
Get certificates or accreditation. This will act as your seal of quality as a travel agent and shows your expertise in your career.

Almost all agents today, even the most freelance/independent travel agents, have aligned or partnered with larger umbrella organizations, like Virtuoso. This gives the agent access to deals and discounts for clients, as well as software to help manage contacts and make direct bookings for airfare, hotels, etc.

What does a Travel Agent do?

After knowing the steps on how to be a travel agent, next thing to know is just exactly what a travel agent does. Well basically a travel agent scours through airlines, hotels and tourist spots and negotiates for best rates and provides the most convenient and affordable travel itinerary. This process needs attention to details that an ordinary traveler may not possess and an expert travel agent covers all the nitty-gritty aspects in planning the travel assuring the traveler has the perfect itinerary for their budget, needs and interests.

The travel agents’ responsibility does not end after finalizing all the bookings. They will also be responsible in case there are changes in the itinerary and they must do damage control and inform their customers. They will typically also offer advice on a place’s local customs, culture and local cuisine too.

A travel agent will also visit hotels and resorts themselves and make their own evaluation as to the comfort, cleanliness and quality service as basis for their suggestions and advice to their customers. While agents do get some free trips, typically an agent will have to pay a small fee, heavily discounted from normal price, for their site inspections, though an agent can use their discounts on personal travel as well.

They also check airline and hotel rates, promotions and discounts so that they can give their customers the most affordable travel costs. A travel agent’s advantage over customers who directly book their travels online is their ability to provide bookings for complex itineraries with many destinations, as well as having already been to a destination and thus able to provide that extra level of expertise.

A travel agent’s time is mostly focused on meeting customers, making telephone calls to hotels and airlines, or making online booking on airlines and hotels and doing paperwork.



How much money does a Travel Agent make?

Aspiring travel agents needs to know some facts aside from steps on how to be a travel agent. Statistics shows 13% of travel agents in the U.S. are working home based or self employed while 67% are employed in brick and mortar travel agencies. Growth for this industry is bleak since most of the airlines and hotels have their own websites and travelers can easily book their reservations online. The annual earnings of a travel agent in US in averages at just less than 29,000 USD.
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Why become a Travel Agent?

It is not simply enough that you know the steps on how to be a travel agent, but you also need to know why you want to become a travel agent. There must be many reasons that you have in mind but foremost would be your love for travel and to interact with different kinds of people. Being able to share your travel experiences to others and earn good money at the same time is a win–win situation for you and more than enough reason to enter into this industry. Coupled with your computer skills and diligence in surfing the net for best airline and hotel deals, you are on your way to becoming successful in this field.



The Pros and Cons of being a Travel Agent

One may think that the necessary steps to take on how to be a travel agent is relatively easy, but you also need to know the pros and cons of being a travel agent. We’re mostly looking at home based travel agents because that’s where the bulk of hiring is these days, but below are the Pros and Cons of being a travel agent.
Pros

A low start up cost is needed to get your home based travel agency business started.
You can also save on rent and other operating costs since you are doing your business at home.
You can also work at your own pace and time.
You get to travel, combining work with pleasure.
There are lots of opportunities for you to meet new people from around the world.

Cons

You are obliged to learn the intricacies of internet marketing and will have to aggressively build out your clientele list.
If you are not computer savvy, then you need to have computer lessons or take on an assistant who will do the computer stuff for you.
You must be very good at customer service, because travel customers will demand a lot from a travel agent, no matter how much or little they are paying.



Travel Agent Quotes

Funny and amusing quotes that would make you do further research on how to become a travel agent, and then convince you to set up a business of your own:

“I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near the window.”

“A woman called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who’s luggage belongs to who?” I said, “No, why do you ask?” She replied, “Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I’m overweight, is there any connection?” After putting her on hold for a minute while I “looked into it” (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.”

“I got a call from a man who asked, “Is it possible to see England from Canada?” I said, “No.” He said “But they look so close on the map.”

“A woman called to make reservations, “I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York” The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: “Are you sure that’s the name of the town?” “Yes, what flights do you have?” replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can’t find a Hippopotamus anywhere.” The customer retorted, “Oh don’t be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!” The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, “You don’t mean Buffalo, do you?” “That’s it! I knew it was a big animal!”