The Travel Agency Industry A TRAVEL AGENTS VALUE Reason why consumer book through travel agents: A Travel Agent Is More Skilled at Finding the Best Travel Solution travel agents are professionals who know planning and booking travel all day, every week, all year
they can decipher jargons, spot hidden drawbacks, discover
opportunities, and be marvelously resourceful
A Travel Agent Can Find the Best Deal
travel agents can find lower airfares than consumer can most of the time they are better in spotting genuine values Reason why consumer book through travel agents:
A Travel Agent Saves Time and Trouble
most of us today lead highly busy life, it often makes sense to pay professional to do certain task for you
A Travel Agent is Accountable
can you call to get help if something goes wrong with a trip you bought through an online agency, some online agencies have help line but theyre notoriously understaff, a good conventional travel agency will do all it can to solve your concern. Reason why consumer book through travel agents: A Travel Agent Knows Supplier Better travel agents know suppliers well and that such knowledge is clearly valuable is reflected in the high trust the public places in their recommendations
more than 80% of people on tours or cruises bought their vacations
through travel agents A Travel Agent Knows Destinations Better travel agents always have a much better sense of geography, some agents are specialists in certain destinations, products or categories of travel.
A Travel Agent is Largely Impartial
most travel agencies have preferred suppliers who they favor in their recommendations and who, in turn, provide them and their agencies with better or extra commissions (called overrides), access to special inventory (known as group space), and perhaps free or low-cost travel. Telling Terms FIT any trip assembled by an agent from scratch rather than a package Approval Code a number issued by a credit card company that indicated its authorization of a credit card transaction Debit Memo a request for payment, usually from an airline believes a travel agent or agency made an error on fare Queues a feature of CRS/GDS to remind the agent of important actions to be taken or message to be delivered Tariffs the official rules, regulations and fares of airlines. KINDS OF TRAVEL AGENCY KINDS of Travel Agency
A. Conventional, or Full-Service Agencies
these agencies sell it all: air, lodging, car rentals, rail travel, cruises, tours and most other forms of travel packages Wholly owned or operated by a large chain such as AAA or by smaller regional or local chain, large chains usually have thousands or more locations and are called mega-agency chains Franchisee owned by individuals or families but are affiliated with large brands, such as American Express or travel Leaders, to whom the owners pay and annual franchisee fee and/or percentage of profits KINDS of Travel Agency
A. Conventional, or Full-Service Agencies
Consortium affiliated to a group of agencies that worked together to obtain and develop marketing tools, accounting system, training programs, and higher commissions from select, preferred supplier Agencies that belong to a consortium keep their local identities and have no brand recognition among public
Independent travel agencies with no affiliations,
often call mom-and-pop agencies KINDS of Travel Agency
B. Online Agencies -operates almost
exclusively through their website, also called brick-and-click agencies C. Specialized Agencies an agency focused on its specialty that doesnt need to be full-service business D. Home-Based-Agencies in the electronic village we now live inyou can work from just about anywhere, including your home. host agency - the agency with which seller is affiliated is usually called CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT sometimes labeled as Corporate Agents, travel agent like or a person employed by a company to arrange travel for its employees, usually paid better than regular travel agents because they are considered regular corporate employees and have so many additional responsibilities smaller companies rely on conventional travel agencies to handle all of their employees travel logistics some cases, travel agency have branch-like, in-plant office on the client companys premises, it may staffed by the travel agencys personnel, by company staff, or by mix of both large companies do not contract with travel agencies, they have corporate travel departments (or travel management division) CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT Corporate Travel Management Duties: set corporate travel policy plans meetings, conferences, and convention programs negotiate with suppliers manage travel budgets arrange personnel relocation and housing communicate with management in other departments of the corporate TRAVEL AGENT: SALES or SERVICE PERSON TRAVEL AGENT: SALES or SERVICE PERSON Typical Steps that Travel Agents Take with Leisure Travel
They provide a warm and cherry greeting.
They ask questions to determine the clients
needs. This process is usually called qualifying.
They do research, if necessary, to find the right
products and services for the client.
They make recommendations that meet the
clients needs. TRAVEL AGENT: SALES or SERVICE PERSON Typical Steps that Travel Agents Take with Leisure Travel
They overcome objections that the client might
have to the recommendations. They enhance the sale by recommending additional products or services (cross-selling) or perhaps better options than the client had in- mind (upselling). They close the sale by getting agreement and payment from the client. They follow-up to make sure the trip went well. FOR WORK or PLEASURE Corporate Agents Leisure Agents Respond to Requests Inform and Suggest Are somewhat sensitive to travel costs Are extremely sensitive to travel costs Deal with logistics Deal with vacation dreams Are seen as service people Are more likely to exert their sales skills Usually works with short lead time Are more likely to work with long lead times May make plenty of changes as a trip Are less likely to make changes once a departure approaches trip is booked Often communicate through travelers Almost deal directly with the traveler assistant, not the traveler Know lot about the selected destinations Know details about many more their clients usually go to destination Usually hear about how a trip went Hear about how a trip went if something went wrong Just about every caller books travel Often deal with phone shoppers, so a majority of callers dont book HOW AGENTS OBTAIN INFORMATION Web-based resources for travel agency or travel sectors:
Business Travel Planner information on destinations,
hotels, and airport transfers, and so on. The Hotel & Travel Index brief information and ratings for most on the worlds hotels, with maps, destination information, and booking information. The Official Cruise Guide information on just about every cruise ship, major port, and itinerary in the world. The Star Service Online superb, in-depth analyses of worldwide hotels and cruise vessels. No ads. Travel42 a reference resource bundles the Weissmann Reports, the Star Service Online, and several other resources into one interactive packageall for one price. Weissmann Reports excellent resource for destination information. MORE THIS and THAT Some miscellaneous things about travel agency business
Because of the cut in airline commissions, most agencies
charge clients fees for making air bookings and reservation charges. Travel agents are paid straight salary, entirely based on commission earned, and combination of both. Agents read on magazine in depth each week and skim another if theres time; these publications have late breaking news, training modules and features in addition to the print magazine content. Consumers are most likely to consult travel agents about cruises, tours, and complicated trips. Consumers who use travel agents tend to be wealthier, better educated, and spend more on travel (twice as much) than those who dont. Some miscellaneous things about travel agency business
Email and texting have become significant ways for travel
agents to communicate with clients, especially who often sell t clients who live well beyond the agents local community. Organizing and operating group departure is a major source of revenue for many agencies. Errors and omissions insurance is important for travel agency to protect them from damages that may occur because of mistakes made by an employee in planning clients trip. About 80% of all cruise and 85% of all tours are sold through travel agencies. CAREERS: The Expert Is In Leisure Travel Agents, at the very least, they must: Have a detailed understanding of the products and services from those suppliers they sell most frequently Know those destinations their clients most often visit Have solid research and computer skills Be familiar with the logistics of travel and be able to find out about related issues like passport and visa requirements. Know at least a little about basic bookkeeping and accounting Possesses sharp sales, service, and communication skills Devote at least some time each year to expanding their expertise through training programs, reading trade publications, and doing some personal travel. Careers in the Travel Agent Industry: Senior executives, directors, managers, owners Human resources/training specialist Travel agents (leisure and/or corporate) Accountants Outside sales representatives Group specialists Vendor negotiator Cruise, groups, destination, corporate travel specialists Clerical support Technological support END ASSIGNMENT Searching.
1. Enter travel agency in a Internet Search
Engine. List down 40 Travel Agencies and their corresponding website. 2. Choose only 1 interest below. Find tour package sample and itinerary of a chosen category: a) Snorkeling and diving b) Mountaineering and nature trekking c) Flora and fauna d) Extreme sports and adventure e) Heritage and culture f) Religious tourism or pilgrimage