HOMEBASED TRAVEL AGENTS BLOG

CONFUSED WITH HOST AGENCIES VS CONSORTIA? WHAT THE INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AGENT SHOULD KNOW.

It's very confusing for home-based/independent travel agents to determine when and why they should join a Host Agency and/or a Consortia. I hope to make this decision a little easier for you but, in the end you will need to decide for yourself.

HOST AGENCIES

Let's Begin with Host Agencies. Host Agencies are simply, fully licensed and bonded travel agencies who will loan you their credentials so that you may use them to book travel. Some of them may also be a retail travel agency. Unless the Host Agency maintains the hosting separately from the retail portion, they may be in competition with you as well as providing lesser support. Most of these agencies are generally retail operations with outside travel agents and would not be a good choice for a Host Agency, in my opinion.

While we are discussing the wrong side of Host Agencies, you should be aware that there are "so-called" Host Agencies that sell other products such as business opportunities, network selling, selling websites and non-related travel products. Most of these are known as MLMs or Multi-Level-Marketing agencies. It's wise to stay away from these MLMs if you want to be a serious travel agent. Many of these agencies do a good job in hiding what they really are, so please, do your homework.

One final word with Host Agencies that you may want to stay away from. There has been a rash of new Host Agencies that are offering 100% commission levels to agents in exchange for a monthly fee. I guess this is a prelude to the 110% commission Host Agency perhaps coming in the future. Seriously, you may want to take a good look at these Host Agency models, as it has been shown from past experience, (Remember JoyStar?) that when you "give away the store" so to speak, you will inevitably fail possibly leaving travel agents without a commission.

There are several reasons why you should join a reputable Host Agency. Many excellent articles have been written by others listing the reasons to join and what you should look for in selecting a Host Agency. We have included many of their suggestions at the site mentioned below. All new people entering the travel industry, agents who prefer just to sell travel and not be concerned with the back office part of operating a business including part-time or full-time agents who just don't have the time to keep abreast of the industry's technology and marketing advancements should be working with a Host Agency. A good Host Agency should provide all the back-office support and keep you up to date with the travel industry. For a great site to visit to see the details of why you should join a Host Agency, please go to Http://www.choosingahostagency.com.

CONSORTIA

When joining a Host Agency be sure they also belong to a Consortium. When you join a Host that also belongs to one of the major Consortia, you really receive a double benefit as well as reduced costs. The franchise Host Agencies usually have their own Consortia built into their model. Some of them have excellent marketing, technology and Customer Relationship Management software however, the costs of joining a franchise may be a little expensive with lower commission tiers.

There are some independent travel agents that feel they don't need a Host Agency because they do much of their own back-office work and don't have a need for higher commission levels. Joining a Corsortium does have its fees as opposed to possibly paying those same fees to a Host Agency who is already a member of that Consortia. The affiliated agents with a Host will most likely not need to pay additional fees. A two for one deal, if you will.

Consortia are basicly marketing companies which is why most Host Agencies are members. Consortia derive the bulk of their revenue from preferred supplier overrides, incentives and marketing dollars as well as member fees, etc. Host Agencies derive the bulk of their revenue from their portion of the commission split, booking fees membership fees, etc.

A Consortium provides the ability to email or to direct professional mailings to your client-base. Most also provide special booking engines for cruises, air, hotels and car rentals. Training and education is a major component of Consortia. Generally, the agents who join just a Consortia are truly independent travel agents who prefer to control 100% of their agency. We'll get more into this when I discuss the differences in going solo as compared to joining a Host Agency. The main Consortia memberships are Travel Savers, who owns the NEST, Virtuoso, Ensemble and Vacation.Com. In regards to Vacation.com, please keep in mind that they are owned now by Travel Leaders, who also owns a couple of Host Agencies. Many feel that this is a conflict of interest which is why I mention it here.

BEING 100% INDEPENDENT VS JOINING A HOST AGENCY

Most industry professionals will tell you that all new and relatively new travel agents must join a Host Agency. The costs and the time involved to go it alone is just too prohibitive. The right Host Agency will simply save you time and money in the early years of your business. If you are one of those individuals that insists on being 100% independent, go for it. Just expect higher costs, inability to stay current with the industry and daily frustration. Frustration in this business is high enough without shooting yourself in the foot by maintaining your total freedom from a good Host.

WHEN SHOULD YOU GO SOLO OR BE 100% INDEPENDENT?<P> As I mentioned above, there are those hardliners that want and remain 100% independent from the beginning. I don't have a problem with that as I probably would be one of those agents myself. However, for most of you joining a Host Agency from the beginning, you may ask, how long should you remain and when should you leave a Host Agency?That depends on your individual situation. There are those agents who will always remain with a Host Agency. That's because they like working with a Host plus, they receive adequate support and prefer just to build their client-base and sell travel.

Generally speaking, when an agent has built his/her clientbase sufficiently and their sales in their specialty achieve the higher commission rates from the suppliers, then it may be a consideration. The down side, for example. If you are a Sandals agent selling at the top of their commission tier and now you want to book a cruise which will provide you a 10% commission, you are stuck. Maintaining your relationship with the Host will provide, let's say 80% of a 16% commission or 12.8% in your pocket.

The bottom line is you need to do your "due diligence" before selecting a Host Agency. You should be rewarded with a great relationship by your choice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Stilphen, ECC is the CEO of Heritage Resorts Management, LLC doing business as Coral Sands Travel, a well know, National Host Agency a/k/a America's Host Agency, World Cruising Society and America's Cruise Centers. Mr Stilphen was also a Founder of PATH and its first President, a host agency organization.

Mr Stilphen is known for his controversial articles and blogs concerning the wrong side of the travel agent distribution system including the so called Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) agencies.

 

Choosing A Host Agency Website

TRAVEL AGENTS NEED CONTINOUS TRAINING

Continuous training is a must for every travel agent desiring to be successful in the travel industry. To believe otherwise is just plain ridiculous. Training is mandatory, whether you are just starting out as a travel agent, full or part-time, or you are a 30 year veteran. Today's travel professional is expected to know something about the kind of travel they are attempting to sell to their clients. The more you know, the better chance you have of booking and maintaining that client. The face of the travel agent is rapidly changing. Are you going to have what it takes and the knowledge to be successful?

Training and education are plentiful these days. It runs the gamut from learning about an individual vendor or supplier to the more sophisticated courses offered by such 3rd parties as Career Quest, Kelly Monaghan, Certified Travel Teacher and Tom & Joanie Ogg. The important thing to remember is that there is no such thing as the travel agent with all the answers. That is why, in today's world, you must specialize. Whatever your specialty, you will never be successful until you know every aspect of that niche and continue to keep abreast by taking courses as they become available.

Your Host Agency, if you have one, or the NEST, would be the first place to go for continuous training and education. Whether you are affiliated with a Host Agency or if you are an independent agent without affiliations, here are my recommendations.

Most new or experienced travel agents don't realize the benefits of participating in or taking advantage of many of the industry training sites, FAMS or virtual/live conferences and trade shows. While your online training is usually more economical you are not going to get the interaction of a live event. You can find much of it for free while others will ask for a nominal fee or larger amount if it's a full course of subjects.

The virtual online conferences and trade shows, for the most part, have solved the financial problem of attending a national type conference. The conferences are free and you can attend the activities at your own leisure as the show is recorded. The virtual shows are here to stay and I'm sure they will get even better as the technology improves.

The following organizations as well as most of the mainstream media and suppliers offer training in various forms. Here are a few of my favorites.

CRUISES:
The obvious first choice is CLIA, www.cruising.org. CLIA has many of the online courses, regional and national seminars, Seminars at Sea, videos, printed matter and just about everything you need in cruise training. CLIA also offers the various designations such as ACC, MCC and ECC which are a must to obtain if you want to specialize in cruises. You should obtain their Photo ID card through Coral Sands Travel for easier acceptance to the FAMs or Seminars at Sea.

Seminars at Sea conducted by University Of Travel University would be the best and most serious of the many organizations, outside CLIA, that do provide cruise training as well as an all around training program.
What is unique about University of Travel's agendas (www.universityoftravel.com) at sea is they also have well known industry instructors as well as other training topics other than just cruises. All of their training programs have been developed with the assistance of industry leading trainer Dr. Marc Mancini. University of Travel also offers an exclusive curriculum that guarantees there will be an instructor and classes on every Seminar at Sea no matter how many agents attend. I don't believe anyone else provides this guarantee.

I would recommend Platinum Luxury Seminars located at www.platinumseminars.com for the upscale seller of cruises. They offer seminars on such ships as WindStar, Regent, Crystal and Oceania as well as the usual RCL and NCL style ships.

Don't just go on any Seminar at Sea sponsored by an organization as sometimes the training is just not good and sometimes even non-existent. Those who try and sell many of these seminars are really just in the business of selling reduced price cruises to travel agents. It pays to check out who is presenting your seminar; who may be the instructor and what is the subject matter.

Of course, all of the cruise lines themselves have some great training for their product and itineraries. Princess courses are really great and you can eventually meet Gavin McCloud, the original "Love Boat" captain remembered best by your grandparents from the 70's TV show.

HOTELS and RESORTS:
All of the major resorts such as Disney, Universal, Sandals, SuperClubs, ClubMed, etc have excellent training courses about their products. Disney of course, is the most comprehensive. Both Marriott and Starwood Pro offer agents excellent training along with reward programs.

The best hotel course online is Marriott Hotel's "Hotel Excellence" course. Unfortunately, you must possess the IATAN photo ID card.

LAND DESTINATIONS:
The Travel Institute is the guru of land destination training. They like CLIA, have the most extensive collection of training tools, including many "niche" or specialty courses available in one place. Contact them at www.thetravelinstitute.org. They also have their designations such as the CTA and CTC, a must for the professional travel agent.

INDIVIDUAL SUPPLIERS:
Yes, all mainstream suppliers have product training courses and webinars available either directly or through your favorite organization and the travel media online websites. You can't possibly take all these courses. I would recommend you take those that apply to your own "niche."

Media publications, destination tourist boards and travel agent organizations also offer excellent product and destination courses and they are all generally free. Keep in mind that you don't need to join any travel agent organization to receive training, education and FAMS. Most of it is all free or at nominal prices.

If I was entering the travel industry for the first time my training and education agenda might look like the following:

Your Host Agency and/or the NEST would be the first place for training as mentioned above.  Also:

1) Joining CLIA as a member or an associate member.

2) Joining the Travel Institute

 
3) Take the Marriott "Hotel Excellence" course as it can cover most hotels even if you don't have an IATAN card.

4) Take the Disney course, "College of Knowledge".

I mention items 1 through 4 above because you need access to cruise and major land products because they are musts in the travel business.

5) Attend University of Travel because of the wide spectrum of cruise, land and self improvement courses.

 
6) Join the websites of those suppliers, etc that will provide the training for your specialty.

7) Join a travel agent community forum such as AGENT CONTROL located in the NEST.

 

Subscribe to online and printed publications such as Agent@Home, Vacation Agent, Travel Weekly Central, Travel Pulse, Recommend and TRO. It's important you also keep up with industry news.

Please don't forget the comprehensive courses offered by Career Quest and Certified Travel Teacher. It's well worth the investment with their very extensive array of travel agent courses. There are also books and articles written by Kelly Monaghan and Joanie and Tom Ogg.