Many of you may have seen the Geico taste test commercials on TV. It would
seem rather ridiculous to do a taste test with Host Agencies. However, how many
of you have ever left a Host with a bad taste in your mouth? Hopefully, I can
help you to avoid that in the future.
That said, I will attempt to give you a little more insight than what you may
have seen in other articles and even my own that you may have seen on "Choosing
a Host Agency".
Let's see if we can find a Host Agency that will not leave a bad taste in
your mouth. Lack of support, slow commission payments and general indifference
to their affiliated agents would definitely leave any agent with a bad taste and
a little "gun shy" when seeking a new Host. Let's take the Host Agency taste
test.
There are several ways you can check out Host Agencies to determine which one
best fits your needs.
1) Always be prepared with a list of questions, which we'll discuss later,
for the President or owner of the Host Agency. Do not ask questions of a sales
person. Many times sales people are ill- trained to provide a straight forward
response and more than likely can't answer the tough questions. Insist on
talking with the boss or move on to the next Host.
2) Never rely 100% on your travel industry magazines, especially when they
print an article concerning, "How to Choose a Host Agency". Although some of the
recommendations may be good, they only promote their own advertising Host
Agencies. Therefore, many good Host's may be left out. NACTA is usually a good
place to obtain a better list.
3) Be wary of any Host Agency that promotes 100% commissions and no or low
fees. In order for them to make money, they need to generate it from someplace.
Generally it's from transaction fees or they support their Host Agency business
from their larger retail operation. Does it make much sense to work with a Host
that is competing with you in retail sales? The 100% commission Host Agency
days, in my opinion, are numbered. I know of one major Host agency that has shut
down their 100% commission program. There is really no money in it for the Host
and generally, there are many agents who don't deserve the 100% commission.
4) The "lead program" business for those that promote it, in my opinion, is a
a loser except for the Host Agency. The Hosts that promote their "live lead"
program generally give you 30% plus of the commission and keep the client as
your own. You must have to be a lazy and probably not the smartest travel agent
to go for this program. The Host Agency wins big on this one.
5) Unless you are a corporate or an old fashioned travel agent, don't go for
the monthly charge from the Host Agency for the use of a GDS. They are simply
outdated and unwarranted with today's travel agent.
6) All the training for today's travel agent is free with a few good
exceptions such as CLIA and The Travel Institute. A good Host Agency will
provide continuous training for its affiliates without charge. Ask all the
questions you need on this subject to be sure you are comfortable with their
responses.
7) I have for years preached that the MLMs and the "card mills" are bad news
and the worse thing you can do when becoming a professional travel agent. That
is still very true. They try to hide under a legitimate website today but they
still are what they are, a stigma on the industry. Ask me if you are in doubt.
8) Most people entering the travel profession want to go into business for
themselves with control over their business name and their clients. Watch out
for those Host Agencies who want to dominate you and your business. Work with
those that understand your goals and will give you as much freedom as the law
allows. You can tell by the number and kind of rules they try to impose on you.
Now, if you can agree with most of what I discussed above, you will be in a
much better position to determine which Host Agency may have the better taste.
Recent Comments