Become a Home Based Travel Agent

Google, Bing, Yahoo and eBay
What’s Going On? - Part Two
By Tom Ogg

Wow! This seems to be a timely topic. I received several emails regarding last month’s article and thank everyone for their ideas and opinions. One thing has become clear and that is that some of you don’t want major change to occur and some of you do. Look, I didn’t create any of the elements that are currently affecting the distribution of travel related products and services. Just as the web enabled commodity type travel transactions to vertically integrate, global search, settlement, communication and social media will enable suppliers and consumers alike. While this threatens orthodox distribution intermediaries, it also promises vast opportunities for those that exploit them. One thing is for sure, distribution, as we knew it in the travel industry, is about to evolve into a new paradigm. Here are some thoughts about how this might manifest itself. There are several facets of the prism that will emerge; increased margins, vertical integration, the evolution Internet web portals and the growth of a global labor resource.

Increased Margins
Travel professionals embracing the opportunity to bypass intermediaries and package various components into niche complex leisure products will benefit from increased margins created by the elimination of intermediaries. This is a substantial benefit, as an agent packaging and marketing directly to consumers will not only be able to reach targeted niche markets effectively, settle across currencies and communicate globally, but will also be able to operate on substantially larger profit margins while at the same time offering more competitive inclusive products. Niche special groups, series departures and complex FIT packaging will emerge as the most profitable area for focused agents.

Vertical Integration
Once thought to be a benefit of market share, travel professionals will vertically integrate into property ownership and management, tour operations, destination management and other aspects once thought to be the function of line distribution. Tomorrow will bring the opportunity for agents to not only sell destination services, but also own and operate them. Rather than selling a tour operator that aggregates condominiums in a destination that are owned by individuals, and managed by property management companies that engage destination management companies for off-property services, the travel professional will have the golden opportunity to engage in all facets of condo ownership, management and vacation rentals by supporting the endeavor with increase yields vertical integration produces.

It is also quite obvious that the lines between a wholesaler and retailer are about to disappear. An agent packaging niche tour product may access wholesale rates by presenting themselves to suppliers as both a retail and a wholesale operation. This will expand margins and potentially tap promotional funds earmarked for wholesalers.

Web Opportunities
Travel Professionals will also benefit from the explosion of peer to peer communications and fully integrated social media, as they pertain to the distribution of travel. Products such as Google Wave, Ning, WordPress and other social platforms promise to expand the ability for agents to create their own integrated social environment where complete functionality within niche travel segments may be dominated by agents who can research, present, communicate, settle and have complete control over the entire process internally.

Keyword niche research, shopping and buying web content will further propel agents into expanded opportunities to be found on the web and transact business.

Global Outsourcing
Travel professionals will look beyond U.S. borders for independent contractor talent to operate their businesses. Contract, part time and full time staffing will occur globally empowering agents to remain commercially active 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. It is quite likely that an agent may have full time employees located strategically located around the globe to accommodate such positioning. No longer is an agent restricted by the ability to communicate or settle global transactions.

While all of this sounds scary to some and fascinating to others, there is no question that we have already started down this pathway. Each of the components is already in place and convening before our eyes. VoIP is rapidly replacing old technology telephone lines. Google has led the way to the future in terms of global search, communications and settlement. Social media only becomes more robust on a daily basis and promises to continue to fuel the ability for consumers to network and communicate in ways never imagined before. YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter and MySpace have changed peer to peer communication forever.

Travel distribution will evolve into a new paradigm and agents who embrace the evolution will not only prosper, but stand to make more money than ever before.