Become a Travel Agent

Home Based Travel Agents
The More Things Change….

I think one of the most troubling things that have happened to me during my career in the travel industry was the period of time from 1986 to 1991. Joanie and I had sold our tour company and had been acquiring storefront agencies prior to starting one of the first independent contractor host agencies in the industry. Joanie handled the operation and I did the recruiting and collections for the agency. I ran ads in the L.A. Times, Orange County Register and San Diego Union Tribune Sunday travel sections inviting likely prospects to an orientation seminar where they could learn how to become a travel agent.

You would have thought I had the black plague when I went to travel industry seminars in San Diego. I remember once on a cruise inaugural, an agent from Spring Valley actually refused to sit at the same table as me. While I was a bit embarrassed, I realized that she was just threatened by a new way to run a travel agency. I was uninvited to industry functions and considered something to be feared and/or belittled. Even what I thought had been my friends, wanted nothing to do with me.

Somewhere around 1989 we received a notice from ASTA to cease and desist from using their logo. One of our seminar leaders in Seattle had used ASTA’s logo on her business card and had been turned in by an ASTA member that had attended one of her seminars incognito. I remember Linda High’s signature on the docket. When I explained that TBI was an unincorporated DBA of Civic Center Travel, an active ASTA member, the order was dropped. A few years later, I remember doing a seminar for ASTA in Boston with Linda High on the subject of “How to Start a Home-Based Travel Agency”. We laughed at the irony of it.

We continued to build our base of independents and business in spite of the harsh response from the industry. I guess it was an article that appeared in a trade publication in December of 1991 identifying our agency as one of the few quality host agencies among a number of not-so-good ones that seemed to turn the tide. I had a couple of telephone calls from folks asking about what we were doing. When I spoke at a trade conference in October 1994 about “How to Start a Home-Based Travel Agency” to a SRO room, the industry seemed to shift their perception regarding home-based agents and their host agencies.

Of course, no home-based travel agent was invited or accepted at industry functions and home-based travel agents were considered the scum of the Earth within the industry. Travel industry associations did not want them, consortia did not want them, suppliers did not want to work with them and orthodox storefront travel agents generally despised them and considered them “hobbyists” or “un-professionals” not worthy of the title “travel agent”. Those that have been in the travel industry a while will remember this period of time quite well?

Joanie and I recognized that both agents and host agencies needed representation, which is why we started the host agency program at NACTA. Today numerous host agencies call NACTA home and have benefited from the efforts of NACTA at all levels of the industry.

When I heard that some host agencies want to start an association to represent “qualified” host agencies, I realized that the home-based travel agent evolution has matured and is quickly replacing orthodox storefronts as the foundational mainstream. The idea that some host agencies want to simply set benchmarks for business practices that they deem should be the yardstick to determine who is a worthy host agency and who is not, is somehow reminiscent of the mentality that was pervasive at the time the home-based travel agents first started evolving. The formation of an “elite” club of host agencies that omits other quality hosts that may not meet the criterion for membership is akin to the exclusion of home based travel agents in the past. In effect, it is contradictory to the very essence of the entire home-based travel agent evolution.

Since you might be looking for a host agency here are some common sense ideas to reflect upon when you are exploring.

What are desirable traits in a host you are looking for?

It is all good and wonderful if your host is the biggest in the world, but would a small Mom and Pop host be a better fit for your requirements? I know of several hosts that will undoubtedly not qualify for this new association, but that are some of the best hosts in the business.

What is in it for you?

What is your share of the commissions and overrides with the host you are considering and what is the tradeoff? Getting 14% is great, but if you have to do more work to get it, how will affect your bottom line?

Is Your Host Financially Viable?

Has your host ever been bankrupt? Are commissions being paid on time? How long has the host been in business? Has your host ever been sued? Has there ever been a formal complaint filed against your host? Has your host ever had a business failure? Does your host have tangible assets?

What are the elements in the contract your host is offering you?

Contracts between independent contractors and their host agencies need to be negotiated to represent mutual agreement. If your host has a contract that protects them, but not you and is unwilling to negotiate, you may want to move on.

If you are interested in finding out more about host agencies and being an independent contractor, I urge you to visit www.HomeBasedTravelAgent.com and sign up for the free Home Based Travel Agent News Newsletter.

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