Thursday, May 23, 2013

Ways To Become An Effective Homebased Travel Agent

By Albert Sung


Becoming a travel agent seems to be a more promising career to a lot of people nowadays. This isn't surprising considering that starting such a career is possible even when one is just working from home. And with the popularity of travel sites and social networks, anyone who has the passion for travel and networking with people can easily market their services and meet more clients.

Many modern travel agents are now thriving in the challenging and exciting online world. And, as stated above, if you have the passion for travel and for dealing with people and companies, then being a travel agent might prove to be a profitable career for you, too. But here's the thing. To ensure success in this field, you need not only that burning passion. There are more factors you should take into account, such as your knowledge, research skills, and experience.

So how do you get started? It is important to establish a good business network. You can start with the circle of relationships you already have, including your family, friends and previous co-workers. You can offer to do the booking for them (such as for family reunions and group outings), and by then you'll start talking to hotels, airlines, resorts, etc. If you manage to do it well initially you will eventually get a lot of referrals, which is important to your success.

Becoming an independent travel agent lets you earn travel discounts for services such as accommodation, car hire and package tours. Another advantage is that you can work at your own schedule. And while it is essential to set and adhere to specific work hours, you can offer unrestricted work hours to your clients if you wish to give them an additional benefit.

You must also consider targeting a specific niche. For example, being a business travel agent enables you to cater to companies and business people who usually travel locally or abroad. If you are a beginner you can find a host corporate travel agency. Just keep in mind that before signing on with a corporate travel company, you ought to ask every detail you need to know, such as the compensation you will get as a travel agent and the costs you will be responsible for.




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