I’ve always been curious about how to become a travel agent. The job itself seems so dreamy and right in line with so many of my passions. I became a travel writer 12 years ago because I love to travel, I love to write and I love to help encourage others to go out and see different parts of the world. So naturally, I became intrigued by the idea of becoming a travel agent and I wanted to learn more about the profession. In a world where it’s easy to book online travel and to search your own attractions and itineraries- is it possible to still make money as a travel agent?
I reached out to two of my good travel agent friends who I personally know and trust to get the raw details on how to make money as a travel agent, how to avoid being scammed, and what really is the best way to get started as a travel agent.
Meet my travel agent guru friends Loulu from Book Here Give Here and Amanda Storm from Amanda’s Travels. Amanda has been a travel agent for seven years. She specializes in the Caribbean, Europe, Disney, and one-off adventures. In 2010 she went to Disney with her family and fell in love with the industry and decided she wanted to do this for a living.
Amanda also had a college degree in hotel management and worked previously as a special events manager for a university. It took her three years to find a host travel agency in the midwest and then she began her career and hasn’t looked back.
After studying abroad in her college years (hospitality management in Switzerland), Loulu Lima went on to study at culinary school and then travel agent school in 1996. She has had a career path in various capacities within the travel industry before starting her own independent travel agency.
Loulu loves to focus on foreign international trips and has personal relationships with her vendors that allow her to craft unique experiences for her clients.
How to Become a Travel Agent From Home
One of the beauties of working as a travel agent is the flexibility and freedom to work from home, set your own hours, and work as little or as much as you want. But don’t get the wrong idea, according to Amanda and Loulu there is a direct correlation between the amount of time and effort put towards your business and the success you see. You have to work to get results.
Amanda and Loulu both agree that the best way to become a travel agent is to first start with a host agency.
Amanda gives the advice: “The best way is to find someone who is a travel agent in your metro area.” Usually, agents work for someone else or a host agency before venturing off on their own. Most continue on with host agencies but sometimes agents grow enough and open their own agency.
Loulu, who now mentors her own independent contractors and mentors them to be excellent travel advisors for clients, offers this advice for those wanting to become a travel agent: “MLMs stay away from. Host agencies are the best way to start out. You want to look at host agency reviews look at what other people have said about their host agency.
Loulu chose to start with Nexion as her host agency when she first started out. She points out that getting mentored is the best education you can get as a new travel agent and she felt she received that with her host agency.
“I loved Nexion. A good host agency should have really good training, when you join a big one you will get mentorship and training programs, at the end of the day it’s an association and what you put into it is what you will get out of it. Go learn the vendors. Getting clients and not getting taken. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up. As you see your value grow then you start charging fees – that’s where you get paid for your time. Being apart of a consortium is important. Commission split entry-level program splits are how you learn and how you graduate the program.”
The average annual income for a travel agent in 2018 was $38,700.Bureau of Labor
The Travel Institute is another great place to start your travel agent career. They have been helping people reach their travel agent certifications for over 50 years. The institute can provide training in most specialized areas and also provide continuing education for already certified agents. These credentials can help set you apart from other successful travel agents.
A Certified Travel Counselor CTC is a certification offered through the Travel Institute that allows travel advisors with five years of industry experience to take a course, submit a white paper and pass an exam.
A Certified Travel Associate CTA certificate is also offered through the Travel Institute and covers topics such as business ethics, customer experience, travel insurance and other important topics to help travel agents succeed in their careers and support their clients.
Having extensive travel experience as well as being extremely customer service oriented will be key to any new travel agent’s business model. Loulu also points out it’s important to have a good grasp of world geography. She says you would be surprised at how many people want to become a travel agent but can’t point out destinations on a map.
How to Become a Travel Agent for Free
The best way to become a travel agent for free is to find a host agency or a successful travel advisor in your area. Start working with them as mentors. You could become an independent contractor with them or work directly for them while continuing your education to become a travel agent.
Working with another agent or agency to make travel plans will help you learn the industry. You will study different cruise ships, destinations wedding locations, car rental companies, and learning the IATA systems, and offering customer service for clients. All while you have a mentor at hand.
The truth is, you will have to invest money both in yourself and your businesses. This was pointed out by both Amanda and Loulu. Spending money on Fam tips (familiarization trips) and actually going out and becoming an expert on destinations is key.
You will also have fees to your consortia and different associations you will belong to.
Being a Travel Agent Pros and Cons
Just like any career, business, or side-hustle there pros and cons to being a travel agent.
When asked what she loves about being a travel agent, Amanda replied: “I love working with people. I know how hard it is to have time together as a busy family. This last week we had one night we had together. However, when you are together on vacation, there is time for laughter and time to create memories to carry you through the tough times.” She also goes on to say her biggest perk of her job is getting to know people and creating relationships with them.
She also points out that in her first year she only sold five vacations. A con would be that it takes a while to build up your clientele and actually be profitable. “During the first year, I sold five vacations. I kept at it, I marketed, I held events, I answered questions [and] took the money I made and reinvested. By three years I was closer to making teens and twenties.”
Loulu had a similar experience. It took her three years to be profitable and advises against anyone getting into the business to “get rich quick.”
Pros of Being a Travel Agent:
- Helping other people create memories
- Getting an inside look at the travel industry.
- Being able to familiarize yourself with destinations and vacations others only dream of going on.
It’s very important to be a successful travel agent or travel advisor that you are passionate about travel.
Cons of Being a Travel Agent:
- Virtually no travel discounts. That is a myth that many mistakenly think is a huge plus for becoming a travel agent.
- Putting out fires when things go badly. Think rebookings, missed flights, etc.
Amanda says: “You do sometimes get hotel discounts and travel agent rates on select sailings that haven’t sold out but they tend to be last-minute. Also, they’re not typically available for holiday and school break times making it extremely difficult to actually use them.”
Loulu says there are no travel discounts unless you earn them.
Both travel agents I interviewed are very customer and client-focused so they love helping people. My outside perspective is that when you are a travel agent you are in a customer service position. So, when things go wrong you are going to be the first line of contact to help them. Of course, these things usually happen at odd hours of the day. You’ll be the one helping with rebooking and dealing with crises.
Some agents may get a thrill out of helping people. Others may be annoyed at the prospect of fielding calls and putting out fires. If you are the second- then it probably isn’t the profession for you.
Watch for Travel Agent Scams
One of the increasing concerns for becoming a travel agent is how to do so without being scammed. Amanda says: “One of the worst ways is through a travel agent MLM because the priority is recruiting and not focusing on the destination.”
Travel agent MLM companies focus on recruiting new members because that is how they make the bulk of their money. A travel agent with an MLM often spends more time recruiting than selling travel.
Some travel agent MLMs will require an upfront cost of thousands of dollars. Promising that you’ll soon be selling dream vacations and travel packages to your friends. The harsh truth is that there is not much training or support. A lot of friends will buy a travel package from a travel “professional” friend only to find that their MLM agent is no longer working in the industry when they need assistance later.
Amanda warns people interested in getting started as a travel agent. She says to listen for key giveaways such as if they ask you to recruit friends and family members to join your team. Or if the company offers the opportunity to get free or reduced trips.
In the name of research, I went to Facebook to look around. I had one such “travel agent” tell me via FB messenger that they made 70% commissions on sales. They also said that they would make over six figures in the first year with her agency. This threw up many red flags for me.
After talking to Loulu who broke down the typical travel agent commissions of 10% for hotel stays and 12-16% per cruise- this just seems inaccurate and falsified.
Another travel agent scam you want to watch out for is a person telling you they sell travel packages. Do your research. Many of these people sell you fake travel packages. They may even have a fake ID card or business card to help confirm trust. They will attempt to get your credit card information to purchase airline tickets for you and then commit identity theft.
Never want to trust someone you have never met or hasn’t been referred to you by someone you know. And never buy vacations over the phone or by email. Always use certified, reviewed, and reputable travel agents and advisors. If you are ready to purchase that dream vacation ask around to friends and family. Find someone your friends or family have used or trusted. Do not buy a vacation from so-and-so’s cousin who just joined a MLM or someone who wants to book you a trip online and rip off your credit card number.
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