Starting A Home Based Travel Agency

Boom, Boom, Boom…what’s that sound?
Boom, Boom, Boom…there it goes again.
Hey, can you hear it? I sure can. It’s the sound of 78 million baby boomers getting ready to book their travel.

The Baby Boomers are about to experience the greatest wealth transfer in history as their parents pass away and a generation of savers passes their assets on to the boomers. Get ready for the real boom in travel -- it is about to begin!

Boomers are the greatest users of travel agent services and they understand the value that you bring to their travels. You don’t need to “sell” them on the value of using a travel agent.

Americans are planning to take a cruise.
Only about 25% of all Americans have taken a cruise. That leaves a huge market of 75%. that have never taken a cruise. This is an incredible opportunity for you as a independent travel agent. Do to the large volume of cruise we blocked the cruise lines are giving us extra FREE Amenities including: onboard coupon books, bathrobes, free photos, prepaid gratuities, free bottles of wine with dinner, shipboard credit to spend on anything from drinks to shore excursions, and more

Travel organization's predict a 500% increase in travel between now and 2025.

Travel is the fastest growing business on the Internet. Cruise Lines have ordered over 30 new ships over the past few years just to keep up with the demand. Our Exclusive Cruise Center has reserved thousands of cruise cabins, featuring hundreds of sailing dates.... All at Discount Rates The time to become a travel agent has never been better! You can profit from this remarkable growth by becoming travel agent now.

Now is the time to start you own home based travel agency.

Marketing, technologies and the backing of a good host agency, makes the decisive difference in the success or failure of a home-based independent travel agent.


Major host agencies like AARC Host Agency are offering valuable resources to home-based agents. This includes affordable desktop technologies, direct and e-mail marketing tools, education, training and networking. Host agencies offer tested marketing programs that benefit home based travel agents.

Another plus for home-based travelagents are the resources of the National Association of Career Travel Agents, which has aggressive training and unique networking capabilities, and the Outside Sales Support Network with a variety of business-building programs.

More empowerment comes in the form of top travel associations such as the Cruise Lines International Association and the United States Tour Operators Association. Both associations, backed by top suppliers and marketing acumen, will be actively supporting home-based independents in the year ahead.

Bob Whitley, president of the USTOA, told Travel Agent that tour operator members of the association view home-based agents as critical to the expansion of tour sales in 2010 and beyond. Tours are increasingly important to home-based agents as a source of revenue, he notes.

CLIA’s Executive Vice President Bob Sharak also sees growth and opportunity for the home-based agents. CLIA’s 2010 program will stress the sizable benefits of joining the association as well as its extensive education and training programs.

Critical to their success is the turnaround in industry perception. Research by ASTA, PhoCusWright, NACTA and OSSN has shown the power of the home-based distribution channel, which accounts for about $9.7 billion in annual sales.

These figures have encouraged leading industry suppliers to pay attention to the sales potential of home-based agents and to develop marketing programs focused on them. And there is more coming as these agents diversify and move beyond cruise sales to tours.

Paul Davis, President of AARC Host Agency said "Sales earlier this year have sparked exceptional growth as people pick up on the opportunity to become a home based travel agent." Paul, also notes that the power of AARC Host Agency by giving it's agents free access to Vacation.com, CLIA, NACTA, Next Site, TRAMS, Passport on line and new CRM technology. He expects to add several hundred agents in 2010.

According to Paul "The degree of support provided by a good hosts agency to it's agents is more important than ever before. If a host agency is not accreted by both PATH and NACTA it should raise red flags."
PATH and NACTA member-hosts represent over 10,000 home-based travel agents.

Challenges abound. Competition from online travel sellers will be intense in 2010 as cost-conscious consumers look for the best deals. Still, discounts—product priced for sale to the bargain hunters—can work to the home-based agent’s advantage. So, too, will the flood of special deals and sales incentives offered by resorts, hotels, destinations, tour operators and cruise lines.

Americans see travel as a virtual birthright. So it comes as no surprise that the majority of adults in the U.S. [now 53 percent] are planning to take at least one vacation in 2010.

Many executives warn that agents should beware of selling commodity-priced services and the trap of discounting on yields. Virtually every executive believes that the home-based agent must focus on profitability and productivity while delivering superior customer service.

Yet, despite the pitfalls faced by the home-based independent travel agents, there is space for tremendous optimism. The dramatic launch of Oasis of the Seas by Royal Caribbean is a solid example of the attractiveness of cruising, while the equally impressive opening of the Las Vegas City Center complex underscores the powerful lure of a world-class destination.

There are great opportunities in cruise and vacation sales and a host of marketing opportunities in social media and networking. In brief, the travel industry is making a multibillion-dollar investment. It will be up to the professional home-based agent to take advantage of the opportunities.