Hi everyone,
Here it is, July 1. I can’t believe it’s been 1 month already as my new role as a Travel Agent. I want to take this time to reflect on what I’ve learned thus far and help any of the prospects out there who may be considering this career:
1) IATA # = Life
Every travel agency that is accredited will have an IATA (International Air Transport Association) number. This number is your key to a lot of things – industry recognition/credibility, discounts at hotels and often FREE hotels (we’ll get to that later…). It is also a way for you to track all of the sales your agency has submitted. Within your IATA #, you will have your own personal Travel Agent photo ID card and number. Whenever you book discounted trips, you will need to bring this card with you as proof. So when you begin your role at a new travel agency, the first thing you do is get familiar with this number. You won’t be able to make bookings without it.
2) FAM Trips = Learning Opportunities
I said I would get to the part about FREE hotels later on. Here’s the deal. Hotels like to show off their nicely manicured, state-of-the-art resorts to travel agents as a way for agents to really understand the value of what they are selling and be able to articulate the selling features & benefits to clients. Take advantage of these FAM trips as they are a great way to not only stay somewhere for free, but also really educate yourself on what the resort (and surrounding area) has to offer your clients. Now, these trips are not all fun and lounging by the pool. They are paying for your stay in return for you attending orientations and certain training programs. Some great resources out there for FAM trips are:
- Sunnyland Tours
- Fam Travel for Me (a yearly subscription fee of $25 is required to access, but totally worth it)
- Travel Age West
- Travel Agent Central (I also recommend subscribing to their news feed)
That’s really only a small handful of the resources out there, as individual companies will offer their own FAM trips. I set up a Google alert (alert.google.com) for ‘FAM trips’ so I’m aware once one becomes available. My bucket list is SO large, I want to see and do it all. Now I can!
3. Partner BDMs = BFFs
This industry is all about relationship-building. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Utilize your local Business Development Managers (BDMs) at your Partner companies such as Sandals Resorts, Karisma Resorts, AM Resorts, etc. They are here to help you achieve your goals and make sure you have what you need to be successful. Sandals Resorts, for example, offer travel agents an exclusive Caribbean party that they will pay up to $X for food and beverage expenses incurred. You can host a Caribbean night and bring in prospective honeymooners and inform them about the different all-inclusive Sandals resorts. Our partner friend at Travel Impressions helped us in our booth for the Ziggy Marley concert a few weeks ago. She was there to help us promote and even brought some Jamaican goodies with her that people could win in our drawing.
4. Certifications = Credibility
If you really want to gain your street cred as a Travel Agent, you will need to be certified. With Sandals resorts, it is a yearly requirement that must be done in person at one of their workshops (nearest you). Other companies like AM Resorts (Beaches, Dreams, Zoetry, Now, and Sunscape), allow you to be come certified from an online self-pace program. I’d also recommend getting certified for Karisma Hotels, Palace Resorts, AM Resorts, all things Disney, various cruise lines, Elite Resorts, RIU hotels, for starters. There’s also many other things you will want to learn such as airport codes. Do you know how many airport codes there are in the world?? No easy feat, so just focus on memorizing the popular ones for now and as you continue on in your career you’ll get the hang of it.
5. Salary/Commission = Standard of Living
Every agency is different and therefore every salary starting point will be different. Many agents do work off of base salary + commission. It’s nice to think about having an uncapped salary but in reality, you have a long way to go when starting out. Your standard of living can greatly range, depending on how hard and how smart you are willing to work. Within my first month here, I’ve only closed 1 trip. And that’s OK. Your first few months is about learning the role and everything that comes with it. Here are some things I’ve been doing to build up my clientele base:
- Attend and use leads from a nearby bridal expo. Every city has a bridal expo (usually twice a year). My boss was kind enough to give me all of the leads because she doesn’t have time to reach out to them all. I have alllllll the time in the world 🙂
- Create an excel sheet to keep yourself organized. I have different tabs: Current clients, Closed Clients, Wedding Leads, Dead clients (who didn’t book). You use the ‘Current clients’ tab as a way to organize those you’re currently working on. Top priority. Use the “closed clients’ tab to remember those who did book. Remember special dates like birthday or anniversary so you can send follow up thank you cards year after year. Remember: relationship building is key, not just with our partners but with our clients. After they’ve booked, I also recommend filing a hard copy file for them so you can keep using this same manila folder file to keep all of their trips in it. Keep all booking confirmations, etc. in a nicely organized file cabinet (in alphabetical order of course).
- Network, network, network. If you haven’t yet, join Meetup.com. Depending on how large your city is, I’m sure you will find plenty of networking events. Get those beautiful business cards made and go out there and show your face. You’re not the boring person at the networking event trying to sell life insurance, you’re the FUN ONE that sells VACATIONS! You may want to hit up the guy who sells life insurance because we all know he needs a vaca from that line of work 😉
- Social Media is your friend. Facebook is a great tool for connecting with your loved ones (who I’m sure love to travel). Be sure to check into places when you’re out and about at the resorts, tours. Show them where you’re going. Don’t overdo it because they are your loved ones for Heaven’s sake so you don’t want to annoy them. Instagram is a wonderful resource for imagery. Take tons of pics of you enjoying yourself on vacation or on a FAM trip. Let people know you can help them book their next trip there! Make sure to use the right hashtags for relevancy. Also, it’s a bonus when you’re on Instagram because you can instantaneously upload to Facebook and Twitter at the same time. You multi-tasker you. Blogging is not for everyone because it is just another medium for you to update frequently, but it can be a great way to share your story with many others and show your clients where you’ve been.
Overall, your standard of living is completely up to you. How hard are you willing work? Are you willing to give up one of your Saturdays to meet an appointment if that’s their only availability? Are you willing to show your face at multiple networking events in your area and show off your trips through social media to gain potential clients? Ball is in your court really. What standard of living are you willing to accept?
6. Travel News = Informed
Stay up-to-date on all travel-related news. If there is a horrible illness going around such as the Zika virus, it is your job to know which countries are affected by it. If there are travel alerts/warnings put out it is your job to stay on top of it and warn clients if they are putting themselves in any danger. On a positive note, it’s also important to stay on top of travel news so you can be the first to know (well you and the other millions who are reading it…) that a new cruise ship is coming out or Cuba is opening their doors wide open to America now. What ‘The Brexit’ means for travelers. These important details will help you let your clients know what is going on. Also keep an eye out for weather-related issues that may cause delays for your clients. I like to stay on top of news from Travel Weekly and Caribbean Journal. I’ll eventually subscribe to more though.
