Do I have to take franchise to become a home based travel agent?

Question

Want to work from home as a travel agent for cruises. Who will help me setup my sight on computer and how will i get the information about cruises.

Answer 1

If you want to become a home based agent....do your research!!!  Check out www.nacta.com for a list of reputable host agencies.  There is a podcast on www.hometravelagent.net that can give you a ton of information.

Answer 2

You can work for YTB International.  It's a home base travel agency and you get to work with cruise lines, air fare, etc.  I've been working for them for about 5 months and so far it is gong pretty well.  Visit www.ytb.com/ohjay04 to watch the presentation and for the online application.  Need more info just e-mail me.

Answer 3

if u like we can work together but we are not specalized at cruise ship.

Answer 4

You don't have to BUT, it will help you get started.

As part of a franchise or other consortia you would be eligible for "override" commissions based on the overall volume of the franchise network or consortia.  It's significantly harder to do that kind of volume on your own, especially without associates working for you.

The franchise or consortia probably has some kind of record keeping software suite that will make your life MUCH easier.

Many franchises and consortias have lead generation services to help augment your own marketing efforts... Same thing with Co-op dollars to help with advertising.

The often have web programs to assist you with getting a presence on line as well.

Being with a franchise or consortia also makes it much easier to get in touch with and work with the DSMs from the cruise lines.  The DSM might not know you from a hole in the wall, but by being an XYZ agent has cache that is a little incentive for them to return your call, especially if your consortia or franchise does a lot of volume with a particular line.

There's a lot of other reasons why being part of a franchise or consortia makes a lot of sense, you can go it alone if you really want to but it's a much more difficult path to follow.

Before you take the plunge, check out the series in Travel Weekly from this week and last about home based agents.  There's some sobering numbers about average home based agent income.

You can reach me privately through my profile if you have additional questions or are looking for some recommendations...