Customer Reviews

Home-Based Travel Agent

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Now in its fifth edition, this book is keeping up with the drastic changes that have been happening recently in the travel industry. As the author says, it used to be that a great many travel agencies made their living by booking airline tickets. But the airline companies and the internet have changed that. Now a travel agency has to find some kind of specialist niche.

It is indeed possible to create a home, even part time business in the travel industry. Perhaps you'll book cruises, perhaps create package deals to get people to their time share vacation, perhaps specialize in excursions by rail.

While it is practical to set up a home based agency, your success is not guaranteed. There are many established agencies out these that are desparately looking for some way to stay in business. This book points out how the various options, such as working at home but for an established agencies, setting up your own agency and several other choices.

The real key to this book is the third part. Selling your travel services, getting and keeping customers is the most important aspect of this or really any other business. The technical aspects of booking a cruise is fairly simple (but covered in Part II), making a success comes down to sales and marketing.

I was so impressed with the thoroughness that KellY Monaghan applied to his 5th editon of the Home-Based Travel Agent that I ordered a key companion book The Travel Agent's Complete Desk Reference. Finally, I realized that if I were really serious, I needed the other two references that I would have received had I ordered the entire course from Interpid Traveler that Kelly offers: How To Choose A Host Agency and How To Get Your Own IATA number. Call the Interpid Traveler to order and they will make you a deal for these two publications and throw in a bonus CD if you explain you didn't know about the course when you ordered the first two books from Amazon.com. Kelly takes great pains to keep current and welcomes input to keep his publications up to date in this rapidly changing arena that has been turned upside down with the deregulation of the airline industry and the after effects from 9-11-2001. I've read other books on home-based travel businesses and none offer such candid input. Study Monaghan's guidance on the many options available on how to enter this business and then do your own homework armed ahead of time with great background info. I am now signed up as an independent travel agent, aligned with a reputable host agency after completing this course.

This book has all of the forms, informations, etc. on how to run a business. From Before you even start and everything after. DETAILED!