Unit 4

DEALING WITH DREAMS:

The Travel Agency Industry
 A
TRAVEL AGENTS
VALUE
Reason why consumer book through travel agents:
A Travel Agent Is More Skilled at Finding the Best
Travel Solution
travel agents are professionals who know planning and
booking travel all day, every week, all year

they can decipher jargons, spot hidden drawbacks, discover

opportunities, and be marvelously resourceful

A Travel Agent Can Find the Best Deal

travel agents can find lower airfares than consumer can
most of the time
they are better in spotting genuine values
Reason why consumer book through travel agents:

A Travel Agent Saves Time and Trouble

most of us today lead highly busy life, it often makes sense
to pay professional to do certain task for you

A Travel Agent is Accountable

can you call to get help if something goes wrong with a trip
you bought through an online agency, some online
agencies have help line but theyre notoriously understaff, a
good conventional travel agency will do all it can to solve
your concern.
Reason why consumer book through travel agents:
A Travel Agent Knows Supplier Better
travel agents know suppliers well and that such knowledge is clearly
valuable is reflected in the high trust the public places in their
recommendations

more than 80% of people on tours or cruises bought their vacations

through travel agents
A Travel Agent Knows Destinations Better
travel agents always have a much better sense of geography, some
agents are specialists in certain destinations, products or categories
of travel.

A Travel Agent is Largely Impartial

most travel agencies have preferred suppliers who they favor in
their recommendations and who, in turn, provide them and their
agencies with better or extra commissions (called overrides),
access to special inventory (known as group space), and
perhaps free or low-cost travel.
Telling Terms
FIT any trip assembled by an agent from scratch
rather than a package
Approval Code a number issued by a credit card
company that indicated its authorization of a credit
card transaction
Debit Memo a request for payment, usually from
an airline believes a travel agent or agency made
an error on fare
Queues a feature of CRS/GDS to remind the
agent of important actions to be taken or message
to be delivered
Tariffs the official rules, regulations and fares of
airlines.
 KINDS OF
TRAVEL AGENCY
KINDS of Travel Agency

A. Conventional, or Full-Service Agencies

these agencies sell it all: air, lodging, car
rentals, rail travel, cruises, tours and most other
forms of travel packages
Wholly owned or operated by a large chain such
as AAA or by smaller regional or local chain, large
chains usually have thousands or more locations
and are called mega-agency chains
Franchisee owned by individuals or families but
are affiliated with large brands, such as American
Express or travel Leaders, to whom the owners
pay and annual franchisee fee and/or percentage
of profits
KINDS of Travel Agency

A. Conventional, or Full-Service Agencies

Consortium affiliated to a group of agencies
that worked together to obtain and develop
marketing tools, accounting system, training
programs, and higher commissions from select,
preferred supplier
Agencies that belong to a consortium keep their local
identities and have no brand recognition among
public

Independent travel agencies with no affiliations,

often call mom-and-pop agencies
KINDS of Travel Agency

B. Online Agencies -operates almost

exclusively through their website, also called
brick-and-click agencies
C. Specialized Agencies an agency
focused on its specialty that doesnt need to
be full-service business
D. Home-Based-Agencies in the electronic
village we now live inyou can work from just
about anywhere, including your home.
host agency - the agency with which seller is affiliated is
usually called
CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
sometimes labeled as Corporate Agents, travel agent
like or a person employed by a company to arrange travel
for its employees, usually paid better than regular travel
agents because they are considered regular corporate
employees and have so many additional responsibilities
smaller companies rely on conventional travel agencies
to handle all of their employees travel logistics
some cases, travel agency have branch-like, in-plant
office on the client companys premises, it may staffed
by the travel agencys personnel, by company staff, or
by mix of both
large companies do not contract with travel agencies,
they have corporate travel departments (or travel
management division)
CORPORATE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT
Corporate Travel Management Duties:
set corporate travel policy
plans meetings, conferences, and convention
programs
negotiate with suppliers
manage travel budgets
arrange personnel relocation and housing
communicate with management in other
departments of the corporate
 TRAVEL AGENT:
SALES or SERVICE PERSON
TRAVEL AGENT: SALES or SERVICE PERSON
Typical Steps that Travel Agents Take with Leisure Travel

They provide a warm and cherry greeting.

They ask questions to determine the clients

needs. This process is usually called qualifying.

They do research, if necessary, to find the right

products and services for the client.

They make recommendations that meet the

clients needs.
TRAVEL AGENT: SALES or SERVICE PERSON
Typical Steps that Travel Agents Take with Leisure Travel

They overcome objections that the client might

have to the recommendations.
They enhance the sale by recommending
additional products or services (cross-selling) or
perhaps better options than the client had in-
mind (upselling).
They close the sale by getting agreement and
payment from the client.
They follow-up to make sure the trip went well.
 FOR WORK or PLEASURE
Corporate Agents
Respond to Requests
Are somewhat sensitive to travel costs
Deal with logistics
Are seen as service people
Usually works with short lead time
May make plenty of changes as a trip
departure approaches
Often communicate through travelers
assistant, not the traveler
Know lot about the selected destinations
their clients usually go to
Usually hear about how a trip went
Just about every caller books travel
Leisure Agents
Inform and Suggest
Are extremely sensitive to travel costs
Deal with vacation dreams
Are more likely to exert their sales skills
Are more likely to work with long lead
times
Are less likely to make changes once a
trip is booked
Almost deal directly with the traveler
Know details about many more
destination
Hear about how a trip went if something
went wrong
Often deal with phone shoppers, so a
majority of callers dont book
HOW AGENTS OBTAIN
INFORMATION
Web-based resources for travel agency or travel sectors:

Business Travel Planner information on destinations,

hotels, and airport transfers, and so on.
The Hotel & Travel Index brief information and ratings for
most on the worlds hotels, with maps, destination
information, and booking information.
The Official Cruise Guide information on just about every
cruise ship, major port, and itinerary in the world.
The Star Service Online superb, in-depth analyses of
worldwide hotels and cruise vessels. No ads.
Travel42 a reference resource bundles the Weissmann
Reports, the Star Service Online, and several other
resources into one interactive packageall for one price.
Weissmann Reports excellent resource for destination
information.
MORE THIS and THAT
Some miscellaneous things about travel agency business

Because of the cut in airline commissions, most agencies

charge clients fees for making air bookings and reservation
charges.
Travel agents are paid straight salary, entirely based on
commission earned, and combination of both.
Agents read on magazine in depth each week and skim
another if theres time; these publications have late breaking
news, training modules and features in addition to the print
magazine content.
Consumers are most likely to consult travel agents about
cruises, tours, and complicated trips.
Consumers who use travel agents tend to be wealthier, better
educated, and spend more on travel (twice as much) than
those who dont.
Some miscellaneous things about travel agency business

Email and texting have become significant ways for travel

agents to communicate with clients, especially who often sell
t clients who live well beyond the agents local community.
Organizing and operating group departure is a major source
of revenue for many agencies.
Errors and omissions insurance is important for travel
agency to protect them from damages that may occur
because of mistakes made by an employee in planning clients
trip.
About 80% of all cruise and 85% of all tours are sold through
travel agencies.
 CAREERS:
The Expert Is In
Leisure Travel Agents, at the very least, they must:
Have a detailed understanding of the products and services
from those suppliers they sell most frequently
Know those destinations their clients most often visit
Have solid research and computer skills
Be familiar with the logistics of travel and be able to find out
about related issues like passport and visa requirements.
Know at least a little about basic bookkeeping and accounting
Possesses sharp sales, service, and communication skills
Devote at least some time each year to expanding their
expertise through training programs, reading trade
publications, and doing some personal travel.
Careers in the Travel Agent Industry:
Senior executives, directors, managers, owners
Human resources/training specialist
Travel agents (leisure and/or corporate)
Accountants
Outside sales representatives
Group specialists
Vendor negotiator
Cruise, groups, destination, corporate travel specialists
Clerical support
Technological support
END
ASSIGNMENT
Searching.

1. Enter travel agency in a Internet Search

Engine. List down 40 Travel Agencies and
their corresponding website.
2. Choose only 1 interest below. Find tour
package sample and itinerary of a chosen
category:
a) Snorkeling and diving
b) Mountaineering and nature trekking
c) Flora and fauna
d) Extreme sports and adventure
e) Heritage and culture
f) Religious tourism or pilgrimage