|
Welcome to 2008!
There is a lot going on at
HomeBasedTravelAgent.com and you can look forward to some
major improvements and additions here over the next few
months. The various sites that make up much of the on-line
content are being consolidated into one huge portal for home
based travel agents and will become a major influence in
everyone's daily lives. It is all very exciting.
UPDATE!
www.TravelAgentResourceCenter.com
This popular
site continues its growth as a tool for home based travel
agents. Here is an article written by Nancy Norris regarding
the site. I am sure that you will find it interesting.
Have you visited the Travel
Agent Resource Center (www.travelagentresourcecenter.com)?
If not, or if you haven't visited it lately, then you are
missing a golden opportunity to have all the travel agent
resources you need all in one place at your finger tips. It
is exploding with a wealth of new information and travel
tools designed specifically for you, the home-based travel
agent. Whether you are just starting out and looking for all
the information you need to launch your business, or if you
are an experienced agent and need to quickly locate
information to research, book and prepare your clients for
travel, this is the one-stop spot to find it all. Here is
just a sample of some of the latest supplements we have
added to the site.
Travel Agent
Forms: Home-based agents must often develop their own
set of practical forms, letter and client contact messages.
We have compiled a library of practical forms that can be
used to aid you in your business. Client profile sheets,
document checklists, disclaimers, waivers, authorization and
acknowledgement forms, reservation and booking forms and
satisfaction surveys are just some of the forms we have made
available for you.
Suppliers' Data: Need a
reputable air consolidator to offer low fares to your
clients? We have compiled a substantial list of
consolidators that do business solely through travel agents
and have provided detailed contact information, a company
profile, their contracted airlines and the areas serviced
for each. Perhaps you need to find information on a cruise
line. Our comprehensive list of cruise lines provides all
the contact information, details on commission levels, group
booking requirements and agents' reduced fare policies that
you need. If you need to locate a supplier, this is the
place to look.
IRS Guidelines:
Concerned about whether you are an independent contractor or
an employee? The IRS has recently consolidated the former
"Twenty Factors Test" into eleven main tests. We have
provided a detailed report outlining these latest guidelines
(revised January 2007) along with comments regarding each
one to aid you in determining your status.
Seller of Travel Laws:
Each U.S. state and Canadian province has different criteria
for conducting business as a travel agent, and it is
important to be in compliance with these laws. The
information we have provided for each of those states or
provinces that require travel agents to register or have
laws that affect agents is current as of November 2007.
Travel Affiliate Programs:
If you have begun to explore this lucrative way to generate
revenue and make your website profitable, you may want to
check out our list of travel affiliate programs that can
grow your online business.
Other Resources: Travel
tools and general reference tools such as destination
services, communication tools, ATM locators, currency
exchange rates, documentation requirements and services,
health and safety issues and air travel information, to name
just a few can be found at the Travel Agent Resource Center.
There are also links to all the industry publications and
e-news portals, fam directories and an industry events
calendar that agents can use to keep current and
knowledgeable.
So, what are you waiting for - this is just a
taste of what you will find at the Travel Agent Resource
Center. We are continuing to work diligently updating and
adding valuable information and tools to assist travel
agents. Look for travel agent site inspection reports,
sample IC/Host Agency contracts, consortium profiles, a
group space share center and many more enhancements in the
very near future.
New Articles Just Added
Be sure to check out these
articles in our growing list of information relevant to home
based travel agents. There are articles on every topic of
interest for your enjoyment!
E-Newsletters and You (Part One):
Ever wondered what it takes to produce a great newsletter? Here
is a series of articles that detail what you need to do (and not
do) to publish a high quality newsletter that folks will read
with a high priority.
E-Newsletters and You (Part Two):
Here is a continuation of the article about producing
high-quality newsletters that will be read with priority. This
article contains formatting tips that you must understand in
order to produce HTML e-newsletters. Bookmark it for future
reference.
Travel Gadgets, Gizmos and Tips:
Here is a great article about the various items that are
available to make traveling more rewarding, fun and safe.
Written by a self-admitted travel gadget junkie, you will find
this quite interesting if you (and your clients) are looking for
information on how to travel safe and sound.
New Educational Opportunities
Dubai Specialist Program:
Established by the Dubai Tourism Bureau and offered by
the Travel Agent Academy, this program leads to a "Dubai
Specialist" certification for agents selling Dubai's
wonderful toursim opportunities. This program is also of
interest to cruise agents selling the new port of
embarkation in Dubai. It is free for travel agents.
Honduras Specialist Program:
Here is an excellent program established by the Honduras
Institute of Tourism, this is an excellent program for
agents selling Honduras as a destination. It is free to all
agents that want to expand their knowledge of this
increasingly popular destination.
Finland Specialist Program:
Sponsored by Visit Finland, here is an excellent program
that will lead to a professional designation as a Finland
Specialist. It is free to all travel agents and is well
worth the time to complete it.
Honeymoon and Destination Wedding
Specialist: Sponsored by the Travel Agent
Academy, this free specialist program explores the
huge
potential market for honeymoons and destination weddings.
Webinars - Your Are Invited
Be sure to take advantage of
this new and exciting way to learn about the various travel
suppliers. While these webinars are hosted by NACTA (The
National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents) the
invitation is also extended to readers of
HomeBasedTravelAgent.com. There is no cost to attend these
informative and rewarding educational events. To register
for any or all of the webinars, simply click
here.
New From
HomeBasedTravelAgent.com
Every week I get telephone
calls and e-mail from folks looking for recommendations for this host agency or that one. Look, I will not
say anything negative about any host agency, but I do offer
a list of recommended host agencies and am going to make the
above logo available to companies that I can recommend in
confidence. So when you are looking at host agencies (or
other companies) look for this logo. There is no way anyone
can buy the use of it, they con only earn the right to use
it by performance and satisfied travel agents. If you would
like to use this logo on your site and are on my list of
host agencies, just drop me an e-mail and I will make sure
that you get it.
Travel Counsellors, PLC
Host Agency
Interview
Travel Counsellors, PLC is
Europe's largest and most successful host agency with
revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They are
expanding their presence in the United States in a big way
and offer an incredible franchise opportunity for serious
home based travel agents. I caught up with Peter Rassmussen,
the General Manager of the United States expansion and had
the opportunity to interview him regarding Travel
Counsellor's presence in the U.S. market. Click
HERE to access the
interview.
Travel Affiliate Marketing
What's it all about? The
travel industry is going through another paradigm that will
affect us all. Contextual advertising, affiliate marketing
and pay for performance selling in the travel industry is
booming and if you are not cashing in on it, you need to
understand it and act now.
Tom's new book "Home
Based Travel Affiliate" will show you the
opportunities that all travel professionals have to cash in
on the burgeoning travel affiliate market. Virtually every
travel supplier has affiliate programs that pay handsomely
and by joining one of the advertiser publisher networks you
can achieve the same (or better) results that Tom has. Click
Here for more
information.
Writers Wanted!
HBTANews is looking for agents
that would like to contribute articles such as
Harvey did in
this issue. You will receive full author's credit and a link
back to your website, e-mail address (or whatever contact
information you provide). In addition to the 8,500 agents
that received this newsletter, the articles will reside on
the HBTA.com site and will continually work on your behalf.
I would love to establish ongoing relationships with parties
interested in reaching the home based travel agent
community. Just send me an e-mail with your thoughts to
TomOgg@aol.com.
Thanks and have a great 2008!
|
