2022 is the Time to Get Started as a Home Based Travel Professional and WITHOUT Experience, you can do it. Here’s How:
A Look at the Host Agencies that offer Training, Education and Support for a New Travel Professional
Written By: Andy Ogg, CTIE, Co-Owner – TravelProfessionalNEWS.com
Become a Travel Professional without experience
I hear this question all the time and the answer to it is a resounding YES! Many host agencies have formidable opportunities for brand new travel agents who may have absolutely no experience to immediately start selling travel.
Starting a business of any kind without experience is very challenging as you need to develop a concept, comply with legal issues, set up books, contact suppliers, develop a marketing strategy and so many other tasks. This is all very daunting for someone new to starting a business, especially a new travel business.
Rather than go into detail of how to do it, we decided to reach out to host agencies that love to work with brand new and inexperienced travel agents. They all offer turn-key opportunities and can catapult you into your own travel business overnight and with ease. Here are the best of the best.
Host Agencies That Help You Become a Travel Professional Without Experience in 2022
OutsideAgents.com
“We have a process, not a program. Programs do what they’re programmed to do and nothing more. Programs don’t work in business building. They’re just too rigid for individual needs.
OutsideAgents.com is different. We work directly with our agents to implement personalized dynamic processes of change that evolve to grow highly-successful travel businesses over time.
We do this by making onboarding easy, just 4 simple steps. In addition to industry-leading training, we make business-building personal with a dedicated, seasoned mentor for each of our agents. Their sole purpose is to share decades of experience to guide entrepreneurs through the maze of resources, tools and processes that lead to a successful travel business.
We’ve been doing this for nearly 30 years. We know there are no cookie-cutter solutions, no “7 step plan to be a million-dollar agent.” Only hard work and personal support from experts lead to success.
That’s what we do, help you find your process that leads to your success, your happy place.”
Shared by Chad Burt, Co-Owner of OutsideAgents.com. To learn more about OutsideAgents.com, visit their Profile Here.
Uniglobe Travel Center
“Uniglobe Travel Center’s MentorU program is a one-on-one coaching program for passionate entrepreneurs ready to launch their own travel business.
Travel advisors that are new to the industry, receive 3-months of weekly interactive coaching, via Zoom, from two experienced travel agency professionals with a diverse depth of experience. The coaches will cover two main areas of the industry – being a travel advisor and operating a travel agency.
The Travel Advisor side of the program will introduce you to the tools and resources required to research travel for your clients, create trip itineraries and quotes, make bookings and manage bookings. They will also help you become familiar with the different products and policies of various travel suppliers.
The MentorU program also places a strong emphasis on the Travel Agency piece, to ensure you know how to run your business and get clients. Your coaches will familiarize you with relevant laws and consumer protection rules you must be aware of, educate you on insurance for both you and your clients, as well as collaborate with you to craft a custom sales and marketing plan by utilizing marketing tools and sales best practices.
By the end of your 3-month program, the goal is to have some bookings under your belt, have your agency fully launched, and have a game plan in place to move forward and grow your business.
Uniglobe Travel Center provides you with a solid foundation to navigate the travel industry as a successful travel advisor and business owner.”
Shared by Summer Corbitt, Director of Sales and Marketing for Uniglobe Travel Center. To learn more about Uniglobe Travel Center, Visit the Profile Here.
Video: how to Become a Travel Professional without experience
Why is Finding the Right Host Agency so Important?
As you begin your journey into being a Travel Professional, you’ll learn quickly that the connections you create with others in the Travel Industry become very important and ultimately, can assist in your success. These established Host Agencies share a value that you cannot put a price tag on, and that is connections. Through years of experience and knowledge, each Host Agency in this article offer that to you, as a new Travel Professional.
It’s important to not only be educated on the benefits, commission structure, support and affiliations that a Host Agency holds, but also on their vision and goals. As you start your Travel Agency, you’ll be overwhelmed and overjoyed with all of the things you will learn along the journey.
Nexion Travel Group
“Nexion Travel Group is a leader in the host travel industry. In its efforts in attracting and training new travel agents in 2013, Nexion President, Jackie Friedman and Program Director, Heather Kindred, launched Travel Leaders of Tomorrow.
The legacy training program, Virtual Campus, is 18-weeks of classroom training with an experienced instructor. New travel agents learn in a small group with other students and follow a curriculum based on The Travel Institute’s TRIPKIT. In 2017, Travel Leaders of Tomorrow added a self-paced program called Independent Learner that does not include the instructor-classroom model.
In 2015, Nexion formalized a partnership with Travel Leaders of Tomorrow. They combined their award-winning NEXstrides coaching program and launched two new travel agent programs, NEXstart and NEXstart Lite. In 2019, Nexion launched a training program for cruise-only travel agents, called NEXstart Cruise, and for retired military and active-duty spouses, they launched the scholarship program, Veterans in Travel.
Nexion offers 5-day Essentials courses and 3-day Boot Camps. New Nexion travel agents have immediate access to programs and tools and can begin earning commission with their first booking. Nexion recently launched the Roadmap to Success, updating their library with over 700 new resources using video and quick references. Nexion provides all members with support teams, air ticketing, hotel programs, supplier training, marketing programs, events, and more. “
Shared by Jackie Friedman, President of Nexion Travel Group. To learn more about Nexion Travel Group, visit the Profile Here.
Cruise Planners
“One of the reasons why Cruise Planners has been so successful over the past 27 years, with over 2500 franchisees, is that anyone can start with or without travel or sales experience. We know that the most successful agents are the ones who have the most knowledge, so we start you off at our award-winning STAR University, where you get access to the industry’s top experts giving you insight into sales, marketing and how to build a successful business. In addition, we offer an array of in-person trainings around the country, from Boot Camps to Technology Information Days, all the way to our annual convention. But we don’t stop there — we have more continuous training than most host agencies with on-demand online educational programs throughout the year for continuing education for all agents who want to expand their knowledge.
In addition to the extensive training, we hold virtual group trainings called “Let’s Talk”, one-on-one coaching calls, a 12-series live coaching program, and CP Genie — our portal for everything you need to know. We support our agents when it comes to marketing, with hands-free direct mail, eDeals, and so much more. We also equip our agents with our award-winning proprietary and cutting-edge technology that allows you to work from anywhere in the world. We are the only host/franchise that has an APP, where you can log in and connect to our backend tool, with all your client’s information and bookings.
We know that your success is our success, so we partner with you to help you grow your business. If you’re looking for a host/franchise that cares about you, works closely with you to build your business, and has invested in the right tools and programs to help you become successful, then you need to call Cruise Planners today.”
Shared by Michelle Fee, Founder and CEO of Cruise Planners. To learn more about Cruise Planners, visit the Profile Here.
Become a Travel Professional Without Experience
Is Support and Training Important?
YES! Having a Host Agency partner that offers ongoing opportunities for training and support is crucial to your success as a Travel Professional. There are always new offerings, new resorts, new cruises and new destinations. Being informed on these new travel options can make your success. A Host Agency that offers ongoing education and support will not only help you be educated and informed but also assist you along your journey to success.
Dugan’s Travels
“Interested in starting a travel business? Work with a Family of Agents! Dugan’s Travels works closely with new agents to provide best in class services that help travel entrepreneurs to build and grow. With low start-up costs, simple price structure, and close-knit community, Dugan’s Travels helps you to construct a solid foundation for your business. You can take your business idea and turn it into a travel sales empire – on your terms – using our many tools and resources.
Dugan’s Travels Host Agency support includes New Agent Orientation, Mentorship, Professional Development, Marketing Tools & Support, Access to Industry, Continued Business Support, and Networking Opportunities.
More than a tag line, our Family of Agents rallies around new agents, to encourage and support your success. We have been proudly serving the travel agent community for over 22 years, helping new agents evolve into trusted travel professionals.
If travel agency ownership is something you have been thinking of, take the leap in 2022 and schedule your Welcome Call with a Dugan’s Travels team member today. We can’t wait to welcome you into our Family of Agents. www.travelathome.com.”
Shared by Melissa Land, Marketing Coordinator of Dugan’s Travels. To learn more about Dugan’s Travels, visit the Profile Here.
Incentive Connection Travel
“While another agency might be hesitant to bring on new agents who lack experience in the industry, Incentive Connection Travel recognizes them as an asset. These agents bring a fresh approach & new perspective thinking “Outside The Box”. Their desire to acquire the knowledge needed to succeed in travel makes them an ideal partner.
We offer daily seminars that cover every aspect of making your business a success such as How do we get started? How do we get clients? What vendors should we use for…?
The training we provide to answer these questions come from the meetings we sponsor several times weekly between new and existing agents to allow them to ask questions and get real life experience from the agents who know.
A new agent can contact the ICT staff at any time to get their immediate questions answered. Why should a new agent sit through a class to learn about procedures they are bound to forget by the time the class is over. They are welcome to contact our office at any time by phone or email and the owners of ICT will take all the time needed to discuss these questions with all our agents.
It is far more profitable to learn from mistakes made by others than to learn from repeating them. Our new agents receive the value of business experience from the owners of ICT and the value of real life experience from our agents.”
Shared by Robert Siamon, Co-Owner of Incentive Connection Travel. To learn more about Incentive Connection Travel, visit the Profile Here.
Avoya Travel
“You bring the passion for travel, we bring the resources to help you succeed. If you enjoy a flexible lifestyle and have an entrepreneurial drive, there’s never been a better time to start owning your success. With a demand for travel advisors more than ever before, joining an industry-leading travel company like Avoya Travel® opens new doors for you to set up, scale up and succeed.
We’ve listened to advisor feedback during these times and updated many of our resources to help those new to travel get started. In 2022, we’ll offer even more educational opportunities through our Mastermind Program™ designed to help build successful business practices through proven methods and a realistic process, and achieve success with Live Leads™, new clients sent directly to you. In addition to courses offered in Avoya University™ that help you become acquainted with our innovative company culture and technology platform, the Avoya Network Enrichment™ Team has recently added content specifically geared to those new to the travel industry.
With Avoya, you can build your business with solutions customized to fit your needs, including technology, support and marketing, including a library of diverse marketing assets – the Marketing Resource Center™.
No experience? No problem. Use our industry-leading services and more than 50 years of experience to hit the ground running. With economical start-up costs, this is an opportunity unlike any other to build and grow a successful independent business. For more information on starting a travel business in the Avoya Travel Network™, visit www.AvoyaNetwork.com.”
Shared by Steve Hirshan, Senior Vice President of Sales of Avoya Travel. To learn more about Avoya Travel, visit the Profile Here.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a lot of options and things to consider when choosing your Host Agency partner. We offer a multitude of tools, information and resources for Travel Professionals looking to partner with a Host Agency at www.FindaHostTravelAgency.com.
Starting your search is easy and our Filter Function allows you to select the criteria that are most important to YOU. After making your selections, the Host Agency list will be automatically updated with the Host Agencies partners that offer those items. This feature will cut your time spent searching for the right fit for you and your business to minutes, not hours.
After narrowing down your list of possible Host Agencies, download the free Host Agency Checklist HERE to keep track of the items that you are looking for and what they offer. Ultimately, you’ll want to conduct your Host Agency Interview and in that process, the Host Agency Checklist can be a helpful tool to track your notes.
We hope that this information has helped you in learning more about the benefits of partnering with a Host Travel Agency as a new Travel Professional. Feel free to visit www.FindaHostTravelAgency.com for more helpful tips, tools and resources to Become Travel Professional without experience today!