The Travel Biz Blog

The "Travel Biz Blog" is our mini-journal about planning, starting and running successful travel agency business. The "Travel Biz Blog"...

• lets you know whenever any new web pages appear on Become-A-Travel-Agent.net, telling you about new resources, books, techniques or technology you can use to build YOUR travel business.

• keeps you up-to-date with other postings, events or news about the travel agency business .... and home-based travel agents in particular
  

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Sep 20, 2008, Build YOUR OWN Brand, not your host agency's

If you're building your OWN business ... shouldn't you be building your OWN brand? This is crucial to your success because ...

Sep 20, 2008, Get instant access to FREE Report about building a travel business.

Dicover the '10 steps' you can follow to plan, start and run a profitable travel business. ( A sneak-peak into our Advanced Travel Consultant Mentoring Program )

Sep 8, 2008, Specialization is key

I have been in the IT field since 1997. In that time I have come to realize the importance of specialization. When I first started out I was

Sep 8, 2008, Specialization is an important key to success.

To succeed as a travel agent you must specialize - Why? Read to find out...

Sep 8, 2008, Why specializing makes sense to me.

I am just starting out as a home based travel consultant and believes that specializing is the best way to go. It allows me to market and sell a

Aug 25, 2008, CLIA tightens card rules, 2009 applicants must be pursuing or have CLIA Certification status

Since2000, CLIA has provided agents with the option of acquiring an officialCLIA ID Card that signifies their affinity to that agency and thatagency’s affiliation with CLIA. Active travel agencymembership in CLIAand successfully completing a minimum of one annual CLIA live or onlinetraining seminar is a CLIA ID Card qualifying requirement.

In 2009, the following requirements will be implemented:

• The individual agent or agency management must beaffiliated with an active CLIA travel agency holding 2009 membership.
• ID Card applicants will be required to complete and passthe exam forat least one annual recurrent CLIA live training seminar or CLIA onlinetraining program not previously submitted prior to applying for their2009 cards.
• 2009 ID Card applicants are required to beenrolled in, or to have achieved a designation (ACC, MCC, ECC, ECCS) inCLIA’s Cruise Counsellor Certification Program. Attainment ofan ACCdesignation requires a program of mandatory and elective trainingoptions as well personal cruise experience, shipboard inspections and25 cabin sales within the two-year enrollment period.
• Effectivewith new CLIA Certification enrollments/re-enrollments occurring afterJan. 1, 2009, if ACC designation is not attained within the two-yearCLIA Certification enrollment period, CLIA ID Card privileges will besuspended for a minimum of one year with reinstatement contingent uponachieving ACC; or Certification re-enrollment and the pursuit of CLIACruise Counsellor Certification.
• In recognition of theowners and managers of CLIA member travel agencies who manage theagency business but are not necessarily front-line sellers of travel,each CLIA travel agency is entitled to a management allocation of nomore than four CLIA ID Cards for which the above Certificationqualification is not required although annual CLIA recurrent trainingis necessary.
  

“As the leisure selling power of the CLIA travelagenthas grown, sohas industry recognition of these agencies and agents beyond the cruisesegment. Thousands of travel businesses including cruise lines, hotelsand attractions as well as tour operators and other ancillary travelservices recognize and value the CLIA designation,” saidTerry Dale,CLIA’s president and CEO.

“CLIA has an obligation to provide member benefitsincluding theoption of obtaining a CLIA ID Card. Wealso have anobligation toprovide member cruise lines and other industry partners assurance thatour agent partners are actively engaged in the sale of travel and arecommitted to professional development. CLIA’strainingprograms arefrequently acknowledged as the best in the travel industry and westrongly believe that this evolution of ID card requirements is awin/win/win situation for the CLIA agent, for the traveling consumerand for industry suppliers who recognize the value of CLIAagents,” hecontinued.

CLIA’s decision is supported by travelagents’ own testimony as wellas a recent consumer survey. Agents who achieve CLIA Certificationclaim that their annual sales productivity grew 261%. 

Aug 22, 2008, CITC offers free exam strategies workshop

TheCanadian Institute ofTravel Counsellors (CITC) has partnered withYourWorkshops.cato offer a free online coaching workshop on ExamStrategies, to help those required to write the TICO EducationStandards Exam(s) prepare for success.

 CITC president Steve Gillicknotes the program, originally formulated to coach candidates to writethe national multiple choice certification exams, has been revised bythe original author, Coralie Belman, who is CITC’s nationalcertification manager. “CITC, which is administering the TICOexams onbehalf of TICO, recognizes that many travel counsellors have notwritten an exam, let alone a multiple-choice exam, in many years. Itcan be intimidating, especially when the successful writing of the examis tied to your career,” said Gillick.

“Aside from CITC’s TICO Exam Prep courses,conducted by CITC’s team oftrainers throughout the province, we wanted to provide as many peopleas possible -- whether they take one of the optional CITC prep courses-- or they are studying on their own, with some materials to help intheir preparation.” Gillick added that “in theenergy and enthusiasm ofits 40th anniversary, CITC has worked with Your Workshops to‘give’something practical and useful to the industry.” And, tocontribute tothe excitement to the prep workshop, Craig Marsh, president of YourWorkshops, has committed 100 Air Miles, to be drawn as a grand prizefrom those who pass the short test at the end of the workshop. (www.tico.ca, www.citc.ca/ticoexam,www.citc.ca/ticotraining)

Aug 6, 2008, The VI Summer Challenge

How to join VI without paying a cent in start-up fees or initial training.

Aug 5, 2008, Site Build It Coaching for Travel Agents

Site Build It! is the ultimate "Do It Yourself" success platform for your e-business. Sometimes, though, you may need a little help, either coaching (Show Me) or "Do It For Me" ("DIFM").

Jul 29, 2008, IATA says it is improving integrity of IATA ID Card Program

MONTREAL — IATA is reducing the validity of its ID Card in Canada to one year and will be conducting random verifications to ensure that holders are travel professionals.

IATA is working proactively to increase the integrity and efficiency of the globally accepted card, and to ensure that the industry stops wasting money, time and energy on people claiming illegitimate recognition,” said a release.

A new Cardholder Agreement, clarifying the conditions of audits/verification, was sent to each 20,593 Canadian IATA/IATAN ID Cardholders.

“Because of the changing industry, IATA needs to ensure only travel professionals have a card. By conducting random verifications and requesting documents such as T4 forms, pay slips, disbursement records and payroll registers, IATA will obtain the guarantee cardholders are de facto meeting the requirements,” said IATA.

As well, effective immediately, the two-year option is abandoned, leaving the IATA/IATAN ID Card Program with a validity period of one year only...

Jul 29, 2008, How to Get Paid to Travel ..

Yes, you CAN get paid to travel ..and NOT by becoming a travel agent necessarily.

Jul 29, 2008, Become a travel agent, and achieve success fast!

Can you QUICKLY tell me what to do in order to succeed financially as a home based travel agent? -> YES, I can: read this article to get the 'secret recipe'.

Jul 25, 2008, Tele-seminars: Become a travel agent

Check out our free (pre-recorded) tele-seminars and podcasts, where industry experts discuss travel business ideas, marketing strategies, technology and much more.

Jul 25, 2008, About us | Vacations Internationale | Become-a-Travel-Agent.net

Founded in 1992, Vacations Internationale is an accredited travel agency and leading host agency based in Ontario, Canada.

Jul 12, 2008, Introducing....Site Build It!

Why travel agents need "Site Build It" (SBI) to start truly benefiting from the internet once and for all.

Jul 12, 2008, How SBI Helps you choose your "Travel Niche"

How SBI Helps you choose your travel business 'Niche'

Jul 12, 2008, Site Build It | Real-life examples of successful web sites built using SBI

Real-life examples of successful TRAVEL web sites built using SBI

Jul 12, 2008, At last, the truth about "consumer travel web sites"

Why 99% of the websites given to agents by Host Agencies don't (and will NEVER) work, and what to do about it.

Jun 26, 2008, What type of 'travel website' should a home-based travel agent have?

There are two types of travel websites: those that work and those that don't. This article explains how to build a travel website that works.

May 27, 2008, How May We Help You?

Discover all of the Marketing Tools, Training and Coaching You Need To Start and Grow Your Travel Business TODAY!

May 14, 2008, Build your own Travel Business Mentoring Program.

With our "a la carte services", you can create your own custom Mentoring Program simply by purchasing as many (or as few) individual "coaching packages" as you need ...

May 6, 2008, TravelTalk : Specialize for Success

THE NUMBER ONE REASON why the majority of travel agents don't make more than 25, 30 or 40 thousand/year is:

They do NOT specialize.

But ..... what exactly do we mean by "specializing"?

Why is it crucial for success? How many "specialties" should you have?

To get the answers to those important questions, just  listen to the podcast (19 minutes):

Apr 25, 2008, Blogging is a waste of time

Can you believe your eyes?

Here I am....on my BLOG.... telling you that "Blogging is WASTE of time".

Click on the link to find out why .... and learn how you can avoid the "blogging trap".

Apr 16, 2008, Group Travel: The Travel Agent's Secret Weapon

Group Travel - everyone knows - is where the money is. Group travel = leverage.

Mar 26, 2008, Start your own Cruise Travel Business

How to start your own Cruise travel business... with The Cruise Brothers.

Mar 12, 2008, Become-A-Travel-Agent.net

Home-Based vs. Store Front

Mar 12, 2008, Contact Information

Access our various "contact us" pages: Contact us for "general inquiries", apply to our Mentoring Program, or "Ask Eddie" and get a personalized response to your "travel agency business" question.

Feb 27, 2008, Site Build It - SBI for Travel

Information on how to start a travel website with Site Build It

Feb 24, 2008, Marketing is EVERYTHING

You're not in the "travel consulting business", vacation business, cruise business, or destination wedding business as much as you're in the business of MARKETING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES!

Feb 24, 2008, Start an online travel business

Start a "travel-related online business" WITHOUT having to become a travel agent.

Feb 10, 2008, Funny - but quite true - travel agent training video.

Here's a hilarious - but quite true - travel agent training video. Do you have any idea of the type of clients you'd have to deal with...

Feb 6, 2008, Inmates give back to society ... in the travel industry.

This brief video can be found on YouTube. ( According to the person who posted it on YouTube, the video is a "segment from Michael Moore's TV Nation (1994) which investigates the use of prison labor in the travel industry".

Once you get past the irony  [ and the cruelty of jokes  that might cross your mind such as ... the realization that your home-office is not that bad after all ] ..... you will - hopefully - reflect on the fact that our industry - the Tourism/Travel industry - has a tremendous role and impact on the world we live in, and I also invite you to ask yourself these questions:  Am I contributing enough? Am I delivering true value to my clients?

Feb 6, 2008, Home-based travel agency - You can benefit by starting your own!

Home-based travel agency - You can benefit by starting your own!

Feb 4, 2008, The Affiliate Masters Course

Downloadable e-book explains the simple steps you can follow to succeed as an affiliate. - "Affiliate Marketing" is undoubtedly one of the best money-making opportunities on the internet

Feb 1, 2008, Selling Travel Means Selling

Kelly Monaghan, author of the Home-Based Travel Agent home study course explains that: "Selling Travel Means Selling"

Jan 30, 2008, What is a Host Agency?

Find out what a "host agency" is, how joining one could help you launch your travel business, and see a short list of recommended host agencies.

Nov 30, 2007, Get Google Ads Free! .... to promote your travel business

If you've read my FREE REPORT with the 10-steps for Starting and Running a Profitable Home-Based Travel Agency Business, then you know that I'm a big fan of using "pay-per-click advertising", such as Google Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing  to attract PRE-qualified visitors to YOUR travel website.

Now, one of the main reasons why many small business owners don't use Google Adwords (or other pay-per-click programs) it's because  they are afraid of spending the money.

If investing money on pay-per-click .....if investing money of attracting PRE-QUALIFIED visitors to your business is a concern for you, then you have to check this out:

Here's How to Get All Your Google AdWords Pay-Per-Clicks FREE!

Nov 30, 2007, Original Home Based Agent Show moving to San Diego in April

Nov. 30 , 2007: The industry's most comprehensive training and educational conference will spotlight Tours & Cruises, Family & Group Travel, Honeymoons & Romantic Getaways, Golf & Spa and the pioneering Technology Forum.

Nov 30, 2007, Books for Travel Agents

Books for future and existing travel agents

Nov 29, 2007, Free Service Sellers Masters Course

The Service Sellers Masters Course: the complete resource for building a client base for your travel-consulting business whether your clients are around the world... or around the block.

Apr 26, 2007, Down time equals opportunity

By Guest Author: Bob Abrames
http://www.abrames.com

It’s that time of year folks. Many of us are between seasons and businesses are a tad slower. Nothing wrong with that; in fact it’s a good thing. It means we have some time to do some marketing and customer service. They are one and the same thing if you do it right.

ACTION item for this week: Get on the telephone! It’s cheap. It’s effective, and it’s appreciated! Get that Rolodex out. Get last years files out. Call people.

Don’t try and sell them anything. Reaffirm to them that you appreciate their business. Tell them you are there if ever they need you. You may want to call them on the pretence of updating your database, anything. Don’t put them on the spot but leave them impressed enough that when they do want to book you are their agent. Owners and managers can do this, and so can the front line. And forget this idea of being ‘shy’. Shy and unemployed is a real bad combination.

Mar 31, 2007, Become a travel agent, and learn how to avoid these income-reducing problems.

Most travel agents settle for a mere fraction of the profits they SHOULD be making. Become a travel agent, and learn how to avoid these income-reducing problems asap.

Mar 25, 2007, How to become a high-earning affiliate

Free downloadable book provides step-by-step instructions for becoming a high-earning affiliate

Mar 21, 2007, TIME IS MONEY!

By Guest Author: Bob Abrames
http://www.abrames.com 

One of the two great equalizers in selling is time. Great sellers and poor sellers all deal with the same clock. No one has more or less time. They just do different things with their time! The more time you have for selling – the more you’ll sell, and the more money you’ll make. Here are a few tips to help you manage your time better.

Adopt a “worst-first” policy. Do the things you dislike most ‘first’, just to get rid of them. Tackle these issues early in the day so your mind can focus on the other events that are bound to happen. This even applies to those issues that may not be your highest priority. The idea is to feel good by getting rid of the “make you feel bad” issues. This will energize you so you can handle other tasks. You’ll find yourself much more positive to handle those callers and customers by not having those problems floating around the back of your mind.

Mar 6, 2007, Marketing Tips for Travel Agents - by marketing expert Dr. Carl Bennink

FREE marketing tips and ideas to help you improve your travel business

Jan 29, 2007, Home-Based Travel Agent - mini-course covering 'the basics'

If you've just begun to look for information about this topic, this mini-course will provide answers to your 'basic' questions.

Jan 20, 2007, Write a business plan to fast-track your profits

What information should be included in a business plan?

Jan 16, 2007, Top 12 recommended courses for new home-based travel agents

Access professionally designed and industry approved online courses for travel agents.

Jan 2, 2007, How the Travel Industry really works

If you are new to the travel industry (and even if you are not), you can get a very good idea about "How the Travel Industry Really Works" from a series of special reports published by Travel Weekly magazine from Sep. to Nov., 2006.

Each report focuses on one major area of the travel industry (cruises, hotels, tours, etc.)

Below, are the specific web address (URLs) you will need to view each special report. (The reports start on page 17 of each magazine issue).

AIRLINES:

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20060904/

RETAIL:

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20060918/

HOTELS:

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20061009/

TOURS:

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20061016/

CAR RENTALS:

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20061030/

CRUISES:

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20061113/

TECHNOLOGY

http://travelweekly.texterity.com/travelweekly/20061127/

I recommend you start by reading the report about how the RETAIL side of the business works:

Dec 21, 2006, Highly successful agents share their insider secrets

The latest issue of Travel Agent magazine (Dec 18, 2006) features 5 full pages of "best practices", offered by top-producing agents.

Visit the link below now to access the super cool online version of the magazine: