Overall why not to become a travel agent

[minnie mum]

Look at the numbers: you can see it's becoming less necessary in the United States.

It may be less necessary for travel in the US. But not everyone limits themselves to travel in their own country. And while it may not be a growing industry, even the figures in the OP say that it will only decline by 12%. Which means, to me, that significant numbers of American travellers, will continue to use TAs for certain categories of trips for the foreseeable future.

 

[NewRVLady]

Luxury travel is one of the specialties that is booming.

A young family with kids who are going to disney is looking for the perks etc etc. A retired couple without kids is looking for concierge, we want the tours, the adr's made for us etc etc.

Also now that the economy is bouncing back and finally, finally the dollar is looking good. European travel is becoming popular.

Really? Most retirees aren't living in luxury
I planned our complete WDW trip last nov-our first as a "retiree"....didn't do concierge or extras.
We are comfortable-but i'm not doing a bunch of expensive extras just because my kids aren't with us-haven't been with us for the last 15 years of travel.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

Really? Most retirees aren't living in luxury
I planned our complete WDW trip last nov-our first as a "retiree"....didn't do concierge or extras.
We are comfortable-but i'm not doing a bunch of expensive extras just because my kids aren't with us-haven't been with us for the last 15 years of travel.

And most retirees aren't traveling either. Senior citizens only make up 18% of the travel market.

 

[eliza61]

Really? Most retirees aren't living in luxury
I planned our complete WDW trip last nov-our first as a "retiree"....didn't do concierge or extras.
We are comfortable-but i'm not doing a bunch of expensive extras just because my kids aren't with us-haven't been with us for the last 15 years of travel.

Ok maybe to general. enough retirees have spending cash that its a growing business.

Everyone I know who is retired travels luxury. we don't go otherwise. My secretary who just retired simply says... "If I have to travel like I live, why bother"

I'm retiring in October of next year. My gift to myself is one month at the world, I plan on staying at a villa at the Poly and inviting guest to come and go throughout the month. Then I plan on going to Portugal for a few weeks.

 

[eliza61]

And most retirees aren't traveling either. Senior citizens only make up 18% of the travel market.

put that into perspective. they are only about 12% of the population and according to the census they owned 77% of the financial assets in this country.

Also "travel market" is defined many ways. Many seniors do travel if only to visit relatives which usually is counted differently.

 

[NewRVLady]

Ok maybe to general. enough retirees have spending cash that its a growing business.

Everyone I know who is retired travels luxury. we don't go otherwise. .

So funny-we are the only people we know who travel A LOT and it isn't what I consider "Luxury Travel"
We mostly drive-stay in Hampton Inn
interesting -Incomes of seniors-
http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/10/retirement/retirement-income/index.html

Best and worst states for retirement income - income for over 65-and its mostly in the $35K range

State Median Income (ages 65 and over)
Top 5
Nevada - $39,181
Hawaii $51,361
Arizona $37,581
New Mexico $34,657
Florida $34,892
Bottom 5
New Hampshire $38,296
New Jersey $40,850
Rhode Island $ $32,874
North Dakota $ $31,743
Massachusetts $35,483

 

[usnuzuloose]

The biggest draw back is you don't get paid until they have completed their travel. And then people can always cancel. Sometimes you can do a lot of leg work and people change their minds, which is their privilege to do so. There really is no such thing as part time travel agent. People can call anytime.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

put that into perspective. they are only about 12% of the population and according to the census they owned 77% of the financial assets in this country.

Also "travel market" is defined many ways. Many seniors do travel if only to visit relatives which usually is counted differently.

Correct, but a major percent of a senior citizens wealth is in the form of home equity. It's not sitting in a bank or retirement account. Many young people travel to visit relatives too. That isn't counted for this group either.

 

[DanceswithDisney]

The biggest draw back is you don't get paid until they have completed their travel. And then people can always cancel. Sometimes you can do a lot of leg work and people change their minds, which is their privilege to do so. There really is no such thing as part time travel agent. People can call anytime.

My agent charges a hefty consultation fee before he does any work. He gets paid whether I take his quote or not. He does not have Sunday hours and frequently takes vacations himself. He is only reachable on vacation by those who are traveling when he is.

He is also closed to new business unless a referral or a repeat customer. He is worth every penny!

 

[yeahdisney]

I really do not wish to high jack the thread but here I goooo. Could those who have responded here that have traveled France, Europe take a peek at travelzoo.com top 20. The $1500 deal to Rome, France, Italy would two ladies age 49ish (forever) be safe on it and do you think it would be a fun, informative trip? Thank you so much. We have passports not visas and we would go nov 28th date. You can PM me so not to high jack the thread.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We use a TA for cruises because she gives us an onboard credit worth $200 for a week on a Disney cruise.

She is currently negotiating a sweet deal on a European river cruise.

Her specialty is corporate rewards (incentive cruises), so she books a lot of large groups.

She travels a lot, especially when escorting large groups, but still keeps in touch via the Internet or her cell phone. She has called from Europe just to answer our questions.

When we're traveling state side we just do our own bookings.

 

[NewRVLady]

put that into perspective. they are only about 12% of the population and according to the census they owned 77% of the financial assets in this country.
.

Actually I think the statistic is 12% of the USA population( not the seniors) own 77% of the country's assets

 

[theworldneedscolor]

It is merely a prediction, it does not make it so. The biggest segment of the country using Travel Agents are in fact Millenials because they are so overwhelmed with information.

Um, what? Where are you getting this? I am a millenial, and I have an extremely hard time believing this. I do not know a single person is my general age range who has used a travel agent. Why would we? Our generation is the most technologically advanced; it is easy to look up information on the internet and find the best deals to put together a DIY vacation.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I am my own travel agent. I do all of the research, I book my own flights, I price compare, I am a wizard at Priceline using the various bidding travel websites.

I just booked a trip to Hawaii over the last few days. Two islands, a plane hop, and I got what I consider a really good deal. When I booked Aulani for that portion of the stay, they asked if I had flights. I did and told them what prices I got...they said they couldn't beat it.

I guess I am doing okay without a travel agent, but I am SO CURIOUS to see if they can do a better deal. I also prefer to book directly (unless using PL) with the airline and/or hotel websites.

Also, how do you find a travel agent? Do you just Google Travel Agent? LOL!

 

[deedeetoo]

The only time I have used a travel agent in the past 20 years was when we booked cruises, and that is because you get "perks" when booking with travel agents. They give you money to use onboard, or pay your tips for you, or give you wine or free dinners. This of course comes out of their commission so they make less, but that is how they get the business.

A few years we traveled to Europe and I planned it all myself, including reserving hotels, trains, museum admissions, tours and airport transportation. It can all be done on line. Tripadvisor has lots of info about locations all over the world. I can't see the point of using a travel agent now that the internet makes it all so easy.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Tripadvisor is great! I love reading both the positives and the negatives, and the truly negative ones crack me up sometimes. I love how they give an overall feel for a resort or hotel or motel by having people post their own pictures.

 

[DanceswithDisney]

No one from TripAdvisor, or CruiseCritic or even the Disboards is willing to put their professional reputation on the line with their advice. Yes you can do it all yourself but just wait until something goes wrong, you are going to wish you had an advocate there for you!

 

[LBIJim]

One of my mom's friends was a travel agent in the pre-internet age, so we used to use her and let her get commissions, even though I could have easily called airline and hotel 800 numbers to book. One of the times, however, she booked the wrong kind of Disney tickets, and I wasn't savvy enough at the time to realize I could have just upgraded them when we got there.

But I haven't used a travel agent since the millennium changed, except for something very unusual, like the trip to Cuba.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It's a guess, based on the fact that more and more people, especially in the United States, do their own travel booking online.

I think it will be a niche market not that it isn't already. But the TA's of yesterday are done. As has been posted, so easy to do it all yourself. When I have a specific need that requires a TA, I will use one. But so far, that has only been for cruises--and usually it is because they offer a perk, so why not?

 

[TifffanyD]

I am my own travel agent. I do all of the research, I book my own flights, I price compare, I am a wizard at Priceline using the various bidding travel websites.

I just booked a trip to Hawaii over the last few days. Two islands, a plane hop, and I got what I consider a really good deal. When I booked Aulani for that portion of the stay, they asked if I had flights. I did and told them what prices I got...they said they couldn't beat it.

I guess I am doing okay without a travel agent, but I am SO CURIOUS to see if they can do a better deal. I also prefer to book directly (unless using PL) with the airline and/or hotel websites.

Also, how do you find a travel agent? Do you just Google Travel Agent? LOL!

I would NOT just Google. I would ask friends for recommendations. It's just like finding a doctor, dentist, or electrician lol