What happens when you become an expert in your field? People seek you out for your advice. The question for many is, how can people actually find you? Indeed, when agents are asked about their biggest challenge, their answers fall into two areas: marketing to existing customers, as ...

How do you find the road to success? Well, the stops along the way involve training, training and still more training. In fact, the training never really stops when you’re a travel agent. In this annual issue we focus on the training programs you can take advantage of in ...

What you can deduct from your income taxes as a home-based travel business

You can reap many wonderful tax deductions when running a legitimate home-based travel business. Unfortunately too many home-based agents end up paying too much in taxes every year because they’re unaware of the small-business deductions that ...

You can make money booking airlines with the right host agency

The strangest thing happened to me the other day. I received the nicest email from an airline sales representative, who introduced himself to me and told me that if I ever need anything just to let him know. ...

Dealing with the legal implications of training and rewards programs

The economic downturn has resulted in many travel vendors renewing efforts to offer ongoing training, particularly on sales techniques, to travel agencies, employees of these agencies and agents working home. A related effort has been made to enhance ...

Why the key to the sales process is really preparation

In my first column in the January issue, I extolled the virtues of returning to the basics of business and, in particular, sales. Since the name of my column is “Sales Coach,” I find it imperative to continue ...

What to do when your client hesitates on buying the trip

M y last three columns have explored the sales process and networking to increase sales. Sales is not an event, it’s a process. But even if you remember and apply the process, you are likely to encounter ...

Selecting the best hand-held device, laptop and anti-virus program

I must say that your questions and the research involved in answering them are leading me to even newer and better “gadgets.” I’m learning about new products and services available to every agent working from home. So keep those

The wholesale company has introduced an updated and improved website

Funjet Agent Advantage (FAA), the online tool that provides everything you need to market and sell Funjet Vacations and key related suppliers, relaunched last month at www.FunjetAgentAdvantage.com,  and it is now available. FAA is an innovative web-based ...

The Virtual Luxury Expo, a first-time Virtual Travel Event, launched last month and is currently available at www.VirtualLuxuryExpo.com.  If you missed the live event, you can still see it all—including one-on-one interviews with top luxury travel executives, educational panels and a virtual tradeshow on demand at your leisure. ...

The Ratliffs balance a million-plus in sales with baby-sitting the grandkids

Sue and Ernie Ratliff are retirees who often start their day enjoying the forest views from their sunny back room’s expansive windows. They’re just an hour away from their three grandchildren, who come to visit them at ...

This consortium for home-based agents is offering a slew of new programs

M ore than 200 home-based travel agents descended on the Occidental Grand Xcaret on Mexico’s Riviera Maya this past November for NESTFEST, the fifth annual conference of the Network of Entrepreneurs Selling Travel. NEST is a travel ...

A roundup of all the educational courses on the Academy’s website

A s of today, more than 50,000 travel agents have taken at least one course on TravelAgentAcademy.com. The website continues to add courses, enabling you to expand your knowledge of the industry at no cost to you. ...

Here are 10 ways to get the most out of cruise lines’ training programs

Today, just about every major cruise line offers an online training course to help you specialize in its product. Most also offer webinars and in-person training. While becoming certified as a cruise expert gives you ...

Wholesalers are creating enticing rewards programs to win your loyalty

T he invention of loyalty programs was a stroke of genius. They were created to increase the revenue of the seller by enhancing the perceived value for members of the program. Loyalty and rewards programs were designed for and ...

How Perillo is using an incentive-based program to gain new agent awareness

Five years ago David Melhado, vice president account services of Sanna Mattson MacLeod, a Long Island, N.Y.-based marketing and advertising firm, walked into the offices of Perillo Tours in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., to review the policies and ...

These three top hotel companies support you with comprehensive training

A ccording to a report issued by PKF Hospitality Research in December, U.S. hotels have entered the initial stages of one of the deepest and longest recessions in the history of the domestic lodging industry. The research ...

Carlson Hotels’ Look to Book program lets you choose your rewards

A fter 17 years, Carlson Hotels’ Look to Book agent rewards program is still going strong. Launched in 1992, the program was reinvigorated this past fall. It now boasts a new design and a new website, www.looktobook.com, ...

Agent rewards are key for car rental companies hoping to boost bookings

T o reward agents, as well as encourage them to continue to book what’s often the forgotten stepchild of travel, car rental companies have long offered agent loyalty programs.

Two are new this year. Dollar Thrifty ...

Destinations offer even more training programs than ever to help you sell

The need for agents to cultivate a specialty has become one of the industry’s cardinal rules. That need is more necessary today than it was 30 years ago when Scotland introduced the first destination specialist ...

The new Encore resort is a luxury brand unto itself

Encore, Wynn Resorts’ newest property on the Las Vegas Strip, opened in December adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas. The property has been part of the Master Plan since the company bought the 200-plus acre site. But it’s also ...

These Riviera Maya resorts are focused on sustainable tourism 

Mexico tourism fared quite well in the first seven months of 2008. According to data from the Bank of Mexico’s International Visitor Count, from January to July of last year, the country received 13.620 million tourists, a 5.2 ...

The twin islands of St. Kitts & Nevis are filled with hidden wonders

St. Kitts and Nevis, part of the Leeward Islands, are like no other islands in the Caribbean. Their vibrant, lush vegetation is mixed with a unique history and culture that can provide your ...

From rain forests to beaches, this country offers a wide array of attractions

Too often, the Republic of Panama is associated with just one thing: the canal. Though this feat of engineering is certainly worth visiting, the country has so much more to offer: tropical rain ...

This restored city offers medieval buildings, great museums and lively neighborhoods

Bremen is probably not all that well known to Americans, but it should be. A commercial center for centuries, Bremen today is a mid-sized city where almost all tourist attractions are easily reached ...

The Kyoto region is the spiritual and cultural heart of Japan

Kyoto is the emperor’s traditional home, the spiritual and cultural heart of Japan. It has more than a thousand temples and shrines, man...

Abercrombie & Kent

Abercrombie & Kent is offering an eight-night Costa Rica fam for IATA-approved agents and companions, with two departures: May 16 and Oct. 17. The tour features visits to the Butterfly Garden, Monteverde’s cloud forest, Nectandra Botanical Garden and the Tortuguero Rainforest, among other ...