2006 - Becoming a Travel Agent

I have many people ask me if becoming a travel agent is lucrative for them at this point in the century. I honestly have to tell them no, unless you have another income to supplement your travel agent career. I also tell them, that it's really not worth getting into if they are just wanting to travel. Many of the discounts travel agents used to get many years ago, are no longer offered. I find that hotel discounts are about the best ones still out there, along with the cruise discounts, however, it's almost worth paying a little extra to ensure that you'll be able to take that cruise for sure (instead of waiting for a guarantee). I certainly don't recommend getting into this business if your number one goal is to travel. I say, be a flight attendant or something like that. For that job, you must go; it's part of the job description. I think you'll get a whole lot more mileage (no pun intended) doing that type of job in the travel industry vs. being a travel agent. When I started, over 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to build up a pretty decent client base, many of whom I still work with to this day, so there is longevity if you are able to sign on with a larger travel agency to get your foot in the door and learn from the best. If you're a people person and enjoy customer service type of work, then you might do well in this business. Sure there will be folks who retire and open new doors for new agents, but for the most part, there are many agents out there who struggle in this industry, who are continually taking pay cuts for one reason or another, many times it's due to larger companies, buying up smaller companies and the smaller companies are then forced to use the new owner's travel agency, thereby creating a job loss for the travel agent. That happens frequently and it's unfortunate for everyone. Many times, the employee's are disappointed by the change of agents too. Many times, clients have come back to me to just say Hello and how much they miss working with me. It really breaks my heart, because I sincerely miss working with them as well. Many times, I've had clients leave their companies, only to continue working with good ole Luanne :-) It's a huge compliment when my clients include me as part of their daily routine and planning of their travel schedules.