How I found Carlos the travel agent

I have always had difficulty "finding" other super corporate travel agents for our small travel agency. I personally telecommute from my home for the agency I work for and need a part time travel agent when one of the full time agents want to take their vacation days.

Our back up travel agent, who works part time, also telecommutes from his home in California (our home base is in Virginia) and he is fabulous. I found him one morning, while he was working for our after hours emergency travel service, he needed to call me, being one of the lead agents in the travel agency, I got on the phone with him. I had talked to this travel agent before, but that particular morning, I'm not sure why it happened, but we got into this great conversation and I was ecstatic at the way he handled the situation and he basically was functioning like I was functioning. I told my boss about him and it's been great having him be on board as a back up support system.

In case we would ever need a new employee, I would love to have contacts listed in my blog for future reference (an email is all I need).

Internet Searches: Are they Risky?

Can you really find your next corporate travel agent via the internet, without having to pay the headhunter fees? I say sure, why not. With this day of so much internet fraud, how can you be sure that this person, the experienced corporate travel agent who writes this blog and who is essentially advertising herself for new customers on the internet, letting possible new clients know that she is out here, eager to help them with their corporate travel arrangements, is really legitimate? How do you know she is for real? I personally have many corporate, long standing clients who would be willing to share their experiences with anyone who might be interested in allowing me to handle their travel arrangements.

I realize that you most likely don't know me from Adam and believe me, I can totally understand and respect your apprehension at getting involved with a total stranger via the internet. I believe, in my heart of hearts, that you will be ecstatic with your decision if you decide to "take a chance". Think of it this way; I'd be taking a chance on you too. *smile*

The majority of my current clientele, are located in the Washington, DC area and I have worked with many upstanding law firms, References available.

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.

Are you happy being a Corporate Travel Agent

I can't imagine myself doing any other job, because I have such a passion for this one. I love being a corporate travel agent and never afraid to learn something new. I look forward to helping people from the simplest of travel arrangements to the more complicated ones. Everything seems to balance itself out, after all is said and done. I never said I was a writer either, but yet, I do have a way of expressing my jovial self even via my emails. You might find that I tend to be very laid back and extremely down to earth, yet professional and honest. I treat everyone the same, from the little old lady who lives on a tight budget, to the government contractor, to the secretary who works for an "important" attorney, to the hairdresser in my town, to the ex NFL football player, to the Senator on Capitol Hill, to the Chief of Police from Anycity, USA and Europe as well. I treat everyone the same, with dignity and respect (did I tell you I was a fan of Dr. Phil lol) . These folks simply need my help in getting one thing off of their to do list for the day and I'm happy to help. Always there with a laugh and/or a smile. Many times, I've even made suggestions which they never even considered, such as: if they're taking a 6am flight out of a city, to stay in a hotel near the airport the night before, return their car the night before, then they have one less thing to fool with and possibly even save a one day rental on their car, depending on what time they picked it up on their arrival date. I'm not afraid to say "ewwwwwwwww, that's gonna cost you ALOT to make that change, but I'll do it for you if you'd like" or "if you stay overnight, even with the hotel cost, you're still saving money" or "are you willing to fly into Boston vs. Providence to save 700.00" (I remember a day when Providence was almost always the cheaper option.) I'm one of those people who are very much into saving the client money and I do the very best that I can.

So give me a call (703) 684-9830 or email me. I'll be happy to set you up with your next corporate travel arrangement. If you enjoy working with me, then I look forward to a long working relationship with you. I will maintain a personal travel profile for you and any special requests you might have. I've very diligent in continuing the search for decent seats, if you're initial seating assignments are not your first preference. So what are you waiting for. I might just be that perfect addition for your company as well, someone who takes good care of your companies travel arrangements. As my Dad used to say "you won't know unless you try, right" :-)

Luanne

I Love Being a Corporate Travel Agent

I believe it shows in my work as well. Currently, I am devising a way to promote our agency to obtain additional business. I look forward to new clients who find themselves too busy in the course of their daily lives to stop and book air travel on the internet, when our travel agency is well versed in doing the same job in less than half the time that it would take to search and search and search for the best prices. So give us a try, give us a call. We look forward to working with and welcoming you to Jaguar Travel Group.


Luanne
703-684-9830

Airline - Cheap ticket

Just a tip to those searching for "cheap" airfares. Don't assume that just because a website or even past history has secured the best airfares for you. Remember that just because Orbitz or Expedia have never failed you in the past, doesn't mean that paying a travel agent 42.00 to find a cheaper airfare won't work out for you. For instance, if you find a fare for 300.00 on one of those online sights, you might be able to find it through a fabulous travel agent for 230.00 and pay them a 42.00 ticketing fee and you're still ahead of the game. Plus, if you're on the road, wouldn't you rather ask for assistance from someone you know on a first name basis vs. getting transferred to a different agent every time who might be just plain old rude to you and there to just collect a check. I have to say, I'm worth my weight in gold.

Attention fellow corporate travel agents

Has anyone ever heard of this company? Know anything about them? Reputable? Looks like a head hunter to me, but I can't tell if it's just a headhunter for travel agents? Feel free to leave your comments. We all can help each other to do better for ourselves and a career we love.

A nice compliment today

Luanne, I planned a trip last week myself online. Took me approximately 2 hours and many hassles. In short, I again realize why I continue to come back to you for my travel planning. Thanks, tp

Hire an experienced corporate travel agent. I am worth it!!

Administrative assistant needed to handle corporate travel.

Are you looking to hire an assistant to book travel for your company online, to try and avoid the cost of a travel agency ticketing fee? Why not just send your work to me, an experienced travel agent to handle the travel arrangements instead? The travel agency that I work for, would charge a ticketing fee, per ticket (family discounts apply) and a lower costing reissue fee if changes are made which would require a ticket reissue. Depending on the volume of the work will determine whether or not your company would qualify for a discounted ticketing fee. I encourage you to give me a try. Trust me when I say you won't be disappointed in the friendly, competent and efficient service.

I have chatted with many clients who used to do their business travel with me, but their companies decided to let their administrative assistant handle the business travel arrangements for them in house. They tell me, it's just not the same and they miss knowing that I was just a phone call or email away and I would take care of their complete travel arrangement. Going through me was such a time saver for them.

Travel Agent Telecommuter

Is it possible to work from home for a corporate travel agency?

Yes it is possible and I have been doing it for the past 6 years or so. In the beginning, I along with every other bloomim' commuter, took to the roads, set in massive traffic jams each morning, headed off to my job, leaving my child behind with a day care provider, only to be stressed out each day when it came time to get him at the end of the day, only to be late 90pct of the time.

Since I have been telecommuting, my job has become so much more fulfilling, not that it wasn't before. It's awesome and I have to admit, I work harder from home doing my job (longer hours) than when I "had" to leave the office to go and pick up my son from day care. Plus, I can log on in the evening to finish up any last minute ticketing. It's been great and I'm much more productive. I realize that this is my job and the only way to get the bills paid is to work and be at work, so here I set, waiting for the phone to ring to help the next client. I work for a full service travel agency, however I have been given the priviledge of working from home. I have a direct line in which clients call me, if I'm on the other phone, at lunch or after normal business hours, you will get my voice mail. If I'm on vacation, the main office intercepts my phone calls and takes good care of the clients as well. We have a choice of two excellent back up travel agents to cover when I'm taking vacation.