Agent Tricks of the Travel Trade
Agent Tricks of the Travel Trade by Robert Blanc
I'll be forthright: I'm not a homemaker. I feel more at ease
constantly on the move, city after city, mountaintop to seaside
surf, living out of my suitcase and fumbling through a foreign
language phrase book, than I feel even comfy and cozy, napping
on my couch on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps I'm a little crazy,
but I find it thrilling sprinting to make a connecting flight
(even if it's the red eye); I believe it convenient when the
airline informs me my luggage is a flight behind, leaving
unencumbered to begin sightseeing immediately; and I think
myself resourceful when I arrive at a booked hotel only to
realize I forgot to make reservations but still haggle a room.
Of course, while I don't mind any of the perceived headaches of
traveling, I do mind the high costs often associated with it.
Traveling, for me, is primarily about escaping--whether it be
work, commuting, obligations, sometimes even family and
friends--but how is it an escape if I'm worried about how much
I'm spending the entire trip?
I mention cost as something that would potentially worry me were
it not for the fact that, in reality, it doesn't worry me at
all. At least not since I wised up, did the requisite research
and taught myself the agent tricks of the travel trade. Travel
agents' tricks that is, because in addition to being a constant
traveler and writer, I am also a licensed travel agent. Not in
the sense that I work for others, booking their hotels, finding
their flights, or landing them a deal on an Alaskan cruise.
Truth is, I only use my license for personal escapes (well,
okay, occasionally for family and friends too, but only when
their remarks regarding my debonair good lucks are particularly
flattering).
If you've never heard of this travel industry loophole before,
this may sound somewhat (or completely) preposterous. In fact,
however, it is quite common among everyday people, both those
who travel often or but once a year, both those whose work
relates to travel to those whose work relates only to that which
remains stationary. What I mean, plain and simple, is
anyone--you, me, your second cousin Otto, or my next-door
neighbor Irene--can get their travel agent's license
lickety-split, and immediately begin reaping the benefits.
First things first: when making travel arrangements for
themselves, every agent knows not to book a single step of their
journey through one of their own, i.e. other travel agents.
Instead, they use travel consolidators.
Think about the difference those terms: agent and consolidator.
An agent, in any industry where they're principal players,
obviously gets something in return for the services they
provide. In sports, agents represent athletes, working off the
field to win their clients lucrative contracts and commercial
cameos so the athlete can in turn, without financial
distractions, concentrate and win on the field. For these
services, agents win themselves a percentage of every deal they
broker. The same is true in showbiz, modeling, or corporations
where headhunters wheel and deal multi-million dollar salaries
and stock incentive plans for their CEO clients. Likewise, then,
in the travel industry, agents receive discounts, courtesies and
other special benefits, not from the customer for whom they book
a hotel or flight, but from the vendor providing that service
(i.e. the hotel chain or airline) who profits from the customer.
As agents for airlines, etc., they drive customers toward
vendors whom offer them the most in return.
A consolidator, on the other hand, does virtually the opposite.
Rather than inflate the costs of travel by collecting fees, they
combine, for the sake of efficiency, the expensive and unstable
parts of travel into a cheaper, more solid whole. They work to
maximize vendor's numbers, ratios and the cost per head. Think
about it in terms of magazine publishing: the real cost in
printing an issue is not the number of copies made, but merely
arranging and setting the plates that will allow the print run
in the first place. Once that is set to go, the only added costs
are that of extra paper and ink. The travel industry is the
same, the more spaces that fill, the cheaper tickets or rooms
become per person. As in any industry, consumers (i.e. travelers
in this case) benefit from the sheer volume of numbers (i.e. all
travelers, yourself included).
You, as a licensed travel agent would obtain special contact
with these consolidators and the deals vendors must offer to
maximize their costs per person. But while it's all well and
good to make arrangements through a consolidator as opposed to
an agent, just because you acquire a license (available online
in under an hour) doesn't mean the consolidator will believe
you're as much a travel professional as they are. To avoid
common mistakes that expose amateurs from pros, you must learn
the proper lingo and travel codes. For that there are volumes of
eBooks (with corresponding printed versions) that provide the
requisite knowledge, which you can quickly study before
contacting a consolidator and easily flip through if put on the
spot. Get these references. Some of them are thick, but in
reality you'll spend less than a hundred dollars on everything
you need to in turn potentially save thousands on the first trip
you plan with your travel agent's license in hand.
Furthermore, instead of turning to the discount fare finders
like Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity or Priceline that
lay-travelers search, as a travel agent, you additionally gain
access to the lesser known, but more lucrative sites travel
consolidators utilize.
Together, the benefits will materialize almost immediately. Buy
plane tickets the day before the flight's scheduled to depart,
but only pay what you would have had you purchased tickets two
months in advance. Get a spacious cruise ship cabin beside the
captain's quarters for the price of an ocean-level closet. Find
yourself lodging in the seaside, honeymoon suite for the price
you might have paid for the basement hide-a-bed beside the ice
machine.
Finally, the travel industry is a weird and wonderful creature,
in this case, thankfully profit driven as much as other
industries we often loathe. To those who present themselves as
viable agents, promoting and thus earning money for the industry
as a whole, it means endless perks. I get more special offers
from airlines, cruise lines, and packaged tour companies than I
know what to do with. For me, casinos, theme parks, and luxury
resorts are not necessarily what I strive for, but if that is
your cup of tea and your hocus pocus agenting appears
legitimate, you'll suddenly find yourself choosing between the
best of many worlds: free weekends in the Napa Valley, first
class seats to Tokyo, an all expense paid safari, a cruise down
the Nile...
So what are you waiting for, get started! Find a comprehensive
eBook or alternate guide that takes you through the process of
becoming a travel agent, step-by-step. Don't sit on this
opportunity, but rather start traveling cheaply, today...
As for me, I've got a flight to catch...
Now, where did I put my passport?
Copyright 2006, Robert K. Blanc. All Rights Reserved.