Setting Up Travel Agency????

[angelica7]

Hello guys,

I intend to set up a travel agency. Do anyone have tips for this?

Cheers

 

[freyjacksen]

Most people working within the industry know that margins are slim for retail travel agencies. If there's a profit to be made within the first two to three years of trading, and you're prepared to do the grafting, then perhaps it's time to start working on a proper business plan, and consider setting up your own travel agency. Once you've decided this is what you want to do, you need to decide on your trading name, which is what will sit above your door and on your website for many a year to come. Its really very important to find yourself a good local accountant, who can assist you with all of the above for a monthly fee.

summer camp | canada camps

 

[jim_gold]

To make any money in this industry you need to be in a well-defined niche, and I'm not talking about your geo location as an agency, that you understand well and can bring something unique. As said above the margins are slim in this industry, partic. for flights and hotels, and dominated by organisations with more experience than you. So focus on value-added.

 

[ChrisAITY]

All I can say is, I had this dream, until I realized the finances involved and the security required... It will happen one day for me, but when the finances are secure to start up properly.....

Best of Luck... as somebody has said, focus on a niche if you can and build from there..... Focus online first, before moving into a retail unit AND make sure you understand everything you need to before starting up.....

It can be rewarding but don't expect it to happen straight away

ABTA and Atol is required or something similar that can offer the same sort of thing e.g. Global, TTA....

 

[MikeJ]

I've a friend who works with travelcounsellors

http://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/Careers

Does ok, but has been thinking of moving on as they take fair part of his income to cover the "background" costs.

 

[yazswebdesign]

Hello guys,

I intend to set up a travel agency. Do anyone have tips for this?

Cheers

Get a website system that can manage all aspects of your services and use that one database of information to manage the business. Having a different way of booking in store to the way they book online may be difficult to synchronise.

 

[smo]

Hello guys,

I intend to set up a travel agency. Do anyone have tips for this?

Cheers

My advice - Dont.

Have you seen how many travel agencies and companies have gone out of business in the last 3 years???? The highstreet is dominated with the big names and to be honest I wouldnt travel with anyone else simply because they are fully certified, insured and easy to track down if there is a problem. They are also far less likely to go bust.

 

[ChrisAITY]

My advice - Dont.

Have you seen how many travel agencies and companies have gone out of business in the last 3 years???? The highstreet is dominated with the big names and to be honest I wouldnt travel with anyone else simply because they are fully certified, insured and easy to track down if there is a problem. They are also far less likely to go bust.

Worst advice ever... I'm sorry but a handful of companies went bust, and if you look at stats, how many other independent travel agencies are out there at the moment...... Just because a few go busts doesn't mean everyone will be the same....

Providing the agency is fully insured, certified etc there will be no issues It's not always about the big boys

 

[smo]

Its not the worst advice ever at all - its common sense form a business perspective, and the views of a consumer as well.

Its a very volitile business where there have been several high profile companies went bust leaving tens-of-thousands stranded abroad. This on top of countless independant agents going bust as well just proves my point.

As a consumer my money is much safer with the likes of thomas cook than with a one-man-band independant, all things are not equal and in this case size does matter.

 

[GraemeL]

Its not the worst advice ever at all - its common sense form a business perspective, and the views of a consumer as well.

Have to agree. I will stick my neck out and say that holiday buying patterns are still shifting, moving away from packages bought in a shop to DIY build your own on net.

 

[ChrisAITY]

If there was a holiday from a brand that's not as big as Thomas Cook for example, BUT they were both protected exactly the same, your money would be safe with both.. what would you prefer...... IF the 'not as big' company was cheaper by £150... You would go on the same holiday, simply because of the name............... EVEN though they were both protected exactly the same...

Under keyword 'holidays' on Google, on page 11, theres a site: http://www.regent-holidays.co.uk/

They are fully protected, have won awards, but what your saying is you wouldn't book with them?????????????

I rest my case...... Providing you do it right, there's no reason why any company would go bust!!!!

 

[angelica7]

Thanks folks.

How does Niche works?

 

[kate1]

Also I believe its incredibly difficult to get a merchant account which you cant survive without - as its a high risk business.

 

[ChrisAITY]

A 'niche' market is something that you intend to be specific about........ e.g. in travel, a niche would be only selling holidays to the USA, or only focusing on self catering holidays, or holidays for young people etc.... Focusing on a niche is basically saying to focus on a specific part of the 'holiday'

Hope that makes sense

 

[angelica7]

I am NOT interested in holiday packages. I just need to sell flight ticket.

 

[ChrisAITY]

Right, so it's not going to be holidays, it's going to be JUST flights (NO hotels or packages)???

 

[smo]

I am NOT interested in holiday packages. I just need to sell flight ticket.

Do you know anything about the travel industry or indeed business in general?

Are you simply after a get-rich-quick scheme where you think you can sell flights cheaply and make a quick buck easily with no comeback (hence no holiday packages)???

 

[Dave Kinnel]

Thanks folks.

How does Niche works?

For niche also think limited, fickle and possibly a "fad" market.

 

[ChrisAITY]

Do you know anything about the travel industry or indeed business in general?

Are you simply after a get-rich-quick scheme where you think you can sell flights cheaply and make a quick buck easily with no comeback (hence no holiday packages)???

Completely agree with this!!!

 

[Calvin Crane]

I found this thread on a search and so am chipping in my position. I have created a niche and get good online traffic (my niche is the island of Antigua) but I have no product. I consider the cost of ABTA very prohibitive and looked at travel counsellors link .
And also at inteletravel.com which sounded great until it was clear that you don't get access to half of the products they say because they themselves can't get ABTA bonding! Here is a very good read on it- https://botwatch.blog/2018/04/05/all-you-need-to-know-about-inteletravel/.

So that doesn't sound great either but it was at a decent price point its a Multi Layered Marketing system.

What I would love is for a proper smaller agency to perhaps advertise with me so I can monetise my niche because until I can gauge the real intent of the traffic I don't think setting up as a travel agent is the right thing to do despite my targeted traffic.

An agents here interested in advertising just look up 'best antigua'.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

There are plenty of agency type companies you can become a agent from where you use their site with your headings on, book the flights through them and get the commission. the good area to get into is flights for companies where travel is a normal occasion like say the oil industry where companies fly staff all around the world regulatory. Most is handled by a secretary to the operations manager

Something like this
https://www.explorertravel.co.uk/?g...wC3ix7sLI3R1b2r0XANVAS2RYEd10WzRoCTNYQAvD_BwE

 

[Calvin Crane]

Thanks I looked at that link. It is quite a steep entry point I think but others might not , in my case I already did a lot of the hard work , I think getting my own ABTA or TTL Global Travel Group license is the only way forwards or try to find agents who want to advertise on my page.

Actually Global is 15k! yikes would take me a few years to get a profit for a niche.

OK I am paying all this for a logo and access to the products! So Affiliate marketing may be the only way to monetise this then for the moment which is not at all great.

I thought I had got the hard bit done!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Sorry but if think 15K is expensive and you want to set up a travel agency and get ABTA approval you stand no chance, maybe you need to do some planning of costs etc and see the rather large amount of money you would require and where your sales would come from

ABTA is basically a insurance system where agents pay in large sums of money to protect their customers in case you go buts. ABTA then uses this money from all companies to pay out if the worst happens, obviously there are strict conditions to using ABTA

 

[Calvin Crane]

I hope to be back here and prove you wrong! I have found an option with Travel Trust Association

£30+VAT per month plus £7 per month for Public Liability Insurance.Total £43 per monthpayable by standing order(to be set up for the first day of each month).

·£100+VAT setup fee (£120).Payable once your application has been approved (non-refundable)

I am reading through waiting for an issue such as with intelitravel MLM system but unlike intelitravel these guys are fully bonded so I am hopeful I get access to the systems I need to sell.

 

[Calvin Crane]

Thank you David I will.