How To Make Money in the Travel Business
ake no bones about it, the travel industry is a multi-billion per year industry. The question is how does the average person tap into this and make money. The obvious choice is to get a job in the industry, but most jobs (other than pilots and executives) don’t really pay that well. Here are a few options:
1. Start as a Work From Home Travel Agent. Many agencies are no longer spending money on storefronts and are employing work from home agents. The pay is pretty low, but the benefits are often getting travel insider deals known as “FAM” (familiarization) trips intended to get your excited to come back and “sell” the destination to your clients. Some will train on the job and others will want you to have some formal travel education. There are travel schools that offer training, but more and more companies are offering access to Home Study Travel Courses.
2. Become an Independent Agent of a Host Agency. A host agency is one that will allow an agent to align with them as an independent agent. Some charge up front fees, monthly fee, or a combination of both. There is usually limited training when working with a host agency, although most will provide resources for training and some offer websites for you or your clients. The one I recommend is JoyStar as I have worked an an agent with them in the past and they have a lot to offer and I can recommend them with confidence. The best program to start with is their Agent Advantage Program (currently at a cost of $100 plus $26 per month roughly) where they partner you with a seasoned travel agent to help you learn the business. DISCLOSURE: I am a stock holder in the company.
3. Start your own agency. There are many network marketing companies such as YTB Travel that offer work from home opportunities in the travel business. The upside is that you can start your own agency for a fraction of a franchise (roughly $500 & $50 per month) and you will have a travel website that you can send your customers to. The downsides are that you need to be aggressive and take initiative when it comes to learning the business, plus you will pay more than if you went with a host agency. Also, many of the people that get involved in network marketing based travel companies, lose focus of building a travel business and are lured into becoming recruiters where they are paid to recruit new travel agents. Lastly, travel commissions are generally low, so you will have to really work to build a solid referral base to earn any real money.
4. Sell Travel Services as an Affiliate Marketer. Affiliate Marketing is a great way to make money in any field. Your options are limited when it comes to travel companies that offer affiliate programs, but they do exist. I recommend The Super Affiliate Handbook as a means of learning how to make money in affiliate marketing and I recommend Commission Junction as a great place to find travel affiliates. There is definitely a cost to make money this way as you will need to either invest money in marketing or building a website or blog that generates enough web traffic to make it profitable.
5. Specialty Travel. It’s no secret that specialists make more money than generalists no matter what the industry and travel is no different. As you learn the travel business, you will identify arenas that you can better relate to than others as well as the ones that are more profitable. Here are a few common travel specialities:
- Cruise Specialist
- Tour Operator
- Travel Consolidator
- Missionary Travel
- Corporate Travel
- Golf Packages
- Gambling Trips (Las Vegas, Atlantic City)
- School Travel
If you think hard enough, I am sure you can come up with even more than these.