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Chapter 14
Home-Based Agents
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Three types of home-based agents | employees working at home, pt or ft independent contractors, and independent entrepreneurs who operate their own agencies |
| Home-based employees | Telecommuting. Great for outside sales agents. |
| Outside sales agents | people who bring new clients to an agency |
| Independent contractors | self employed person paid by a business to provide certain services. Saves company cost of benefits, social security taxes, office space, equipment and other costs. Must truly be independent. Must pay for own supplies, no co. training. |
| Host agency | gives independent contractors a means of obtaining domestic airline tickets, override commissions, marketing support, operational support, clout and credibility. |
| Host agency contract | specifies commission split (usually 70-30 or fee per transaction), monthly fee to cover expenses (GDS, invoices, supplies) |
| Owners of Home based travel agents | do not affiliate with an agency, make all decisions for their business. |
| Home based agents and air travel | Must have ARC appointment or issue tickets through an ARC-appointed agency. For international air, they book consolidator tickets that do not require ARC appointments or GDS access. |
| GDS Access | Not barrier to independents. Many have products that provide access through the Internet. Non-airline travel arrangements can be made on the agent only section of supplier websites. |
| Success for home based agencies | requires existing network of potential clients, specialization, and links with a traditional travel agency or association of agencies. Many are members of consortiums and CLIA. Participate in industry orgs |
| Reasons to join consortiums | buying power, qualify for overrides and additional support |
| Organizations designed to support home-based agents | National Association of Commissioned Agents (NACTA) and Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN) |
| NACTA | nonprofit trade assn reps indep contractors, outsie agents, tour-oriented, group-oriented agents and hosts. Owned by ASTA. Handbooks, E&O insurance, recommended hosts, comm. travel ins. program, discounts, fam trips, training, etc. Get ID numbers (via |
| Benefits of NACTA | Handbook, comm. travel ins., E&O insurance, discounts, training. fam trips, Travelsellers.com ID number to use with suppliers. Rates host agents. |
| OSSN | Like benefits of NACTA, plus surety bond protection, web page construction, health insurance. |
| TRUE | Travel Retailer Universal Enumeration is a globally recognized numeric code issued and maintained by IATA. Allows you to book travel products and services with thousands of suppliers. |
| Business plan | summary of why is expected from a business effort inc level of income, benefits, investment, goals |
| Elements of business plan | expectations, business concept or profile, mission statement, specific objectives, projections for the business, name |
| Atty needed to establish and file a Fictitious Business Name Statement | DBA filed with app govt officials (county and state). File forms and notice in papers |
| Atty needed to choose type of business | sole proprietorship, partnership corporation, LLC. Most home-based agencies are sole proprietorship |
| Atty needed to obtain business license | Some states req travel sellers to register. Local or country may require license to operate business out of your home. |
| Atty needed to evaluate business insurance needs | E&O and GL |
| Atty needed to prepare disclosure forms | written statement that identifies the info you have communicated to clients and is signed by clients. Meant to prevent legal problems. |
| Elements of disclosure notice | receipt of documents, reap of the sell, cancellation and refund policies, offers insurance |
| Atty needed for limited power of atty | some indep agents use this as authorization to process phone orders charged to the client's credit card to protect themselves from disputed charges. |
| Atty needed to review contracts | contracts with host agency or suppliers |
| Acct needed to assess tax implications of the type of business selected | Sole, partner, LLC |
| Acct needed to evaluate business plan | format and content |
| Acct needed to set up books | funding requests, taxes, accounting systems. Software available |
| Acct needed to open bank accounts | home based usually open 2 checking accounts: trust account for client funds and account for operating expenses. |
| Acct needed for establishing a merchant account | if charging service fees or selling any products or services, you need a merchant account with a credit card company.Can also accept credit card charges on your website with this account. |
| Acct needed to set up Fed tax ID number | EIN |
| Basic elements of an office | stationery and business cards, office space, furniture, equipment, reference library |
| Office equipment | phone line in biz name, voice mail, computer/fax, laptop, internet access, software (word, accounting, web development, database or GDS |
| Web site | Important for home agents because no store front. |
| Steps to establish web presence | determine purpose and goals of site, register domain name, choose hosting company, dev and design, tools for online booking, maintain, evaluate/adapt, keep customers coming back - keep it interesting. |
| log analyses | reports done by web host to track visitor information (hits, page views, unique visitors) |
| Evaluating a host agency or neighborhood agency to affiliate | specialization match? training? support? experiences, references, professionalism, compatibility, benefits, finances. |
| establishing relationships with suppliers | develop your network so you can provide sales to supplier. Associations, consortiums, etc. |
| Marketing mix | 4 Ps - product, promotion, place and price |
| Product | most home agents specialize in a type of product or activity, a target market or a destination |
| Promotion | consider target market and budget when choosing a method |
| Place | home office, Internet presence, "house" calls, and travel seminars in meeting rooms and libraries. |
| Price | home agents usually can't offer best price but can offer outstanding service, personal attention to each client and thorough knowledge of their niche. |
| Develop brochure | include mission statement, list of services, benefits to clients, credentials, testimonials, organizations you belong to, any guarantees you offer to keep clients satisfied. |
| Differentiate your services | provide customized, personalized service |
| customer relationship marketing | enables cos to use information about clients' preferences and interests to create effective marketing.CRM weds personal attn and technology to provide personalized service and build lasting relationships with clients. |
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