I'm in the very beginning stages of looking into becoming a TA. One article I was reading was boasting about Best Day Ever travel. Their start up cost for the better package which includes them helping with client referrals is $3000. Is this an industry standard?
Hey. I have my travel agent iata card. I’m wondering if any airlines offer discounts for agents travel?
I've been to 8 countries and around 10-15 places within India and i think I have great knowledge of places that I visited and I need someone to help me with starting a travel company which organizes group trips for young travellers.
I'm in the process of starting my own travel agency, and one thing I'm struggling with is creating professional-looking proposals for clients.
Before I reinvent the wheel, I thought I'd ask here.
Would anyone be willing to share a proposal or itinerary template they use? It can be for vacations, honeymoon packages, group tours, or anything similar. Even a screenshot with personal/client details blurred out would be incredibly helpful.
I'd love to see:
Thanks in advance! Hoping to learn from those who've been doing this longer than I have.
Hi all — I'm the founder of WiseTravel, a global flight-booking platform, and I'm building a partner program for independent advisors. Wanted to run it by this community and get your honest take.
The idea:
Two ways it can work: a referral link, or booking under your partner account — whichever fits your workflow.
Mostly I'd love feedback: is this something you'd actually use, and what would make it better? Happy to send a full sample — comment or DM me.
Hey all, looking for some real-world input before we commit time and money to this.
My business partner and I are setting up a two-person travel agency. We're both based in the Czech Republic. My partner has hands-on professional GDS experience with Apollo and Galileo (Travelport) from his current job at an agency. I handle sales/marketing.
**The model:** We want to focus on international long-haul airfare — mainly business class and premium economy — sold to US-based clients. Our plan is to use net fares plus our own markup (not relying on airline commissions), quoting clients live on calls.
**What we've found so far:**
We tried several US host agencies (Nexion, WorldVia, Direct Travel, TPI) and all of them require US residency for the agent, not just a US business entity. A Wyoming/Delaware LLC alone doesn't solve this — confirmed this directly with a couple of them.
We're now looking at UK/European consolidators instead, since the US residency rule seems tied to ARC/Seller-of-Travel law specifically, not to Travelport itself. We came across Skylord Travel (UK) as a possible option, but haven't gotten a response yet.
**Questions:**
We've already ruled out partnering with my partner's current employer for personal reasons, so we're specifically looking for an independent path. Appreciate any honest input, including if you think this plan has a fundamental flaw we're not seeing.
Thanks!
I’ve recently started my travel journey around SE Asia and I absolutely love it. I’d love to make a career out of travelling and allowing other people to have experiences like this. Is the job good alongside university or something I should explore more after my degree?
TIA :)
Hello! I'm looking to book a trip in Aug for 6 people: 2 adults, 4 kids ages 14, 11, 10, and 8. Ideally its someplace warm, kid-friendly, safe (in general, and to be an American!), and we can stay all in 1 room (if the price works out, 2 rooms are fine). We were looking at Xcaret because it's an All-Inclusive with lots of activities for all the ages, but I've read that people are having a lot of bad experiences there lately due to the increase in demand and their new systems.
We aren't picky about location, we all have passports, just want to take the kids somewhere new and fun, ideally we keep it all under 8500 including airfare. If anyone could offer some ideas that would be amazing, thanks!
Hi everyone,
I'm currently looking for a job opportunity in the travel industry, particularly in travel sales or travel operations. I have prior experience in the travel sector and am eager to contribute my skills to a dynamic team.
If you know of any openings or can refer me, I'd greatly appreciate your support.
I had a client booked for Miami, with all the usual spots, South Beach, a little Havana tour, Vizcaya museum, and a Miami boat tour…everything sorted and locked in.
Then the changes started.
Day 1:
Actually, can we skip the boat tour and do a food tour instead?
Sure, easy fix.
Day 2:
Forget Little Havana, we want to go to Wynwood Walls instead.
Alright, no problem.
A few hours later:
Were not in the mood for museums anymore. Can we swap Vizcaya for a beach day in Key Biscayne?
At this point, I'm just flipping between tabs, checking availability, confirming whats refundable, and praying i dont mess anything up.
Every small change turns into 20 minutes of rebooking, resending, and updating It just keeps piling up.
How do you stay organized and keep up with it all without losing your mind?
Hey, I just had a potential client email me. They asked for a quote on a trip. However the way they worded everything was very specific using airport codes, asking for specific hotels such as an (economy) room. Which all was kinda suspicious to me since most clients don’t know all that. But then at the end they said preferably through Expedia TAAP, and to send the credit card companies they accept.
I’m still new to this industry but this seemed kinda fishy to me.
Hey guys so I just finished the Universal training, and I was looking into the discounts you get. So for the hotels and tickets the discounts seem pretty good, but I was reading the requirements and for the hotels it’s says you need a IATA number at booking instead of having to present you CLIA, or IATA card at the hotel. I only have my CLIA right now so I was wondering if that would still work since they used to accept CLIA as verification. I’d appreciate anyone who has used their hotels discounts before to let me know
I’ve worked in the travel industry for a number of years and, whilst staff travel is obviously an incredible benefit, I’ve always felt many of the other travel-related perks are fragmented, difficult to access or have become less valuable over time.
For example, hotel discounts, supplier reward programmes, travel agent rates and other travel perks often seem to be spread across different websites, with some offers no longer available or difficult to find.
I’m genuinely interested in hearing other people’s experiences.
What travel-related employee benefits do you actually use?
Which benefits have disappeared over the years that you miss?
What travel benefit do you think could be improved?
If your employer could introduce one new travel-related benefit, what would it be?
I’m just interested to see whether other people have had the same experience.
Had a client come back from a trip last week and tell me she almost booked the whole thing herself because her nephew showed her some AI thing that "does it all in five minutes." She still came to me, thankfully, but the conversation stuck with me.
Then yesterday I was helping a corporate client redo a multi city itinerary (Singapore, then Bali, then a last minute add of Seoul for a meeting that got rescheduled twice) and I caught myself bouncing between three tabs, the GDS, my notes, and a Voyagier window a colleague had open on her screen while she walked over to ask me something. And i just kind of sat there for a sec wondering how long the "human only" version of what we do is gonna feel normal to clients.
Like, im not worried about being replaced tomorrow. The complicated stuff still needs a person, the weird visa thing, the client who wants to be picked up in a specific kind of car, the wedding group with the aunt who only flies certain airlines. But the simple "fly me to Cancun next month" booking? I dunno. I feel like thats already kinda gone, or going.
I guess my question is, are you guys leaning into the AI tools that are out there now or trying to stay totally separate from them? I keep going back and forth on it. Some weeks I think I should be learning everything I can, other weeks I think my whole value prop is being the person who doesnt use them.
Anyone else stuck in this loop or am I overthinking it?
I’m currently in the education field, but I’m looking at career opportunities outside of education to transition into travel full-time. I am part of Cruise Brothers Host Agency and have earned my Royal Caribbean Master Class certification.
I’ve had great support from friends and family, but I’m struggling to find new clients outside of my personal network. I'm based in South Florida and targeting the Boca Raton and Treasure Coast areas.
I’d love to hear from experienced agents:
How did you land your first "cold" clients?
Do you recommend in-person networking or digital marketing?
How do you stand out in a competitive cruise market?
Any advice or strategies you can share would be appreciated!
What specific aspect of marketing are you most interested in exploring next to help grow your business?
Hello,
My partner and I are planning a 14 day trip to China in March 2027. I feel like using a travel agent might be best to book everything, but I also don't know how necessary it is. We want to travel around to a couple of different spots and we're hoping to keep the trip around 3K not including flights! We are aiming to visit Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhangjiajie and if possible either Beijing, Hong Kong or Shanghai.
My husband (33M) and I (31F) are looking for a travel advisor who can help us think beyond one trip at a time. We’d love to build a thoughtful 5 year travel roadmap (to start) around our bigger travel goals, then plan one major trip each year with care.
Our ideal trips feel personal, immersive, beautiful, and adventurous. We love nature, artisanship, food/wine, distinctive stays, slow mornings, local culture, and experiences that feel rooted in place. We’re less interested in generic luxury or what might be "instagrammable", and more interested in trips that feel memorable, well-paced, and tailored to us as a couple.
We've toiled over planning detailed and complex itineraries when we've traveled internationally in the past, and we're ready for someone with professional experience in planning trips to take the helm! We're hoping to find an advisor who gets to know us and with whom we can build a long-term planning relationship with.
Has anyone found this kind of planning service before? Does anyone reading this offer services like what I've described? TIA!
Hi everyone, I currently work in entertainment as a venue event manager. My boyfriend just accepted a job in Palm Springs, California and we will be moving there next month. With the move, I would like to transition my career from venue management to entertainment travel booking. I'll be about 2 hours from LA so I can commute 1-3 days a week, or work fully remote.
I have applied to a few agencies (TAG, BCD, Global Travel Collection) but have not heard anything back yet. I've looked at others too but from what I could tell, it didn't seem like they were hiring.
Any travel agencies that focus on entertainment-based travel that you recommend? Any advice on how to transition my career or places that I could start at?
Thank you everyone for your help/advice in advance!
Hey everyone,
I’ve spent years "hacking" travel prices—from finding multi-city flight routes that drop costs by hundreds of dollars to identifying accommodation that includes free upgrades and perks.
I know most people find the planning phase stressful, but I love the hunt. I’m currently opening up a few spots for a Custom Travel Research service to help you save time and money on your next trip.
What you get:
Flight Scouting: I find the absolute cheapest routes and dates (using direct Flight Centre links).
Accommodation Curation: I provide a list of high-value stays, including ones that maximize perks like free breakfast and room upgrades. (using direct Expedia/Booking.com links).
The Itinerary: A clean, easy-to-read PDF document with all your direct booking links.
The Process & Pricing:
Flat Fee: My research fee is $40 AUD.
How it works: To ensure I’m only working with travelers ready to book, I require the $40 AUD research fee via PayPal upfront. Once payment is confirmed, I start the deep-dive research for your specific trip.
No Liability: I am a travel researcher, not a travel agent. I do not book on your behalf. You get to book directly with the provider (Flight Centre/Expedia), which keeps you in control and keeps my fees low.
Most of my clients save more than the cost of the research fee on their very first flight booking.
Interested? Send me a DM with your destination and travel dates, and I’ll let you know if I can help you save on your trip!
I am planning to book a leh ladakh package for couple, can someone pls recommend me good agency ? I came acrosse thrillophilia but if theres any I can compare with would be helpful
