So you want to be a travel advisor?

I recommend starting out with a host agency - think of it like a real estate agent hooking up with a brokerage firm. Your host agency will have all the travel supplier connections in place that you’ll need to get your clients booked with special discounts, amenities, and other goodies.

I am hosted with Levarte Travel (levartetravel.com) and I could not possibly recommend them more! They are FANTASTIC for new agents and have great training to get you started successfully. There’s also a support Facebook group and even a mentor desk you can make appointments at. There are no sales quotas or minimums. Tell them Alyssa Johnson sent you when you sign up! :)

Luckily if you use Levarte Travel as your host agency, you’ll be provided with everything you already need! You get a website, a customer relationship manager, a TON of training, and marketing ideas. You can always grow and expand as you get more experience, but you start off with everything you need! You also need to be willing to do a ton of research, read the fine print, and be able to communicate to your clients what they need to know in a way they will understand.

Nope! if you start with a great host agency for newbies like Levarte Travel, you will be given a ton of great training to make sure you get off to a successful start. You should probably like traveling though - this is not a business to get into just to make money, because it can be stressful at times, and also you do your clients a disservice by not being passionate about travel yourself. You also need to be incredibly organized and detail oriented so you don’t miss anything your clients need to know.

No, not at all - I certainly don’t! I have a regular full time office job in addition to being an advisor. You are free to make your own hours and take on as many or as few clients as you can comfortably handle, with whatever level of service you want to provide.

Yep! And that’s one of the main perks for me. I get great travel rates, and if there’s somewhere I really want to go that I can’t find an agent rate on, I can get commission on my own travel. When you sign up as a travel advisor, you’ll have access to FAM (familiarization) trips that will help you do a large number of on site inspections at many hotels in a location for a great rate. Plus, depending on what you decide to specialize in, you can take advantage of bonus perks and commission by being an expert in a few destinations or hotel/resort companies.

The important question! Advisors get paid commission usually after their clients travel. Your host agency will take a small percentage (how much depends on the amount you book annually) and then will deposit the rest of your commission to your bank account. Keep in mind that this does mean a lot of work upfront without payment until your clients travel, so it could be months before you see any profit.