Having people inclined madly towards traveling in this era, considering the job of a travel agent is a cut above the rest. With a versatile range of capacity, travel agents earn a potential amount of money through their productivity! Talking about how do travel agents make money, there are a number of ways to do so.
In this article, we will let you know how you can earn and, of course, maximize your earnings as a travel agent. Let’s get right into it without any further delay!
How much money do travel agents make?
Before jumping into how do travel agents make money, why don’t we first know how much money do travel agents make? Although there are no such fixed figures, statistics say travel agents earn around $39,000. However, most of the time, they surpass this figure. Depending on various factors such as booking type, the purpose of the trip, and the vendor they deal with, a travel agent can earn a commission of 5%-30%.
Travel agents earn on an hourly basis. For instance, in the US hourly payment for travel agents is $17.71 which can also go up to $28 in some areas. Besides, most travel agents earn money on a monthly basis or on commission.
10 Ways Travel Agents Make Money
If you are still wondering how do travel agents make money,the obvious answer is that they sell travel. Below are the Top-10 ways through which travel agents earn money and you can follow the same to rock your career as a travel agent!
1. Grabbing Service Fees
Travel agents can charge service fees for each component that they book for their clients. However, service fees are not limited to bookings only. Travel agents can also grab a good amount of service fees by being a travel advisor as well. They enhance their client’s traveling experience by highlighting the popular and fun destinations. Depending on your preferences, you can charge an hourly service fee or flat fee.
2. Consultation Fees are a plus
At present almost every industry charges consultation fees and travel agents are not otherwise! When you share your expertise as a travel consultant, you make a way to charge fees for that. And after all, why not? Creating a planned route or journey is not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires a lot of time, patience and research specially planning group travels can sometimes be a nightmare!
3. Through Affiliate Marketing
Answering your question regarding how do travel agents make money, affiliate marketing is currently one of the most trending and easy-to-succeed ways to do so! By joining an affiliate program, travel agents can earn money through promoting other company’s products or services. Everytime a customer buys a product or service through the affiliate link, the travel agent can earn a potential amount of commission from this. To add, the effort required is very less but comes with a great profit.
4. Commissions in the disguise of Blessings
Who doesn’t love commission? Earlier, commissions were the primary source of income for travel agents which lowered with the evolution of technology! Today, travel agents make money through commissions such as booking a trip or vacation, booking a room, providing rental car services, tours and much more. When a travel agent settles such wants from the clients, he/she automatically receives a percentage from the booking payment.
5. Thrilling Niche Travels
Niche Travels are one of the notable ways to earn money as a travel agent. It means that the agent will provide a particular type of experience to the client which is mostly group based. Although there are a number of niche travel, some of the common ones are listed below :
- Destination wedding and honeymoon
- Sports Travels
- Disney experiences
- Surprise Travels
6. Ensuring Travel Insurance
Most travel agents generate a potential amount of their income through travel insurance. This is a great way to enhance lucrative commission rates as well as protect the client’s needs. For instance, ensuring travel insurance includes covering for medical expenses, flight cancellations, and lost luggage. It helps the clients to feel safe about any unexpected or emergency situation and helps the travel agent to earn up to 40% commission.
7. Choosing the Mode of Travel
While traveling, the most important thing to take care of is the mode of travel. Although modes of travel these days are mainly plains, trains or automobiles, some clients prefer other means of traveling. Some people prefer cycling, while others prefer houseboats or canoeing. Depending on their preferences, it’s the duty of a travel agent to arrange it. This can help to add their income as a travel agent and expand their services at the same time.
8. Travel Packages never disappoints
Some of the customers prefer travel packages over an individual service. And so, it is a great way for a travel agent to maximize their earnings through this. You can bind different attractive services together to make a single package which will be convenient for the clients. As a result, you not only make a way to enhance your earning but also provide a beautiful travel experience for your client.
9. Promoting Premium Listings
Promoting premium listings is another notable way to add to your income as a travel agent. The travel industry companies including airlines, car vendors and so on pay money to promote their products and services to the people. It is their strategy to attract customers to their premium services. The travel agent responsible for this gets an accreditation number from the company and thus they keep a track of his sales. As a result, a travel agent can earn well through this process.
10. Tours
Tours are the best way for the clients to make the most out of their travel. Whether visiting vineyards or rainforest or pristine rivers or beautiful beaches, a client wants to have the best time of their life while they go on a trip. Travel agents play a great role in arranging such memorable trips for the client as well as adding to their income.
How to Maximize Your Earnings As a Travel Agent
- Diversification is important. Make sure to have a variety of sources for your revenue streams.
- Try selling Add-ons, especially that of travel insurance as well as sell side tours with hotel bookings.
- You can maximize your earnings as well as boost your reputation by working for a good corporation.
- Although arranging group travels is a pain in the neck, it’s a great way to prove your organizational skills. Also, try to arrange specialized trips which are becoming popular day by day.
Conclusion
Hopefully, we answered your question, ‘How do travel agents make money?’ You can follow all these potential ways to add perks in your career as a travel agent. However, being a travel agent can be quite a hectic job and requires passion, dedication but mostly hard work. So, if you have that X-factor in you, hold onto your dream of being a great travel agent someday and success will follow you ultimately!