This is a topic that should not be taken lightly for any new home based travel agent. Choosing a good host - and one that fits your needs - can be the key to success in your business.
First - why do you need a host? Not all home based agents use a host agency. Hosts give agents access to preferred suppliers with better commission rates because the host is the producing agency and more production with a supplier means better commissions for everyone affiliated with the host. Many hosts offer training, new agent programs, community boards for discussions Q/A, group cruise space and amenities and a lot of other tools for building your business.
Most home based agents choose one host to work with while others contract with multiple hosts. Your contract with your host will likely not be exclusive, so if one host offers high commissions on some suppliers and another host offers high commissions on other suppliers - and you will regularly use the preferred suppliers from both, consider joining more than one host. Also look at the consortiums (which also offer good preferred supplier commissions) that the host(s) are affiliated with. Vacation.com and the NEST are examples of consortia. My personal recommendation is to choose one host to work with while you are getting your business off the ground. After you have some experience, re-evaluate your host relationship and make a change if needed, add another host, or stay with your original choice.
How do you select a host agency? The first thing to look into is whether or not the host is reputable. My recommendation is to look at the list of host agencies on OSSN, then read through some postings on http://www.hbtacommunity.com/ (great site for lots of info, by the way) and see what others are saying about the different hosts. Be wary of agents trying to recruit more agents rather than actually selling the travel. There are a few 'hosts' out there that may be considered multi level marketing (pyramid schemes) and don't necessarily have our travel clients in their best interest.
Next, figure out what is important to you. Do you need to learn the business from the ground up? Do you just need access to some preferred suppliers? Do you need GDS access? Is a one-person staff what you are looking for or do you want a larger host with several departments running it? How many active agents are working with the host - does it matter to you? Is there an annual fee or a monthly fee? What is the commission split? What kinds of fees and penalties might be incurred? Then do your research - go to the hosts' websites and answer the questions. Talk to some agents who are signed up with the hosts on your list. It's easy to find those agents on the HBTA Community site I mentioned above.
Once you narrow it down to a couple of hosts, make a decision. You might want to have your lawyer review the contract to be sure it fits your needs and there are no surprises. Then make your choice and join.
Remember, if you do your homework you will likely find a good host for you. If you find that you've made the wrong decision, you can always either wait until your contract is up and sign on with another host, or don't wait for your contract to be up - just sign on with another host that will better serve your needs.
My host agency is Nexion and I am very happy with them! I did my research before joining and am so glad I did!
Friday, February 13, 2009
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