5 Things to Know Before You Become a Home-Based Travel Advisor

5 Things to Know Before You Become a Home-Based Travel Advisor

Are you considering a career as a home-based travel advisor? With the right experience and support it can be a successful venture – and the best part is, you get to define “success”.

Building your own business that is perfectly tailored to your lifestyle and goals could be the exciting next step in your career, offering freedom, flexibility and the opportunity to earn what you truly deserve.

We’ve put together the five most essential things you should know as you explore this path.

Professional experience matters.

A career as a personal travel manager (PTM) is not a hobby, and it’s not about booking simple holidays for family and friends You’ll need the right skills, experience and reputation to attract and retain clients.

We are best suited to travel advisors with a minimum of three years of professional travel experience, a clear understanding of how the travel industry works and how to sell and book travel is essential before you start a home-based business in this field. Our most successful PTMs come to us with plenty of recent, hands-on experience, outstanding product knowledge across a variety of sectors and destinations, confidence in using GDS systems and other technologies, and a proven ability to create and manage complex itineraries.

If you’ve been out of the industry for a while but do have experience, we can talk you through areas you may need to upskill, and a realistic plan of how you could move into home-based travel.

Financial stability is non-negotiable.

As with any start-up business, it’s incredibly important that you have the financial stability needed to get started. While your earning potential is can be significant, unless you already have a well established business and client database, your success will be a work in progress. You’ll need a clear understanding of the upfront and ongoing costs of starting your business (as well as sufficient resources to cover them while you build your business).

This is particularly important if you are planning to specialise in sectors like cruise, where commission payments can take time to flow back to you if they are paid to you on departure. Starting out on a financially stable footing will allow you to focus on the things that matter most: building your client base, delivering exceptional service and growing your business.

Understand your partnership with your host agency

For TravelManagers PTMs, success begins with understanding how our model works and most importantly, knowing how to make it work for their business. Our PTMs operate as independent business owners within a proven framework that provides access to preferred suppliers and strong support in operations, finance and back-office systems, fares and ticketing, and marketing.

We offer a choice of two commission structures, so you can pick the one that best fits your business: the Business Pro model allows you to retain 90% of your at-source commissions, and our Lifestyle Plus model allows you to retain 80% of your at-source commissions. Find out more details about our commission split here.

Cultural fit matters

Your skills and experience will open the door to your career as a PTM, but it’s your mindset that will ultimately determine your success. Time and again, our PTMs have proven that there is a clear correlation between commitment and success. If you’re prepared to go all-in and be fully dedicated to your role as a PTM, you’re far more likely to thrive. Simply put, the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.

The most successful PTMs are those who are proactive, self-motivated and eager to listen, learn and evolve. They take a client-first approach to everything they do, and they are inquisitive, open-minded and constantly learning.

Being a good cultural fit means recognising the value in the TravelManagers model and being enthusiastic about contributing to, as well as benefiting from, the wider PTM community. To keep up to date with our community, follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Don’t underestimate the power of a clear plan

Being a great travel advisor is only one side of the equation: you’ll also need to be able to think like a business owner. That means having a clear business plan for how you will attract and retain clients, how you will market yourself and grow your brand, and what your business will look like in the next few years.

It may sound like a lot, but the good news is that we have a team of state-based Business Partnership Managers (BPMs) who can guide you through the planning process and provide helpful insights in how to grow your business. Some of them are former PTMs themselves, and all of them are experts at ensuring our PTMs have access to all the support they need.

Is this the right move for you?

If you’re a high-performing travel advisor in search of greater autonomy, flexibility, financial rewards, and you’re ready to take ownership of your own business, then joining us at TravelManagers will be the best career move you ever make.

Click here find out more, and to arrange a confidential chat with one of our state-based BPMs.