HAR's Travel Agent Chatter | Friday 15  By  cover art

HAR's Travel Agent Chatter | Friday 15

By: Steph Lee | Travel Industry Veteran Founder Host Agency Reviews
  • Summary

  • We’ve got two listening delights for you on this channel, folks! 😲 The first is Travel Agent Chatter (TAC), a spotlight interview of a wide variety of travel advisors that we publish every quarter. The second is our shorter, but more frequent Friday 15 series, where every Friday we answer your travel industry questions for — you guessed it — 15 minutes! Travel Agent Chatter -- a Host Agency Reviews audio series -- talks about all things travel. We specialize in-depth interviews with travel agents from all walks of life. Whether you’re a new or experienced travel advisor, we help you up your game by sharing where other travel agencies have found success and offering inspiring stories from the front lines! Transcripts, videos and show notes of the TAC episodes can be found at https://hostagencyreviews.com/TAC And every Friday at 12pm CT we publish the Friday 15 to our TAC feed. It’s 15 minutes over the lunch hour, where we answer your travel industry questions. Submit your questions and watch videos of the Friday 15 at https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15. Travel Agent Chatter and the Friday 15 are hosted by Steph Lee, the founder of the website Host Agency Reviews and travel industry veteran. She's insatiably curious. A lover of travel, writing, gardening & the stars. Most importantly, she ♥'s her dogs, Fennec and Orion!
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Episodes
  • (164) Course to Learn Sabre? Benefits of Certifications? Paying 6K for a Mistake – Is This Legal?
    Jul 12 2024
    In episode 164 Steph is co-hosting again with Lindsay Taylor of Travel Leaders 365. Have a look at the questions below that they cover in this rich and informative edition of the Friday 15! 1. Hi Steph. I worked as a Travel Manager at my previous company, however, it was a created position and I used a combination of Concur, Expedia, Hotels.com, National Car rental and all the other sites. I loved this position but it all went away during Covid. Now, I'd like to get back into it but everything I'm interested in requires some Sabre experience. I know it's easy and I know I could do it but do you think it's worth taking the 60 hour course with The Travel Institute? Is there a better place to obtain this training? It could add a few lines on my resume and I'm great with self-study. $149 doesn't seem high for getting some experience. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your time! :) —Anonymous 2. Hi Steph. I have a diploma from Penn Foster and when I look at the CTA, I feel like I've already done all of the same lessons. Is it better to have one of these certifications over the diploma I've already received? Are these just better recognized and received by people in the industry and clients? It seems like these have a more elevated status over my diploma. Is that the case? —Anonymous 3. I refunded a non refundable ticket by accident. The agency paid it back but now I'm on the hook for over $6000. The airline does not reverse the transaction so the traveler has a credit. Have you ever worked with this? I would like to find out how this is even legal? ---Anonymous RESOURCES: https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-gds (In-depth information on what the GDS, global distribution system, is and which travel advisors use it.) https://www.thetravelinstitute.com/product/sabre-personal-trainer/ (Travel Institute’s program) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/become-corporate-travel-agent (Tips on how to become a corporate travel agent.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/travelagentchatter/molly-williams-the-optimists-travel (TAC episode with Molly Williams. https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-certification (What travel agent certification is and isn’t. Plus, what are the certifications out there for agents?) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agency-debit-memo (What is a travel agency debit memo?) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-gds (In-depth information on what the GDS, global distribution system, is and which travel advisors use it.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts/travel-leaders-365 (TL 365’s HAR profile) https://TL365.com (TL 365’s website) ltaylor@tl365.com (Lindsay’s email address) https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15 (Submit questions, sign up for reminders for the F15, along with that week's questions we'll be covering!)
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    23 mins
  • 2 DBAs under 1 LLC? Off-the-books flight-booking? Are agency fees a red flag?
    Jul 5 2024
    In episode 163 Steph is co-hosting with Lindsay Taylor of Travel Leaders 365, If you have a question for Steph and her co-hosts, please submit it here for a future episode: https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15 ! 1. I work as an independent contractor so I already have an LLC for non travel related business. I was wondering if I could just add a "second" DBA and use the same LLC to start the travel business but continue to work on my full time job as another name. So basically 2 DBAs under one LLC? I live in Florida. Thanks! —Anonymous 2. Hello, so I live in the US and want to help people in Guyana, South America purchase flights to travel to and from the US and charge a small fee. I want to use sites like Priceline and Expedia and Booking to purchase the flights. Sort of an off the books business. Is this possible? —Mike S. 3. Hi, I’m curious about startup/yearly/monthly fees. I keep reading that it's a red flag if a travel host charges. In your opinion and experience, what do you want to look for when searching for a host? Thanks! –Jamie K. RESOURCES: https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agency-business-structures (The options for your travel agency’s business structure — pros and cons) https://hostagencyreviews.com/page/travel-advisor-research-reports/ (Travel agent survey data on fee charging practices: what they charge for, how much, fee structures and more.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/page/travel-advisor-research-reports/ (Travel agent survey data on fee charging practices: what they charge for, how much, fee structures and more.) https://www2.arccorp.com/support-training/fraud-prevention/ (ARC’s fraud prevention webinar) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agency-debit-memo (What is a travel agency debit memo?) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-gds (In-depth information on what the GDS, global distribution system, is and which travel advisors use it.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts/travel-leaders-365 (TL 365’s HAR profile) https://TL365.com (TL 365’s website) ltaylor@tl365.com (Lindsay’s email address) https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15 (Submit questions, sign up for reminders for the F15, along with that week's questions we'll be covering!)
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    18 mins
  • 162 Do Airline Commissions Still Exist Travel Services Agreements - When Should A Client Sign
    Jun 28 2024
    In episode 162 Steph Lee is joined by Chad Burt of Outside Agents. We’ve got some great questions from you all. Speaking of – if you have a question for Steph and her co-hosts, please submit it here for a future episode: https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15 ! 1. Do the airlines still give commissions on flights? If not, what is the benefit of an $2300 ARC #? —Anonymous 2. Hello! I have a quick question about workflows. If you have a travel services agreement, is it better to have clients sign that before or after you send quotes/proposals? I don't want to scare clients away before they see options, but I also don't want to waste my time! —Kristin R. RESOURCES: https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15 (Submit questions, sign up for reminders for the F15, along with that week's questions we'll be covering!) https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15/agent-etiquette-on-fam-trips-benefits-of-the-gds-should-i-belong-to-asta (Friday 15 going over benefits of GDS system) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-gds (In-depth information on what the GDS, global distribution system, is and which travel advisors use it.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-an-arc-number (What is an ARC number?) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agency-accreditation (A list of the different travel agent accreditation options.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-commissions (All about travel agent commissions, including airline commissions.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-a-host-agency (Explainer of what a host agency is) https://hostagencyreviews.com/page/travel-advisor-research-reports/ (Travel agent survey data on fee charging practices: what they charge for, how much, fee structures and more.) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/how-to-qualify-clients-travel-agent (How to qualify clients and recordings of real travel advisor conversations to qualify their clients) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/free-travel-agent-forms-clients (Free travel agent forms from HAR) https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-waivers-protect-your-travel-agency (Travel waiver forms from HAR)
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    22 mins

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Great episode!

A necessary topic. very informative! Thank you for sharing! I totally reccommend. quick listening!

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