A Closer Look At Corporate Travel Services
Leisure travel may make up 80 percent or more of the $1.3 trillion travel industry, but if you want to make big money, starting a corporate travel service could be the way to go.
Even though the economy cyclically ascends and plunges like a careening roller coaster and companies slash their travel expenditures in response, the corporate travel industry manages to remain strong. The National Business Travel Association’s Business Travel Overview and Cost Forecast indicates that even though corporate travel managers will continue to try to contain costs and push for value for the companies they work for, nearly 68 percent expect their companies’ traveling executives to take more business trips, and nearly 46 percent think their companies will send a greater number of people out on the road. In addition, nearly 38 percent anticipate that travel management company contracts will open for bid in the near future as a way to trim costs.
Ways to Enter the FieldYou have several viable options for building your corporate travel business. Your choices include working as:
What’s Inside
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An independent contractor with a TMC: You’d pretty much have the same arrangement as you would with a corporate travel department. The difference is you’re likely to work on bigger accounts , which means your take after splitting with the house could be much higher. You might work onsite for the company or in a home office.
Meet Your Captain Crew & Guides
All our charter cruises are fully crewed charters, outfitted with an experienced and professional captain and crew. We do not offer bare-boat charters. We believe that the captain, guides, chef and crew are an integral part of expedition cruising and that their experience and expertise are essential to a safe and successful voyage.
Sharing Your Cruise Blog On Social Media
Chose a blog theme that has social media share buttons on each post. This will make it easy for readers to share your content. You also want to encourage readers to follow you on social media, so ensure you have follow buttons somewhere on every page.
When you share a post on social media ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS tag the cruise line. That way they can see that you are supporting them. Its also a good idea to use their hashtags.
Timing is everything. There are various ways to find out the best times to post. You can Google best times to post on social media for insights. If you find you are not able to post at the recommended times, you can use a scheduling website such as Hootsuite, which give you additional benefits such as insights and reports.
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Costs Of Different Types Of Cruises
Every cruise line has its own unique personality that appeals to a different style of cruise passenger. When considering how much does a cruise cost?, the cruise line you choose will have a big impact.
There are a few different ways to break up the types of cruise lines but to keep things simple, weve split them into three categories:
- Mainstream $50-$450
- Premium $280-$680
- Luxury $600-$1,000
What’s The Best First Cruise For A Family
Right now, thats a tricky question to answer as theres not yet a vaccine approved for use in children by the U.S. governmentand so means that multi-gen trips are effectively outlawed on many lines for now. MSC, however, will welcome travelers of all ages, regardless of vaccination status. Looking ahead, the mega ships will always be primed to be the best first choice for families, whether Norwegians 4,200-passenger Escape or the Quantum-class fleet from Royal Caribbean, like Anthem of the Seas. Their emphasis is on activities, from adrenaline-rushing skydiving simulators to onboard water parks.
With very young children, consider Disney or Carnival, Parker says. He calls the family programming on the latter fine-tuned, and praises its pricing: a week on a Carnival ship in a balcony cabin might cost the same as a short, three-day break with Disney.
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Contact Us Today To Get Started
We give you the tools to succeed! Many other host agencies create a factory-like environment between themselves and their agents. We pride ourselves on our professional, yet personable, staff. We will go out of our way to make sure that you have the best training and support staff possible. Plus, we haveTOP COMMISSION LEVELS with all cruise lines and tour vendors!
Start a new, exciting career! You can do this full-time, part-time, or just whenever you have the time. Selling cruises from home with us is easy!
Browse this site for more information on starting your own home-based travel business, or to speak to someone about it today by calling us toll free at 1-866-214-7447 and ask to speak to someone about our Home-Based Agent Program.
S To Your Own Cruise Blog
First you need a name that is going to be easy to remember and describes what your blog is about. It is a good idea to have the word cruise in it, to help Google find you. Buy your domain name at a website like Go Daddy and type in the name you want. Do this before you go any further, as the name you want may not be available. It is always best to get a .com address as people tend to trust them more and if you are writing a travel site, why limit yourself to the UK? Having said that, its a good idea to buy the .co.uk site aswell and you can redirect it to the .com site when you are up and running. Or at least it ensures no one else copies your idea and creates a website with the same name.
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Starting A Travel Agency From Home: What To Expect Money
And money. You probably want to know what you can expect when it comes to money, huh?! I hate to admit it but there is no one set answer. It depends on soooo many factors. The good news is that we were so curious to answer this question that we asked a few hundred new travel agents about their income in the first years of starting a travel agency.
That data on starting a travel agency is great. But our data doesn’t stop there. We have a huge variety of data that looks at a travel agent incomefrom every angle.
How To Start A Cruise Ship Company
If you have millions of dollars in start-up capital and want to give people romantic honeymoons on a ship destined to Puerto Vallarta from San Diego, starting a cruise ship company may be a suitable business. Ryan Wahlstrom of the Cruise Market Watch website reports the worldwide cruise market raked in $29.4 billion in 2010. However, starting a cruise ship company is wrought with regulatory issues and tight competition from industry giants such as Carnival and Princess.
Address the bureaucracy of starting a cruise ship company. Register the cruise line in a foreign country such as Liberia and Panama. Doing so will ensure your business avoids stringent U.S. regulations pertaining to environmental restrictions and taxation. Marianne Jennings, author of Business: Its Legal, Ethical and Global Environment, notes several cruise lines take advantage of loose foreign regulations as a way to have employees work for lower than the minimum wage in exchange for room and board.
Buy ships. Expect to pay up to $1 billion for just one large vessel capable of carrying over 5,000 passengers. A 2006 article in “The New York Times” states that Royal Caribbean International spent $1.24 billion for its ship built by Oslo-based ship maker Aker Yards.
Tips
Warnings
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Carry extensive liability insurance. Tumultuous waves and kitchen fires pose the greatest threats to cruise lines.
References
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History Of Cruise Ships
The present-day form of cruising can be traced back to the beginning of the twentieth century when transoceanic travelling was at its zenith.
The only mode of transport was the ships so the different companies that were in this business offered the best services to compete in the market.
These ocean liners with luxurious services offered what came to be known as line voyages. But because of the long journey, which at best would be no less than four days, there had to be huge storage for fuel and other necessities and that didnt leave much room for luxuries.
With the advent of jet aeroplanes in the latter half of the last century, there was a shift in passenger preference and the long sea voyages were left for only the ardent sea fans.
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Step : Open A Business Bank Account & Credit Card
Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.
When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.
Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get and other financing in your business’s name , better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.
Open a business bank account
- This separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
- It also makes accounting and tax filing easier.
Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank, credit union, business-loan friendly banks, one with many brick-and-mortar locations, and more.
Open net-30 accounts
When it comes to establishing your business credit, net-30 vendors are considered the way to go. The term “net-30,” which is popular among vendors, refers to a business credit arrangement where the company pays the vendor within 30 days of receiving goods or services.
Net-30 credit terms are often used for businesses that need to obtain inventory quickly but do not have the cash on hand.
Besides establishing business relationships with vendors, net-30 credit accounts get reported to the major business credit bureaus . This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.
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Sign Up For Activities In Advance Or Soon After Boarding
Some lines will let you sign up for shows, tours and other activities in advance of sailing using online portals. If you want to be sure that you get a seat for a specific show on a specific night, or a specific tour or restaurant reservation time, its a good idea to do this. Its not uncommon with some ships to find that some shows, tours and restaurant reservation times book up in advance.
If you dont sign up for activities in advance, a back-up strategy is to do so just after you board a vessel. That said, whether or not you need to race to sign up for activities at the start of a voyage depends a lot on which ship you are on. I am more careful about signing up for a lot of things in advance when I am sailing on a giant ship such as Royal Caribbeans Symphony of the Seas where there are thousands of other passengers.
Related: 12 giant ships that are packed with fun features
Do Some Branding Exercise
When starting a travel agency, branding plays a significant role. It is all about creating a perception of your company and the products or services it sells.
One of the effective ways to build a positive perception is to create high-quality visuals such as an impressive logo design. Design other items such as brochures, travel agency business cards, etc.
Make sure that colors and typefaces in all the visuals are the same for brand consistency. If you can convey your brand message successfully through these items, customers will think positively about your travel products and services.
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Create And Grab Sales Opportunities
Some travel agents have this tendency to wait for sales opportunities. These are the ones who do not want to come out of their comfort zone. They wait for appropriate conditions and ultimately miss their sales goals by a considerable margin.
Rather than waiting for the clients to enter your agencys door, a better way is to approach them. You should be doing everything to contact your potential clients.
Whenever you get the opportunity, seize it with both hands. These are the key aspects to consider when starting a travel agency.
Say ‘bon Voyage’ In Style
Nothing kick-starts a cruise better than a little splurge, and the cruise lines are happy to oblige — plus youll look like a hero to your better half. Most lines offer gift packages that will be waiting for you in your cabin when you check-in. Holland America, for example, offers everything from a champagne-and-balloon package to a dozen long-stemmed roses to give your cabin a little floral panache.
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What Support Will I Receive After My Initial Training
Your ongoing training will never end. Our online virtual training platform, Cruisitude® Academy, has hundreds of webinars, videos, and modules for your continuing education. All of our learning materials are on-demand and at your leisure. Along with Cruisitude® Academy, we host four to six live webinars each week on different topics all associated with helping you grow your travel business. These too are housed for on-demand viewing so you can learn at your own pace. Also, all of the cruise lines and land suppliers have their own individual educational series as well. Some even reward you with free travel if you complete their classes! And we provide you the access to it all.
Step : Define Your Brand
Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.
If you aren’t feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we’ll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.
Recommended: Get a logo using Truic’s free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker.
If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.
How to promote & market a cruise line
If you plan on selling tickets to a general cruise without a theme, spread out your marketing efforts across numerous channels. Cruise ship customers consume media through inbound and outbound channels. Advertise on the web through SEO campaigns, social media, blogging etc. Mix in some traditional outbound ads in local magazines, newspapers, radio spots, and so on.
How to keep customers coming back
Still unsure about what kind of business you want to start? Check out the latest Small Business Trends to help inspire you.
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Get The Necessary Professional Certification
Professional Certification is one of the main reasons why some travel agencies / travel agents stand out. If you want to make impact as in the travels and tourism industry as a travel agent, then you should work towards acquiring all the needed certifications in your area of specialization as it relates to the industry. You are strongly encouraged to pursue professional certifications it will go a long way to show your commitment towards the business.
These are some of the certifications you can work towards achieving if you want to run your own travel agency
- Certified Travel Agent
- Travel and Tourism Professional
- Total Travel Certification
- Professional Travel Agent
Please note that you can get most of these certifications from IATA professionals and also it is worthy to mention that the higher your qualifications and experience , the easier it is for you to secure high profile travels and tours contracts as a travel agent.
Step : Plan Your Business
A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:
Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.
What are the costs involved in opening a cruise line?
The cruise ship must be purchased or rented. Most ships are purchased. However, some cruise ships cost upwards of a billion dollars. Obtain financing, buy a small used cruise ship and gradually build toward the financing of a larger, more upscale liner. The ship must be fitted with lodging including beds and furnishings like dressers, tables, chairs etc. Cruise ships have everything from gift shops to bars, restaurants, casinos, games, spas, and beyond. Employees must be hired right away to handle cruise ship duties like customer service, food preparation, cleaning, marketing and general cruise ship management.
What are the ongoing expenses for a cruise line?
Who is the target market?
Everyone enjoys a cruise. However, cruises are particularly popular amongst singles looking for romance and a fun way to spend their vacation. Families also flock to cruises as they provide an exciting and adventurous means of vacationing. In general, adults between the ages of 21 and 70 with an abundance of discretionary income should be targeted.
How does a cruise line make money?
How much can you charge customers?
How much profit can a cruise line make?
How can you make your business more profitable?
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The Best Way To Book A Cruise
Sure, you can book a cruise onlinebut its a rookie mistake. Smart cruisers always rely on a travel agent. Though agents roles have diminished in the mass-market travel biz, they remain crucial for cruising. Not only can specialists offer seasoned advice, but they can also wrangle deals and promos: ask them about shipboard credit, which is the ocean equivalent of a gift card to spend onboard$100 or so is a standard bonus.
As the industry reinvents itself in the wake of the pandemic, its never been more important to have expert counsel, says Brown. At the end of the day, youre going on this trip to relax, have fun, learn something, and get away from your everyday world. I want that support system.
Veteran agent Baker says hes as much a medical PA as a travel pro, having created documents for each cruise lines COVID-19 protocols that he always sends to clients mulling a booking. Im not a physician, but Im brutally honest upfront about the requirements, so we can talk about them, he says.
Parker emphasizes that youre not paying agents wages, either, or a surcharge for their expertise. They make their commission from the cruise lines, he says. I book everything that way, and Ive never paid a dime extra.