Erika's Mini EBook

🌟 Hey Future Travel Agents! 🌟 

Ready to embark on an exhilarating journey as a Travel Agent? You're in for an info-packed adventure, and I'm thrilled to guide you every step of the way! I love explaining how to become a Travel Agent!!

This is very long and extremely informative page with a lot of important information because I believe in being thorough.

Join a LIVE Zoom Meeting! Dive deep into the world of travel with our dynamic Zoom sessions. Engage in real-time Q&A and get all your burning questions answered! Secure your spot now:
https://calendly.com/informativezoom 

I will also encourage you to add yourself to our facebook group if yor not already in it: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/learn2beatravelagent

A Little About Me:

I'm Erika, a travel-loving mom from the cozy RGV—Rio Grande Valley. My son and I are theme park enthusiasts, hitting up Disney and Universal annually and we adore cruising! I'm passionate about the perks and lifestyle of being a travel agent, and I can't wait to share all this with you!  We have been going every year now for the last 5years. 

A little about the company.

The company I work under is Archer Travel Service. Celebrating over 70 years in the travel industry, Archer Travel Service stands out with its A+ BBB rating and commitment to agent freedom and support . https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/la-crescenta/profile/travel-agency/archer-travel-service-inc-1216-13144896

I chose Archer Travel Service specifically over all of the other agencies out there.

Here are 21 of my reasons why:

1. NO large start up fee!

2. They allow us to have CLIA access as early as day 1.

3. Our agents get a $50 discount on the CLIA membership, making it $79! The regular cost is $129! (Optional)

4. We are not required or asked to recruit other agents. EVER.

5. They have a convention every year in Las Vegas.

6. They have in office corporate support and several corporate FB groups if we need help or have questions!

7. They do not require an extensive travel history.

8. They have trainings almost every single day. We will train you how to do this!

9. They pay us 80% commission from our first day. That is the highest commission split I could find!

10. There are NO sales quotas. NONE. No quotas of any kind.

11. They have a 10 day money back guarantee. That is plenty of time to join and get some training under your belt and make sure the company is a great fit for you!

12. They are in the top tier of sales volume at most vendors.

13. We have access to the Marriott Famtastic rate. This is an amazing discount that some companies have lost access to.

14. Archer Travel Service has been in business over 70 years!

15. They maintain an A+ rating with the BBB! (See the link above.)

16. They do not require a contract.

17. They do not require a non compete clause.

18. Incredible tax benefits are available to you as a small business. (Please consult your accountant.)

19. Opportunities to earn free cruises by completing training for certain vendors!

20. The commissions and Travel Agent perks & benefits are absolutely amazing. Here are a FEW of the companies we can qualify for those things at. There are so many more than this though! Disney, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton, Holiday Inn, IHG, Margaritaville, Hyatt, RIU, Iberostar, Sandals/Beaches, Atlantis, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, Enterprise, Avis, Thrifty, Hertz, and so many more!

21. We have Evo+ which is an amazing booking engine where we get the best discounts on hotels that can be passed on to our clients!

In 2023 we sold over $350 million in travel sales and these year we are projected to do over $500 million in travel sales alone. Archer is also an Elite Diamond Preferred with 1 vendor named ALG vacations, in order to receive this top tier level, you do have to sell over $4.8 million in travel sales with that 1 supplier. Also this has only been given out to 5% of travel agencies out there. And remember, that's with 1 vendor and we have access to more then 130.

Here are a FEW of the suppliers we can qualify for those amazing benefits and perks. These are just some since we do have many more than this though! Disney, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton, Holiday Inn, IHG, Margaritaville, Hyatt, RIU, Iberostar, Sandals/Beaches, Atlantis, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, Enterprise, Avis, Thrifty, Hertz, and so many more! Have you heard of any of these? Or all of them before? And YES!!! We have direct contact with them as well. 

We offer unlimited training and support. We make sure that you have access to all of the vendors you want to book with or travel with. You can join whenever you are ready, there is never any pressure! I absolutely love what I do, and I’m an open book. I will answer as many questions as you can think of at anytime.

You can sign up for CLIA as soon as you want also! CLIA is short for Cruise Line International Association. They are an organization just for official Travel Agents! When you join, they send u a digital membership card as soon as you are approved. They will also send you a physical membership card in the mail several weeks later. You will need to provide proof of the digital or physical card to most vendors when you utilize a discounted Travel Agent rate. CLIA memberships are usually $129 per year, however we get a $50 discount bringing our price down to $79 for each year. You will need a CLIA card to utilize your Travel Agent discounts and it is also needed to properly register for and to complete the Marriott training program. This card is OPTIONAL.

In December, we went on a 7 day Disney Cruise to the Bahamas from Galveston, we paid less than $1,200 for 3 people! The price included all food, port fees, taxes, and gratuities. If you look up how much a normal cruise with Disney is, thats not even half. I was able to obtain that discount because I was a Travel Agent and I had completed Disney’s College of Knowledge Training Program.

We have stayed in several discounted rooms at Marriott using the “Famtastic” rate. This is a special rate available to Travel Agents who have completed the Marriott Training Program and whose company is permitted to book the rate. Some companies are disqualified from using this rate and that is unfortunate.

We have gotten amazing rates on property at Universal Studios as well as several hotel brands including Wyndham, IHG, Hilton, and Hyatt just to name a few.

Remember, that the best part is that we have a 10 day money back guarantee, so there is no risk. You can join and make sure you love everything we offer within 10 days! You are not alone thru the process. You not only have me to help you and guide you but a whole bunch of other agents to assist you as well. 

I’m here to help you every single step of the way! We have a private FB group and a FB group chat, as well as several corporate FB groups that you will also have access to for that extra resources and support. We also have an entire corporate support staff as well available Monday-Friday.

If you are interested, here is the sign up process in a nutshell:

As soon as you are ready we send you a sign up link. Once you sign up, I add you to our FB group and FB group chat. I send you our checklist to make sure your start in the right foot. Once we add you to everything we show you how to start to do your modules. You will need to complete those modules in the back office of our website once you sign up. The training modules usually take 30 mins to 1hr to complete. Once that’s done, we move on from there. We do everything in steps so it’s not overwhelming to you. Remember slow and steady wins the race. 

Benefits of being a Travel Agent:

As a Travel Agent, you can earn full commission on any of YOUR OWN vacations, rental cars, cruises, etc that you have not taken a Travel Agent Rate on.

You can earn a FREE cruise with Princess Cruise Line, MSC & Cunard!

Marriott has 2 special rates just for Travel Agents, including their “Famtastic” rate!

You can earn full commission or get AMAZING discounts at Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton, Holiday Inn, IHG, Margaritaville, Hyatt, RIU, Iberostar, Sandals/Beaches, Atlantis, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Cunard, Celebrity, MSC, Margaritaville at sea, Enterprise, Avis, Thrifty, Hertz, and soooo many more. There are so many places, the possibilities are endless.

Disney Benefits: A deeply discounted stay (of up to 7 nights) once per calendar year (2024, 2025, etc) at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, AND Aulani. You can stay once a year at all 3 locations!! Disney does not specify a specific percentage off, but In my scenarios that I’ve priced out personally, the discount has been right around 50 percent off at Walt Disney World and 25-50 percent off for Aulani and Disneyland. You also have access to book Vero Beach or Hilton Head once per year in the place of your Walt Disney World discounted trip.

Walt Disney World: 50% off of (1) 2-10 day single park or Park Hopper ticket or 1 complimentary 1 day Park Hopper ticket

Disneyland: Complimentary 1 day Park Hopper ticket

Disney Cruise Line: Disney offers 2 different deeply discounted cruise rates*See above for my Disney Cruise Line example of what I paid on our most recent cruise.

Universal Studios Benefits: Up to 45% off of your room stays

1 complimentary 3 park, 3 day, park-to-park ticket

50% off of (4) additional 3 park, park-to-park tickets (for your family)

Here are the costs associated with being a Travel Agent with us. It’s $89 a month for Archer Travel Service to maintain having you under their umbrella. That $89 monthly fee covers all of the website, corporate support, payroll processing, usage of their Sellers of Travel licenses, access to their E&O policy, the certification, etc. Once a year you pay $79 for your CLIA membership (again optional). You do need CLIA to be able to utilize your agent discounts. Other than that, there aren’t any additional fees at all! We have all of the start-up fees waived right now. 

The only additional costs would be if you want business cards, merch, or specific things for your business. For example, I had t-shirts made that say “ask me how I got here” for us to wear at Disney and on our cruise. We would give people my business card when they asked “how we got here”.

Got questions? I'm here for you every step of the way. Let's make your travel agent journey unforgettable!

Interested? Let's chat in our next LIVE session or catch up in our Facebook group! Join the adventure and start crafting incredible travel experiences for yourself and others.

Remember, becoming a travel agent is not just about booking trips—it's about crafting unforgettable experiences and enjoying the journey. Let's get started! 

Join our LIVE meeting to Learn more:

https://calendly.com/informativezoom 

Don't forget to also add yourself to my facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/learn2beatravelagent

https://www.facebook.com/groups/learn2beatravelagent