Become and Outside Sales Rep with The Travel Exchange!
As the demand for travel professionals is on the rise thanks to information overload, we find ourselves seeking out the best and brightest to add to our team. We prefer to work with individuals who have previous travel, concierge, event planning, or sales experience, but we are open to chatting with anyone who thinks that they may be interested. Travel is an exciting and ever-changing career path that provides tons of flexibility and fun!
How It Works
Thank you for your interest in The Travel Exchange! The travel business is no easy endeavor. Since income is 100% commission based, it can take a new sales rep some months before they are able to build their client base and start seeing a financial return on their investment. That said, it can also be incredibly rewarding to help clients make memories; getting a thank you note from a client is a lovely feeling. At The Travel Exchange, we recognize that a large part of our success is based on our clients’ willingness to refer us to their friends and family. As a result, we put customer service above all else. Since The Travel Exchange is a travel agency that was founded by agents, with agents in mind, there are a lot of perks associated with becoming a part of our agency and proving your skills for client satisfaction.
Becoming an Agent: The Process
Opening a business is a difficult affair. Between business and tax registrations, bank accounts, professional memberships, supplier registration, ongoing web and marketing fees, and even business liability insurance, the price and hassle of establishing a travel agency is not always worth the benefits. So, my plan is to give you the opportunity to become an agent without having to jump through all of those hoops. You begin as an agent under my host agency and you will book using my memberships and subscriptions, but as you progress in your career and meet certain sales requirements, you can one day have your own professional agent identification under my agency umbrella. This is an achievable goal whether you decide to do this full time or part time and membership comes with certain travel related perks! All it takes to get started is TIME. Time for training, time for marketing, time to cultivate your client base. We provide the tools, you provide the will and the drive!
Onboarding
One aspect of our agency that makes us unique is that we develop our agents to start of their business by having particular specialties. We have seen the pitfalls of trying to acclimate to too many suppliers and destinations too fast when there is so much information out there; it’s easy to get overwhelmed. As a result, we have categories of specialties and we never have more than a certain percentage of agents covering that content area. Now, this does not mean that you will not have the ability to book anything your client needs, but it does mean that we will be a better support system for each other for when you are booking something unfamiliar. When someone who usually books the Caribbean has a question about fastpasses, one of the Disney agents can help, and vice versa. There is no requirement to login to the “secret” group and help each other, but it is a nice way to stay in touch and up to date!
What does this mean for hiring? It basically means that we either have to have an opening or have to be ready to move to the next layer of coverage before we hire someone so as to not affect the balance. This also means that when you are going through the onboarding process, your training and access setup will be customized to your travel specialty.
What does this mean for hiring? It basically means that we either have to have an opening or have to be ready to move to the next layer of coverage before we hire someone so as to not affect the balance. This also means that when you are going through the onboarding process, your training and access setup will be customized to your travel specialty.
Commissions
When your client “books” a trip, they may not necessarily be paying for the entire trip up front, or they may cancel unexpectedly. As a result, we pay commission to you after the client has traveled and the supplier has paid us. We have 2 payrolls per month on the 15th (or the closest business day) and the 31st (or the last business day of the month) and you can receive payment either via check or direct deposit. Here are the official payroll periods:
Pay period one: 1st of the month to the 15th of the month is paid on the 31st (or the closest business day) of that month.
Pay period two: 16th of the month to the end of the month is paid on the 15th (or the closest business day) of the following month.
You are, technically, what the IRS calls an Independent Contractor. This is because we do not control where, when, or how you perform your duties as a travel agent. How you decide to market yourself, train yourself, and maintain your records is entirely your affair. We provide tools if you would like to use them, but only “require” you to use tools that are associated with “OUR” records retention and training policies and those of our suppliers. As such, you will have to complete a W-9 form for our records and when you receive a payroll, there will be no employment taxes removed from your check. At the end of the year your income will be reported to the IRS and you will receive a Form 1099-MISC from us for your personal tax filing for any amount of commissions earned.
Pay period one: 1st of the month to the 15th of the month is paid on the 31st (or the closest business day) of that month.
Pay period two: 16th of the month to the end of the month is paid on the 15th (or the closest business day) of the following month.
You are, technically, what the IRS calls an Independent Contractor. This is because we do not control where, when, or how you perform your duties as a travel agent. How you decide to market yourself, train yourself, and maintain your records is entirely your affair. We provide tools if you would like to use them, but only “require” you to use tools that are associated with “OUR” records retention and training policies and those of our suppliers. As such, you will have to complete a W-9 form for our records and when you receive a payroll, there will be no employment taxes removed from your check. At the end of the year your income will be reported to the IRS and you will receive a Form 1099-MISC from us for your personal tax filing for any amount of commissions earned.
Commission Rates and Performance Incentives
To keep things simple, all agents will be subject to a 70/30 split of commission with the agency. That means that if the supplier pays the agency $100 in commission for a trip that you booked, you will receive $70 in your next payroll and the agency will retain $30 to pay for overhead costs.
However, that is not the end of the story. In addition to supplier perks and occasional travel discounts, our agency has a commission policy associated with achievement. Each year, you will start at the 70/30 commission split. Once you have earned $5,000 in commissions, your next commission check will automatically split to an 80/20 distribution. This means that after you achieve that $5,000 in year to date commissions, your next check (and all the remaining checks for the year) will all be paid at an 80% commission. So, if the next trip earns $100, you will receive $80 and the agency will retain $20 for ongoing overhead costs. This split will remain in place for any other payrolls for the rest of the calendar year. Starting with the first payroll in the following calendar year, the split will be back to 70/30 until you achieve $5,000 in year to date commission again.
However, that is not the end of the story. In addition to supplier perks and occasional travel discounts, our agency has a commission policy associated with achievement. Each year, you will start at the 70/30 commission split. Once you have earned $5,000 in commissions, your next commission check will automatically split to an 80/20 distribution. This means that after you achieve that $5,000 in year to date commissions, your next check (and all the remaining checks for the year) will all be paid at an 80% commission. So, if the next trip earns $100, you will receive $80 and the agency will retain $20 for ongoing overhead costs. This split will remain in place for any other payrolls for the rest of the calendar year. Starting with the first payroll in the following calendar year, the split will be back to 70/30 until you achieve $5,000 in year to date commission again.
Please feel free to ask for additional information about this incentive program if anything is unclear.