This document summarizes key metrics from the 2014 ASTA Travel Agency Benchmarking Series regarding factors that influence travel agency profitability. Some of the key findings presented include:
- The average travel agency profit margin in 2014 was 8-9% and most agencies expect higher profits in 2015.
- On average, frontline agents at independent leisure agencies generated $47,502 in annual revenue compared to $90,717 at corporate agencies.
- Tour and package sales make up the largest segment of sales for leisure agencies, while airlines sales still dominate for corporate agencies.
- Commission levels vary by product segment, with the highest commissions earned from tour packages and cruises and the lowest from car rentals and rail.
This document provides an overview of the modern travel agency industry. It finds that while the number of travel agency locations and employees has decreased since the 1990s due to factors like internet booking, the industry remains an important part of the US economy with $136 billion in annual sales. It also finds that the industry has shifted to different business models over time, including online travel agencies, travel management companies, and independent contractors. Revenue and profits varied between 2012 and 2011 based on agency type.
The document discusses effective marketing strategies used by travel agencies. It provides data from ASTA's Marketing & Customer Retention Report on common agency marketing practices. More than half of agencies have a marketing plan, with most advertising. Print ads and yellow pages are still popular mediums. Referrals are the most effective lead generation method and most agencies get 3-5 new leads per month. Direct mail, email and referrals are the most used communication methods with current clients. The document also provides examples of successful marketing campaigns from individual agencies, such as incentives for referrals and hosting cruise promotion events.
2014 september 100 top travel budget of us companies by business travel newsAtoutFranceUSA
This document provides information about corporate travel spending by the largest U.S. business travelers. It summarizes the results of a survey of the top 100 corporate travel spenders ("CT100") in the U.S. in 2013 and 2014. Most CT100 companies increased their U.S.-booked air travel spending from 2012 to 2013, though some decreased it substantially. The companies expect higher overall air travel spending in 2014 compared to 2013, despite higher airfares. The document also lists the top travel management companies and advertises products from sponsors.
This investment recommendation suggests exploring a near-term sale of TripAdvisor (TRIP) to a strategic buyer. It notes that TRIP has experienced slowing growth and margin compression in its core hotels business. A sale could fetch a healthy price for TRIP's owner, Liberty Media, and help strengthen TRIP's long-term positioning by partnering it with a larger company like Google, Amazon, or Expedia. The recommendation analyzes TRIP's business challenges as a standalone company and competitive threats, concluding that a sale is the best path forward.
In fact, the typical company will spend 10% (or more) of its total annual budget on expenses related to business travel in 2014, a factor that has not changed dramatically ovr the past few years. Organizations today must reevaluate existing strategies for travel and expense management, how to overcome key challents, and structure a robust program that balances core competencies and modern technology enablers.
The document summarizes an exclusive webinar for ABG Licensees hosted by RateGain to discuss changes in the car rental industry in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, future demand outlook over the summer of 2021, making price optimization easier in 2021, and an exclusive preview of RateGain's 2021 product roadmap. The webinar agenda included discussions on emerging trends and future outlook for car rentals in 2021, summer pricing trends in key US and Canadian cities, and new AI-powered products from RateGain called Demand.AI, Fleet.AI, and Price.AI to help companies optimize pricing, fleet inventory, and revenue based on real-time demand signals and analytics.
This document provides an overview of the modern travel agency industry. It finds that while the number of travel agency locations and employees has decreased since the 1990s due to factors like internet booking, the industry remains an important part of the US economy with $136 billion in annual sales. It also finds that the industry has shifted to different business models over time, including online travel agencies, travel management companies, and independent contractors. Revenue and profits varied between 2012 and 2011 based on agency type.
The document discusses effective marketing strategies used by travel agencies. It provides data from ASTA's Marketing & Customer Retention Report on common agency marketing practices. More than half of agencies have a marketing plan, with most advertising. Print ads and yellow pages are still popular mediums. Referrals are the most effective lead generation method and most agencies get 3-5 new leads per month. Direct mail, email and referrals are the most used communication methods with current clients. The document also provides examples of successful marketing campaigns from individual agencies, such as incentives for referrals and hosting cruise promotion events.
2014 september 100 top travel budget of us companies by business travel newsAtoutFranceUSA
This document provides information about corporate travel spending by the largest U.S. business travelers. It summarizes the results of a survey of the top 100 corporate travel spenders ("CT100") in the U.S. in 2013 and 2014. Most CT100 companies increased their U.S.-booked air travel spending from 2012 to 2013, though some decreased it substantially. The companies expect higher overall air travel spending in 2014 compared to 2013, despite higher airfares. The document also lists the top travel management companies and advertises products from sponsors.
This investment recommendation suggests exploring a near-term sale of TripAdvisor (TRIP) to a strategic buyer. It notes that TRIP has experienced slowing growth and margin compression in its core hotels business. A sale could fetch a healthy price for TRIP's owner, Liberty Media, and help strengthen TRIP's long-term positioning by partnering it with a larger company like Google, Amazon, or Expedia. The recommendation analyzes TRIP's business challenges as a standalone company and competitive threats, concluding that a sale is the best path forward.
In fact, the typical company will spend 10% (or more) of its total annual budget on expenses related to business travel in 2014, a factor that has not changed dramatically ovr the past few years. Organizations today must reevaluate existing strategies for travel and expense management, how to overcome key challents, and structure a robust program that balances core competencies and modern technology enablers.
The document summarizes an exclusive webinar for ABG Licensees hosted by RateGain to discuss changes in the car rental industry in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, future demand outlook over the summer of 2021, making price optimization easier in 2021, and an exclusive preview of RateGain's 2021 product roadmap. The webinar agenda included discussions on emerging trends and future outlook for car rentals in 2021, summer pricing trends in key US and Canadian cities, and new AI-powered products from RateGain called Demand.AI, Fleet.AI, and Price.AI to help companies optimize pricing, fleet inventory, and revenue based on real-time demand signals and analytics.
The document discusses strategies for hotels to maximize revenue in 2010 given the challenging economic conditions of 2009. It recommends that hotels (1) recognize their competition at the city level rather than just other hotels, (2) closely manage yields and rates through ongoing research and flexibility, and (3) focus on bringing direct bookings to their own websites through targeted promotions and online advertising rather than relying on OTAs. The document emphasizes being proactive, empowering employees, and partnering with CVBs on promotions.
The document summarizes a presentation on business travel and entertainment spend trends based on data from Certify and Seamless. It finds that 10-12% of company budgets are typically spent on travel and entertainment. Manual expense processes are used by 53% of companies and 59% cite lack of compliance as a top pressure. Cloud-based expense management can lower costs by 60% and improve compliance by 35-40% according to the data. The document outlines current spend categories and trends, with meals, flights, and hotels being the top expenses. Regional and industry averages are also provided.
Ernie Humphrey presented on key findings from the 2019 T&E Trends Report. The report found that many organizations lack visibility into travel and expense data and control over spending. This is due to poor T&E management processes and a lack of dedicated expense management technology. Adopting expense management systems can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase compliance by making it easier for travelers to submit expenses and enabling straight-through processing. The presentation provided recommendations for organizations to map out their current T&E processes and costs in order to understand challenges and make a case for technology investments that address key pain points.
Loyalty and subscription in Travel & HospitalityI Meet Hotel
Bidroom organizes I Meet Hotel, a global conference connecting hoteliers to the future of hospitality. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we have to take our conferences online.
I Meet Hotel conducted a survey with 1000s of hotels to design a webinar more suited for hoteliers. One of the subjects that were highlighted were Loyalty and Subscription in Travel & Hospitality;
In this session, we will cover Loyalty and subscription in Travel & Hospitality.
This webinar will feature;
Mark Ross-Smith, CEO @ Loyalty Data Co
Claudia Scharf, Director of Customer Success @ Loyalty Prime Ltd.
Amy Konary, VP and Chair, The Subscribed Institute @ Zuora
The webinar is being moderated by CEO and Co-Founder Michael Ros.
2018 Expense Management Trends: How Will They Affect Your Company?Ashley Emery
This document summarizes a webinar on 2018 T&E trends and benchmarks to improve spend management. Key points include: T&E spending by US companies grew 13% to $296 billion in 2017; meals and gas make up the largest expense categories at 19% each; manual expense reporting costs $26.63 per report compared to $6.85 for automated; and automating expense reporting can reduce processing costs, increase compliance, and boost productivity. The webinar covered how companies can better manage travel spending and maximize ROI through expense control features in automated systems.
T&E Trends and Best Practices in the Digital WorldAshley Emery
T&E Trends and Best Practices in the Digital World
Original air date: October 30, 2019
Join us to discover five key themes from the 2019 Travel and Expense Management Trends Report, a comprehensive survey of almost 600finance professionals. You'll learn specific ways to lower T&E report processing costs, positively impact the productivity of your travelers, and improve your company’s working capital management.
Expense Management in 2018: Planning for Success | December 19, 2017Ashley Emery
Expense Management in 2018: Planning for Success was a webinar that provided an overview of trends, benchmarks, and best practices for travel and expense management. It discussed how companies can improve processes and controls over spending, reduce costs, and increase compliance. The webinar highlighted data showing most organizations still rely on manual processes that are inefficient and costly, and that automation delivers significant returns through improved visibility, tighter policy controls, and lower processing fees. It emphasized setting policies, benchmarking spending, leveraging mobile and integrated systems, and demonstrated how to build a business case for investment in expense management technology.
How Technologies like Certify and Uber Are Transforming Modern Business TravelAshley Emery
Certify and ride-hailing leader Uber bring you the latest data-driven insights and technology trends shaping the experiences and purchase behaviors of the modern business traveler. This webinar also includes a live product demonstration of the Uber for Business auto-expense feature integrated with the Certify Mobile expense reporting app.
Webinar: Personalization in Airlines with Tom Bacon and Dr. MedepalliRateGain®
Take a look at this presentation to understand how airlines are losing revenue by
only focusing on fares and why personalization of experiences is the way forward.
T&E Management: How to Improve Control, Compliance and ProcessesAshley Emery
Join us as we review the results of our annual expense management survey, providing benchmarks for your company’s travel and entertainment (T&E) management processes. We will discuss how to alleviate the top pain points in T&E management, including: the untimely submission of expense reports, inefficient processes, and lack of adherence to company travel policies. In this live 60-minute event, learn how top finance professionals are leveraging technology in conjunction with procedural best practices to improve control, policy compliance and overall processes.
Expense Management Strategies to Maximize ROI in 2016Ashley Emery
Advancements in automation continue to streamline the expense reporting process, and with it further reducing the time it takes for many companies to realize the return on investment from a new system. Join us for an informative hour-long webinar with data analysis from leading research organizations and more than 400 CFOs, controllers and accounting professionals to identify best practices in expense management today. You will also hear from a company that uses a fully automated reporting solution about how the system quickly delivers not just ROI, but better compliance with T&E policy, increased productivity and efficiency, and greater employee satisfaction.
Multi-Channel Distribution: Strike the Most Profitable Balance between Direct...RateGain®
Multi-Channel Distribution: Strike the Most Profitable Balance between Direct & Third Party Inventory
Presenter - Bhanu Chopra, CEO, RateGain
Travel Distribution Summit, Mumbai, Eyefortravel.com
How Automated T&E Expense Management Removes Barriers to Company GrowthAshley Emery
An eighteen-year study on the impact of business travel found that every dollar a company invests in T&E spending returns an average of $9.50 in revenue and $2.90 profit. While this data offers a clear and compelling reason to invest in business travel, many organizations are seeing their growth opportunities dashed by inefficient expense reporting and employee reimbursement processes. Now, an insightful new webinar from Accountex and Certify identifies the common expense management pitfalls that can cost you money and hold your company back. Plus, learn more about today’s top business travel and expense technology trends among small to mid-sized U.S. companies.
Discover how your company can maximize every business travel dollar. Topics include:
Common expense reporting mistakes that erode productivity and profits
The hidden and average expense report processing costs
Calculating lost productivity and lost opportunity among staff
U.S. business travel trends and T&E spending benchmarks
Top expense management technologies used by small and midsized business
2015 T&E Expense Benchmarking: Are Your Employees Splurging on the Company DimeAshley Emery
Travel and entertainment—second only to payroll as the largest business expense—is becoming increasingly more difficult to control as companies expand across borders and grow through acquisitions. Therefore effective budgeting, planning, and management of T&E expenses is critical for companies of all sizes in 2015 and beyond. How does your company’s overall Travel and Entertainment spend, and spend within key categories, compare with other companies? How are companies leveraging automation to better understand and control how employees are spending the company dime? Unfortunately, benchmarks for overall T&E spend and key T&E spend within each categories are all but impossible to find.
Dream Come True Travel is a large travel management company that has been in business since 1966. It has over 40 locations worldwide and 800 employees. The document discusses Dream Come True Travel's full service travel management offerings, including negotiated rates that provide savings, an online booking portal, reporting tools, and expense management integration. It emphasizes the company's high level of customer service, experienced staff, and focus on helping clients control costs and manage compliance.
Opting to become a travel agent is a fabulous career path. But, it’s not a piece of cake either. To be successful and make enough money to support you, becoming a travel agent will require passion, commitment, investment and a lot of stepping outside the comfort zone. So if you are going to become a travel agent, then make sure you become a travel agent for the apt reasons.
Visit:- www.multilinkworld.com/travel-agent.aspx
This document discusses how travel companies can use personalized marketing strategies enabled by big data analytics. It argues that harnessing consumer data to provide tailored experiences at each stage of the travel planning and booking process can increase sales and customer retention. Specifically, it explores how travel sites can leverage customer preferences and behaviors to improve on-site recommendations, target digital ads more effectively, and tailor messaging in marketing communications. The key is for companies to develop a deep understanding of individual customers in order to engage with them in the most relevant way.
Social Listening for the Travel & Hospitality IndustryBrandwatch
This report details the changes, challenges and opportunities facing the travel and hospitality industry, including:
- How airlines can justify price premiums and boost brand reputation
- What leading hotel and booking brands are doing to better understand and respond to user reviews
- Which metrics marketers can use to measure their campaigns and ROI
More info available here: http://www.brandwatch.com/report-travel-2014/
What you need to know about Corporate Travel in 2019CertifyInc
Tech brands are transforming the business travel and expense landscape—and business traveler expectations. Join us as we look at the biggest trends in corporate travel and how finance leaders can create a future-proofed corporate travel policy that will help manage spending and cut costs—while also meeting the needs of business travelers in 2019.
EQ Travel Management business travel show presentation feb 2016Franc Jeffrey
Business travellers have evolved significantly over time. Today's business traveller is connected through technology, using travel apps and mobile devices. They expect their travel to be an intelligent, personalized experience. Looking ahead, companies will take a holistic approach to traveller management, influencing traveler behavior through incentives and tailored experiences that meet generation-specific needs and expectations. Gamification techniques may be employed to make policy adherence and productivity feel more like game play.
Blueways Tours & Travels aims to be the leading travel agency in Bangladesh through providing efficient, high quality services. Its mission is to offer outstanding tours and travel services while setting an example in the industry. The agency strives for client satisfaction by delivering efficient, detailed travel planning at competitive prices. Its goals include promoting tourism in Bangladesh and becoming the preferred portal for exploring the country. The agency faces competition from established competitors but sees opportunities in developing new tourist destinations and interest. Its marketing strategy involves segmenting customers based on demographics and behaviors.
The document discusses strategies for hotels to maximize revenue in 2010 given the challenging economic conditions of 2009. It recommends that hotels (1) recognize their competition at the city level rather than just other hotels, (2) closely manage yields and rates through ongoing research and flexibility, and (3) focus on bringing direct bookings to their own websites through targeted promotions and online advertising rather than relying on OTAs. The document emphasizes being proactive, empowering employees, and partnering with CVBs on promotions.
The document summarizes a presentation on business travel and entertainment spend trends based on data from Certify and Seamless. It finds that 10-12% of company budgets are typically spent on travel and entertainment. Manual expense processes are used by 53% of companies and 59% cite lack of compliance as a top pressure. Cloud-based expense management can lower costs by 60% and improve compliance by 35-40% according to the data. The document outlines current spend categories and trends, with meals, flights, and hotels being the top expenses. Regional and industry averages are also provided.
Ernie Humphrey presented on key findings from the 2019 T&E Trends Report. The report found that many organizations lack visibility into travel and expense data and control over spending. This is due to poor T&E management processes and a lack of dedicated expense management technology. Adopting expense management systems can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase compliance by making it easier for travelers to submit expenses and enabling straight-through processing. The presentation provided recommendations for organizations to map out their current T&E processes and costs in order to understand challenges and make a case for technology investments that address key pain points.
Loyalty and subscription in Travel & HospitalityI Meet Hotel
Bidroom organizes I Meet Hotel, a global conference connecting hoteliers to the future of hospitality. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we have to take our conferences online.
I Meet Hotel conducted a survey with 1000s of hotels to design a webinar more suited for hoteliers. One of the subjects that were highlighted were Loyalty and Subscription in Travel & Hospitality;
In this session, we will cover Loyalty and subscription in Travel & Hospitality.
This webinar will feature;
Mark Ross-Smith, CEO @ Loyalty Data Co
Claudia Scharf, Director of Customer Success @ Loyalty Prime Ltd.
Amy Konary, VP and Chair, The Subscribed Institute @ Zuora
The webinar is being moderated by CEO and Co-Founder Michael Ros.
2018 Expense Management Trends: How Will They Affect Your Company?Ashley Emery
This document summarizes a webinar on 2018 T&E trends and benchmarks to improve spend management. Key points include: T&E spending by US companies grew 13% to $296 billion in 2017; meals and gas make up the largest expense categories at 19% each; manual expense reporting costs $26.63 per report compared to $6.85 for automated; and automating expense reporting can reduce processing costs, increase compliance, and boost productivity. The webinar covered how companies can better manage travel spending and maximize ROI through expense control features in automated systems.
T&E Trends and Best Practices in the Digital WorldAshley Emery
T&E Trends and Best Practices in the Digital World
Original air date: October 30, 2019
Join us to discover five key themes from the 2019 Travel and Expense Management Trends Report, a comprehensive survey of almost 600finance professionals. You'll learn specific ways to lower T&E report processing costs, positively impact the productivity of your travelers, and improve your company’s working capital management.
Expense Management in 2018: Planning for Success | December 19, 2017Ashley Emery
Expense Management in 2018: Planning for Success was a webinar that provided an overview of trends, benchmarks, and best practices for travel and expense management. It discussed how companies can improve processes and controls over spending, reduce costs, and increase compliance. The webinar highlighted data showing most organizations still rely on manual processes that are inefficient and costly, and that automation delivers significant returns through improved visibility, tighter policy controls, and lower processing fees. It emphasized setting policies, benchmarking spending, leveraging mobile and integrated systems, and demonstrated how to build a business case for investment in expense management technology.
How Technologies like Certify and Uber Are Transforming Modern Business TravelAshley Emery
Certify and ride-hailing leader Uber bring you the latest data-driven insights and technology trends shaping the experiences and purchase behaviors of the modern business traveler. This webinar also includes a live product demonstration of the Uber for Business auto-expense feature integrated with the Certify Mobile expense reporting app.
Webinar: Personalization in Airlines with Tom Bacon and Dr. MedepalliRateGain®
Take a look at this presentation to understand how airlines are losing revenue by
only focusing on fares and why personalization of experiences is the way forward.
T&E Management: How to Improve Control, Compliance and ProcessesAshley Emery
Join us as we review the results of our annual expense management survey, providing benchmarks for your company’s travel and entertainment (T&E) management processes. We will discuss how to alleviate the top pain points in T&E management, including: the untimely submission of expense reports, inefficient processes, and lack of adherence to company travel policies. In this live 60-minute event, learn how top finance professionals are leveraging technology in conjunction with procedural best practices to improve control, policy compliance and overall processes.
Expense Management Strategies to Maximize ROI in 2016Ashley Emery
Advancements in automation continue to streamline the expense reporting process, and with it further reducing the time it takes for many companies to realize the return on investment from a new system. Join us for an informative hour-long webinar with data analysis from leading research organizations and more than 400 CFOs, controllers and accounting professionals to identify best practices in expense management today. You will also hear from a company that uses a fully automated reporting solution about how the system quickly delivers not just ROI, but better compliance with T&E policy, increased productivity and efficiency, and greater employee satisfaction.
Multi-Channel Distribution: Strike the Most Profitable Balance between Direct...RateGain®
Multi-Channel Distribution: Strike the Most Profitable Balance between Direct & Third Party Inventory
Presenter - Bhanu Chopra, CEO, RateGain
Travel Distribution Summit, Mumbai, Eyefortravel.com
How Automated T&E Expense Management Removes Barriers to Company GrowthAshley Emery
An eighteen-year study on the impact of business travel found that every dollar a company invests in T&E spending returns an average of $9.50 in revenue and $2.90 profit. While this data offers a clear and compelling reason to invest in business travel, many organizations are seeing their growth opportunities dashed by inefficient expense reporting and employee reimbursement processes. Now, an insightful new webinar from Accountex and Certify identifies the common expense management pitfalls that can cost you money and hold your company back. Plus, learn more about today’s top business travel and expense technology trends among small to mid-sized U.S. companies.
Discover how your company can maximize every business travel dollar. Topics include:
Common expense reporting mistakes that erode productivity and profits
The hidden and average expense report processing costs
Calculating lost productivity and lost opportunity among staff
U.S. business travel trends and T&E spending benchmarks
Top expense management technologies used by small and midsized business
2015 T&E Expense Benchmarking: Are Your Employees Splurging on the Company DimeAshley Emery
Travel and entertainment—second only to payroll as the largest business expense—is becoming increasingly more difficult to control as companies expand across borders and grow through acquisitions. Therefore effective budgeting, planning, and management of T&E expenses is critical for companies of all sizes in 2015 and beyond. How does your company’s overall Travel and Entertainment spend, and spend within key categories, compare with other companies? How are companies leveraging automation to better understand and control how employees are spending the company dime? Unfortunately, benchmarks for overall T&E spend and key T&E spend within each categories are all but impossible to find.
Dream Come True Travel is a large travel management company that has been in business since 1966. It has over 40 locations worldwide and 800 employees. The document discusses Dream Come True Travel's full service travel management offerings, including negotiated rates that provide savings, an online booking portal, reporting tools, and expense management integration. It emphasizes the company's high level of customer service, experienced staff, and focus on helping clients control costs and manage compliance.
Opting to become a travel agent is a fabulous career path. But, it’s not a piece of cake either. To be successful and make enough money to support you, becoming a travel agent will require passion, commitment, investment and a lot of stepping outside the comfort zone. So if you are going to become a travel agent, then make sure you become a travel agent for the apt reasons.
Visit:- www.multilinkworld.com/travel-agent.aspx
This document discusses how travel companies can use personalized marketing strategies enabled by big data analytics. It argues that harnessing consumer data to provide tailored experiences at each stage of the travel planning and booking process can increase sales and customer retention. Specifically, it explores how travel sites can leverage customer preferences and behaviors to improve on-site recommendations, target digital ads more effectively, and tailor messaging in marketing communications. The key is for companies to develop a deep understanding of individual customers in order to engage with them in the most relevant way.
Social Listening for the Travel & Hospitality IndustryBrandwatch
This report details the changes, challenges and opportunities facing the travel and hospitality industry, including:
- How airlines can justify price premiums and boost brand reputation
- What leading hotel and booking brands are doing to better understand and respond to user reviews
- Which metrics marketers can use to measure their campaigns and ROI
More info available here: http://www.brandwatch.com/report-travel-2014/
What you need to know about Corporate Travel in 2019CertifyInc
Tech brands are transforming the business travel and expense landscape—and business traveler expectations. Join us as we look at the biggest trends in corporate travel and how finance leaders can create a future-proofed corporate travel policy that will help manage spending and cut costs—while also meeting the needs of business travelers in 2019.
EQ Travel Management business travel show presentation feb 2016Franc Jeffrey
Business travellers have evolved significantly over time. Today's business traveller is connected through technology, using travel apps and mobile devices. They expect their travel to be an intelligent, personalized experience. Looking ahead, companies will take a holistic approach to traveller management, influencing traveler behavior through incentives and tailored experiences that meet generation-specific needs and expectations. Gamification techniques may be employed to make policy adherence and productivity feel more like game play.
Blueways Tours & Travels aims to be the leading travel agency in Bangladesh through providing efficient, high quality services. Its mission is to offer outstanding tours and travel services while setting an example in the industry. The agency strives for client satisfaction by delivering efficient, detailed travel planning at competitive prices. Its goals include promoting tourism in Bangladesh and becoming the preferred portal for exploring the country. The agency faces competition from established competitors but sees opportunities in developing new tourist destinations and interest. Its marketing strategy involves segmenting customers based on demographics and behaviors.
This document provides an overview of key performance indicators (KPIs) for travel and hospitality websites. It discusses top trends in the industry, including alternative distribution channels, focus on differentiation, and social networking. The document then outlines essential KPIs for travel sites, such as revenue per booking, look-to-book ratio, sales cycle analysis, and campaign affinity variance. For each KPI, it describes how to measure the metric using analytics tools and quick wins for improving performance.
The document discusses the benefits of having a strong travel culture for businesses. A study found that 587 global business leaders confirmed the value of a strong travel culture. Companies with a strong travel culture saw double the rate of improvement in key areas like customer loyalty and market share compared to those with a weak culture. However, less than a third of businesses actually have a strong travel culture, instead focusing on minimizing travel costs rather than using it strategically. Having a single travel management company in place helps companies develop a more strategic approach to business travel.
Essential Elements for Better Corporate Travel in 2019CertifyInc
In a world of increasing personalization, business traveler expectations are being elevated to a point where their needs must be met at every step along the way. This webinar looks at new trends in corporate travel and how finance leaders can build future-proofed corporate travel policies that help manage spend and cuts costs.
Insignia Tourism Marketing is an Indian company that specializes in customized outbound tourism experiences. It entered the market in 1998 with a focus on unique, personalized vacations for independent travelers ("FITs") under its brand "Mosaic Holidays". The company operates through a network of travel agents but faces gaps in its service model including a limited geographic footprint and lack of exclusivity and product knowledge among distributors. To address these issues, the company plans to adopt a "mass through niche" direct marketing approach with a wider range of specialized package types to appeal to different customer segments.
The pressure is on to grow your business, while operating on a tight budget. To do so means getting the right data. Customer profiling provides key customer insight that can help businesses better manage their marketing dollars to increase ROI.
5 considerations for working with travel agentsTTC
Travel agents can still be an effective distribution channel, providing access to customers seeking reassurance when planning complex or expensive trips. While travel agents require commissions of 8-12% and investments of time and resources, they provide access to qualified customers without heavy marketing costs. However, there are also risks like agents failing to pay, so travel companies need to protect themselves with monitoring, agreements, and financial protections.
This document provides an overview of consumer and agency trends for international members of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). It discusses the size and demographics of the US travel marketplace and agency industry. It also examines international travel trends, the characteristics of ASTA's domestic and international members, and highlights from a survey of ASTA members working with international partners. Key points include the growth in international sales for US agencies, rising travel agent usage in the US, and Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia being top overseas destinations for American travelers.
The document summarizes the results of an ASTA survey comparing travel agency performance in 2014 versus 2013. The majority of agencies reported increases in revenue, transactions, and number of clients in 2014 compared to 2013. Most increases were under 10%. Independent agents saw the largest increases in insurance, FIT, and tour/group sales while corporate agencies saw the largest increases in air and hotel sales. The vast majority of agencies across all types realized profits in 2014. Agencies have very positive expectations for 2015 profits.
The document is a report on digital travel that summarizes the results of a survey of 110 senior travel executives across Europe. It finds that reducing online shopping basket abandonment is the top priority for travel companies in 2016/17. It also finds that most companies feel they could use better data analytics tools to gain insights from customer data. While most are using data analytics, around 60% want to improve their solutions. Understanding mobile customer behavior and user reviews are key to improving the mobile booking experience. Increasing ancillary sales through add-ons is also a major focus.
The document provides results from a global survey comparing traveler expectations to initiatives by travel and hospitality companies regarding digital transformation and personalization. Some key findings include:
- While over half of company decision-makers see their organizations as pioneers in digital adoption, there is a mismatch between what travelers want from online channels and where companies are investing.
- Personalized promotions, recommendations, and engaging travelers on social media are common company initiatives, but personalization is not a major investment area compared to features like payment options.
- Travelers value simple interfaces, search functions and product comparisons more than the shopping features companies are focusing on, like wish lists. Incomplete transactions are often due to unexpected price changes or errors.
The document discusses Customer Relationship Management strategies for Asia Miles, a major rewards program. It provides an overview of Asia Miles' current programs, which allow members to earn miles through purchases that can be redeemed for travel and other rewards. It also discusses evaluating customer value through metrics like lifetime value. Lastly, it suggests some additional programs Asia Miles could implement, such as double miles promotions, loyalty awards, and experience-based events, to improve customer retention and attract new members.
Similar to ASTA Making Tough Business Decisions: data for agency business planning (20)
- Orlando and Las Vegas remained the top two domestic hot spot cities for summer travel booked through travel agents, with Orlando ranked first at 17% of responses and Las Vegas second at 13%. However, both cities have seen decreases in their market share between 2007-2015.
- Florida was again the top domestic hot spot state at 26% of responses, driven by cities like Orlando, Miami, and Tampa. California displaced Nevada as the second most popular state at 15% of responses.
- For international destinations, Italy remained the most popular country/region at 16% of responses, followed by the UK at 9% and France at 9%. South Africa was ranked the most exciting destination at 5% of responses, praised for its
This document provides demographic information about ASTA member travel agencies as of February 2015. Some key points:
- The average ASTA agency was established in 1997 and has 10 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees.
- Over half of ASTA agencies have annual sales under $2 million. The largest sources of sales on average are tour/packages and cruise.
- The percentage of international sales has been increasing, now making up 62% of sales on average compared to 40% in 2006.
- Leisure products make up 82% of sales on average, with corporate travel comprising the remaining 18%.
The U.S. travel agency industry processes $146 billion in annual travel sales, arranges over 142 million trips annually, and employs 106,000 full-time workers. Travel agencies generate $17.7 billion in annual revenues. The industry consists of over 7,000 airline-accredited firms with retail locations in all 50 states, primarily consisting of small, women-owned businesses. Travel agencies facilitate the majority of air travel, cruise, tour, car rental, and hotel bookings in the United States.
The document summarizes survey results from the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) regarding travel agency performance in the first half of 2014 compared to 2013. Key findings include:
- The largest group of travel agencies (47%) reported an increase in revenue, transactions, and number of clients in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.
- Independent agents and corporate agencies showed stronger revenue growth compared to retail leisure agencies.
- Most travel industry sectors performed well, with tour/group and cruise having the largest percentage of agencies reporting increased sales.
- Agencies projected stronger profits for 2014 and 2015 compared to previous years.
Becoming a niche travel expert can be a great way to expand your business. ASTA reached out to our membership to find out what the top niches were from a sales and a client-base perspective. We asked how agents became an expert in that niche and which niches they expect to grow in the future. Agents also told us the marketing techniques that were most effective for their niches.
- For the twelfth year in a row, Orlando and Las Vegas were the top two most popular summer destinations booked by ASTA travel agents, with Orlando at 17% and Las Vegas at 14% of responses. However, both cities have seen decreases in market share between 2007-2014.
- Florida was the top domestic hot spot state for summer 2014 at 23% of responses, led by destinations like Orlando, Miami, and Tampa. Nevada was second at 13% due to Las Vegas.
- The top four international destination cities - London, Rome, Paris, and Cancun - remained the same for the eleventh consecutive year. Italy was the top country/region chosen at 19% of responses.
The document summarizes the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), which sets standards for sustainable tourism. The GSTC aims to clearly define sustainability standards for the tourism industry. It has established universal principles and criteria for hotels, tour operators, and destinations. The criteria address sustainable management, socioeconomic impacts, cultural impacts, and environmental impacts. The GSTC also certifies sustainability certifiers and provides education and advocacy on sustainable tourism issues.
The marketing advantage of the sustainable travel niche is the growing desire of consumers to “do well” while vacationing and traveling. That desire to “do well” has gone mainstream with the National Geographic estimating as many as 55-65 million U.S. tourists can be classified as geotourists, and geotourists spend 75% of the money spent on tourism. Understanding the basics of sustainable and socially-responsible travel can set you apart from other agencies and gain you more affluent clients.
The presentation addresses the ABCs of sustainable travel: 1)What defines a travel products as sustainable as well as socially-responsible, 2)how agents can confirm the sustainability of a travel product and 3) how to market consumers. Further, ASTA’s green program will be explained as well as the contents of the expanded ASTA Green Guide for Travel Agents.
The document provides a profile of ASTA agency members based on a 2014 survey. Some key findings:
- The average agency was established in 1988, with the oldest in 1900 and newest in 2013. Most have 10 full-time employees and 17 independent contractors.
- Over half of agencies have annual sales under $2 million, though more are under $1 million and over $10 million compared to past years. Tour/packages and cruise makeup the largest share of sales on average.
- Two-thirds of agencies realized a profit in 2013, up from previous years, while those breaking even decreased. Leisure sales make up 81% of business on average.
- International sales have been increasing and reached 59% of
ASTA surveyed ASTA agency members in June-July 2013 asking them to compare their 1st Half 2013 performance against their 1st Half 2012 performance. Agencies specifically compared their revenue, transaction volume, number of clients and sales per travel segment in the 1st Half of 2013 to their performance in 2012. Additionally, they were asked to forecast how profitable they will be in 2013 and 2014.
The U.S. travel agency industry processes $141 billion in annual travel sales, arranges over 144 million trips annually, and employs a 105,000 person workforce. Travel agencies account for 64% of air sales, 64% of cruise sales, 66% of tour sales, and 18% of hotel sales. The industry is comprised primarily of 7,768 small businesses owned by women, which operate out of 13,262 retail locations across the country.
The document summarizes the results of a survey of ASTA agency members comparing their performance in full year 2012 versus 2011. Key findings include:
- The majority of agencies reported increasing revenue, transactions, and number of clients in 2012 compared to 2011.
- Corporate agencies and retail leisure agencies reported higher rates of increased revenue than independent agents.
- Independent agents saw a larger gap between increased revenue and increased number of clients than other agency types.
- Tour/group travel saw the largest increase in sales across all agency types. Air sales increased most for corporate agencies.
The document summarizes ASTA's 2013 survey results on domestic and international travel hot spots for summer. It found that Orlando and Las Vegas remained the top two domestic city destinations, with both seeing decreases in market share since 2007. Florida was the top domestic state destination. For international destinations, London, Paris, Rome and Cancun were the top cities, while Italy, the UK, the Caribbean and Mexico were the top countries/regions. Africa, Costa Rica and unique experiences in Italy and Australia were cited as the most unique destinations.
The document provides a profile of ASTA agency members as of January 2013 based on a survey. Key details include:
- The average agency was established in 1987, with the oldest in 1900 and newest in 2012. Most were founded between 1981-2000.
- 69% of agencies have employees and/or independent contractors, while 31% are sole proprietorships. On average, agencies have 10 full-time employees, 3 part-time employees, and 17 independent contractors.
- Over 40% of agencies reported annual sales under $1 million, while the categories of $4-4.9 million and over $50 million had the fewest responses. There has been an increase in agencies with sales under $1
There are four primary sources that provide data on the number of travel agents and agencies in the US: the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, ARC data, and research firms/trade publications. The Census Bureau data shows there were around 27,000 travel agency firms and locations in 1992, declining to around 15,000 firms and locations by 2009. BLS data found around 124,000 travel agents in 2000 declining to around 71,000 by 2010, with average salaries rising from $26,600 to $33,950 over this period. Research firms like PhoCusWright also report on the size of the travel industry.
This document provides demographic information about ASTA member travel agencies. Some key points:
- The average ASTA agency was established in 1987 and has 12 full-time employees and 8 independent contractors.
- Over half of agencies realized a profit in 2011, with sales volumes mostly under $1 million or between $1-10 million.
- Tour/cruise packages make up the largest share (29-31%) of agency sales, followed by cruise (25-26%) and airline (24-25%).
- Most agencies build itineraries or make reservations for the drive portion of vacations.
- International sales now account for 55-56% of agency revenues on average, up from 40% in 2004
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ASTA Making Tough Business Decisions: data for agency business planning
1. MAKING TOUGH
BUSINESS DECISIONS
Indispensable Research for Measuring
Travel Agency Success
Presented by
2014 Benchmarking Research Highlights
December 2014
2. Table of CONTENTS
1. Introduction: GROWING Your Bottom Line in 2015
Successful travel agents have always been passionate about their
work. But today’s climate demands more than passion. To thrive in
2015, retail travel professionals need to make tough business
decisions based in up-to-the-minute business intelligence.
2. The Bottom Line: PROFITABILITY
3. The PRODUCTIVITY Equation
4. Sales Focus: Where’s your SWEET SPOT?
5. GETTING PAID By Suppliers
6. GETTING SMART About Fees
7. Is SOCIAL MEDIA paying o?
8. Making Money ONLINE: Travel Agency Sales via the Web
9. The COSTS of Doing Business
10. Getting Paid: HOW MUCH Do Agents Earn?
11. GDS Trends: USAGE REVENUES
12. DEFINITIONS Methodology
3. Introduction: GROWING Your Bottom Line in 2015
To support travel agents in their success, Travel Market Report has partnered with ASTA to deliver the
agency industry’s latest, most-relevant research.
We have what no one else has: exclusive, must-have data on what you need to know to be successful.
This report details 10 key business metrics drawn from ASTA’s 2014 Travel Agency Benchmarking Series.
Each benchmark sheds light on a critical aspect of travel agency profitability, including:
1 Agency profit margins 6 Social media ROI
2 Frontline agent productivity 7 Online sales
3 Sales by segment 8 Operating expenses
4 Supplier commission levels 9 Agent compensation
5 Trends in service fees 10 GDS usage and costs
In the pages that follow, you’ll also find links to ASTA tools and resources, along with links to Travel
Market Report stories providing the kind of news and commentary, advice and analysis that you won’t
find anywhere else.
It’s all designed to give travel agents the indispensable tools, insights and information they need to grow
their profits in 2015.
Like most industries today, the travel agency business is dynamic, fast-moving and subject to external
and internal forces that can feel overwhelming.
In this environment, the pathway to continued success is to adopt an eyes-wide-open stance, stay open
to change and maintain a keen focus on the business basics that will drive profits and keep your
customers coming back for more. The information in this report promises to guide you along the way.
Voice of the Travel Professional
About
The Research
A NOTE ABOUT ASTA’S BENCHMARKING SERIES
ASTA’s Travel Agency Benchmarking Series is a collection of detailed
research-based reports available as a benefit of membership. The benchmarking
reports give ASTA agents access to key data that they can use to measure their
business practices and results against those of their peers.
1
4. All
Agencies
Independent
Agent (incl. ICs)
Retail Leisure
Agency (70%+)
Corporate
Agency (70%+)
The Bottom Line: PROFITABILITY
8%
More travel agencies enjoyed solid profit margins in 2014 than in recent
memory. Nearly nine in ten––88%––expect to register a profit when
they crunch the year’s numbers. And most anticipate stronger returns
in 2015. But while agents’ average profit margin will be a healthy 9% in
2014, many agencies still exist on the
edges of profitability. What will you do
in 2015 to grow your agency’s margins
and secure your future?
Learn
More
ASTA
Agency Sales Revenue Trends
Travel Market Report
A Business Action Plan for Your Agency
8 Tips for Building a Profitable Niche
“Most travel agencies have successfully
evaluated their product mix over the past
few years, determined where they excel,
and adjusted their sales focus to maintain
long-term profitability. ASTA members
are bullish about a continued increase in
profits for 2015.”
Zane Kerby, ASTA
Average Agency Profits by Business Model: 2012-2015
2015
Forecast
2014
Projected
2013
Revised
2012
8%
7%
8%
7%
6%
8%
8%
7%
8%
7%
10%
10%
10%
9%
10%
2
5. The PRODUCTIVITY Equation
Average Sales Revenues* per Frontline Agent
$388,684
$47,502
$714,077
$90,717
$1,119,155
$90,713
Running a profitable travel agency requires keeping close tabs on
your sales-to-revenue ratio in addition to total volume. While the
productivity of frontline agents is obviously
key, other factors come into play. In managed
corporate travel, high technology expenses
coupled with the need to contain clients’
travel costs exert downward pressure on
agencies’ bottom lines. For leisure agencies, a
focus on customer service aects agents’
sales productivity, making it essential to
charge appropriate service fees.
“In today’s highly competitive
retail travel arena, success
means much more than simply
making the sale. Top travel
professionals must have a solid
grasp of the business-profit
angle behind every transaction.”
Libbie Rice, Ensemble Travel Group
Footnotes
* Revenues include: commissions, overrides, markups, transaction or service fees, GDS incentives and “other.”
Learn
More
ASTA
Travel Agent's Management Toolkit
Travel Market Report
Want To Boost Sales? Take a Tip from Improv Theater
Restaurants Oer Valuable Lessons on Profitability
Avg Annual Sales
per Fulltime Agent
Avg Annual Revenue
per Fulltime Agent
Independent Agent (incl. ICs) Retail Leisure Agency (70%+) Corporate Agency (70%+)
3
6. Sales Focus: Where’s your SWEET SPOT?
Ever since leisure travel agents stopped focusing on selling air travel,
tours and packages have been their single largest product segment,
followed by cruise. Tour and package sales first surpassed air sales as
a percentage of leisure agents’ business in 2005. For corporate
agents, airlines sales still predominate. The most
successful agencies are deliberate about their
sales focus. They weigh factors such as consumer
demand, changing supplier distribution tactics
and their own passions, then write a business plan
and review it annually. Is your product mix the
most profitable it could be? If not, perhaps it’s
time to update your business plan.
Footnotes
*Other includes travel insurance, services such as passport photos, and merchandising, such as luggage
sales, etc.
Percentages are averages, based on agents’ projected sales for 2014.
Learn
More
ASTA
Business Plans
Sales and Marketing Course
Travel Market Report
Surf Or Turf? Move Into Selling Tours
Cruise Agents Embrace All-Inclusives
Overall
23% 26% 11% 3% 33% 5%
Independent Agent (incl. ICs)
16% 27% 13% 4% 35% 6%
Retail Leisure Agency (70%+)
19% 29% 8% 3% 37% 5%
Corporate Agency (70%+)
61% 8% 15% 6% 9% 1%
Airline Cruise Hotel Car rental Tour/Packages Other*
“Cruise has always been my
bread and butter, but recently
tours have jumped from 5% to
30% of my business. There’s
an explosion of people
wanting in-depth experiences.”
Michelle Duncan, Odyssey Travel
Share of Sales per Segment in 2014
4
7. GETTING PAID By Suppliers
7%
5%
37%
8%
4%
36%
15%
12%
95%
10% 10%
90%
15%
12%
90%
As supplier commission levels fluctuate, agents need to track the
trends, paying close attention to their own commission earnings as
well as to the big picture. What products and services are likely to
yield the highest returns over the long-term? Are certain segments or
suppliers pulling away from the travel agency
distribution channel? Is it time to redirect your
sales eorts? As Nolan Burris of Future Proof
Travel Solutions says, “Agencies must take charge
of their own financial future and not place it in the
hands of a disinterested group of shareholders.”
Learn
More
6%
5%
81%
Average
Commission
Median
Commission
% of Agencies That
Report Receiving
Commissions
“Advisors will choose the
products they represent and
sell more than ever before.
Suppliers are taking note of
that. We are advisors, rather
than agents, and that
distinction grows every day.”
ASTA
Commission Resources in ASTA’s E-Library
Travel Market Report
Selling Cruises: Does It Still Pay?
How to Boost Your Commissions on Cruise Sales
Selling Travel Insurance: A Missed Opportunity for Agents?
Colleen Gillette, New Paltz Travel
Commisson Levels by Segment
5% 5%
56%
20%
21%
86%
Travel Insurance Cruises Tours Hotel Air-Corporate Agencies Air-Leisure Agencies Car Rental Rail
5
8. Tour packages
$41 Cruises
Air- corporate
Air-leisure
Booking ancillary services
Most travel agents stopped giving away their services years ago.
Today the majority of ASTA agents charge fees when booking air and
rail travel and when planning FIT vacations. More than four in ten
charge for hotel-only bookings and for air-inclusive packages. The
most striking recent development is a trend
toward charging fees when booking cruises. More
than one in five agents (21%) now charges an
average of $41 to plan a cruise, and the number of
agents who charge for cruise is growing.
Agents have steadily increased the dollar amount
they charge too—up from a median fee of $25 for
air bookings in 2005 to $38 in 2013.
Agents reserve their highest fees for their FIT
trip-planning services, charging an average $118.
Their lowest average fee is $20 for
car-only bookings.
Learn
More
ASTA
Travel Agency Consultancy Fee Course
Travel Market Report
To Reduce Your Risk, Charge Fees
Don’t Gamble With Your Bottom Line
“Do something worth paying for
and charge for it. If you have
taken the time to get to know
someone as a person—their
likes, dislikes, desires, dreams,
the reasons behind their
trip—you’re doing much more
for them than the booking. Fees
are for all the wonderful things
you do for your customers.”
Nolan Burris, Future Proof Travel Solutions
GETTING SMART About Fees
Average Fee by Travel Type % of Agencies that Charge a Fee
61%
23%
42%
21%
70%
88%
20%
45%
64%
16%
36%
$118
$53
$20
$33
$31
$54
$28
$39
$38
$28
Trip planning (FIT)
Air-inclusive packages
Shore excursions
Accommodations only
Rail tickets
Car only
6
9. % of Agencies Using Social Media
68%
76%
Are you wasting time on social media? Despite steady growth in
travel agents’ social media presence, it’s still tough to see a tangible
ROI. Fully 30% of agents active on social media say they derive zero
revenue from their eorts, and 80% say their time online yields just
five or fewer new client leads monthly. But a
growing number are finding a payo. For 13%,
social media activity now generates upwards of
20% of revenues. You need to have a plan, commit
to spending the time, follow through, then track
your results.
Learn
More
ASTA
Social Media Webinars
Travel Market Report
4 Ways to Avoid Sabotaging Your Social Media Eorts
3 Keys to Measuring ROI on Social Media Marketing
Is Social Media Pulling You O-Course?
“People naturally want to buy
from people they trust. Online
you build trust by answering
questions, networking and
oering valuable information
to your target customers.”
Sophie Bujold, social media strategist
Is SOCIAL MEDIA paying o?
55%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Use
Social Media
Do Not Use
Social Media
53%
72%
45%
47%
74%
32%
28% 26%
80% 79%
24%
20% 21%
% of Revenue Derived from Social Media
0%
Revenue
1-4%
Revenue
5-10%
Revenue
10-15%
Revenue
20+%
Revenue
30%
29%
26%
2%
13%
Agency
Breakdown
7
10. Making Money ONLINE: Travel Agency Sales via the Web
Agency Revenue Earned via Online Tools* Online Customer Requests for Assistance
22%
18%
Sales booked via travel agency websites have risen slowly but remain
relatively low. For the 34% of travel agencies that oer an online
booking tool, those tools generate an average 10% of revenues.
Corporate agencies earn the most via
online tools. For service-oriented
leisure agencies and independent
agents, branded websites are more
eective at spurring online requests
for assistance, which agents then
service directly and convert to sales.
These online requests yield 18% of
revenues for independent agents and
16% for retail leisure agencies.
Footnotes
*Base: Agencies with online booking tools
Learn
More
27%
16%
16%
For most agents, online bookings are
not necessarily a big factor, but online
shopping is critical. Website content is
key. A combination of unique content
about the agency’s expertise and value,
plus supplier content and an easy call to
action, provides a robust, content-rich
shopping experience. This is proving to
be a highly successful online and oine
sales scenario.
ASTA
Sales and Marketing Course
Travel Market Report
Building Agency Websites That Work in a 2.0 World
Marilyn Macallair, Passport Online
9%
of
Total Revenue
12%
Total Revenue
of
12%
Total Revenue
of
Retail Leisure Agency (70%+)
Corporate Agency (70%+)
Independent Agent (incl. ICs)
Independent Agent
(incl. ICs)
Retail Leisure Agency
8%
Corporate Agency
(70%+)
% of Total Requests via Agency Website
% of Total Revenue Generated From Online
Requests for Assistance
8
11. 2%
13%
60%
5%
4%
2%
5%
40%
2%
All Respondents Independent Agent (incl. ICs)
2% 2%
Retail Leisure Agency (70%+) Corporate Agency (70%+)
Other*
Oce supplies and equipment
Telephone, fax, Internet
Travel and entertainment
Advertising and promotion
Rent/mortgage
Outside contractors (travel agents)
Salaries and benefits (employees/management)
The COSTS of Doing Business
For all types of travel agencies, labor costs are the single largest
operating expense by far, accounting for 70% of costs. Rent or
mortgage payments constitute agencies’ second-largest expense.
Other categories of expenditures vary by type of agency. For instance,
leisure agencies and independent agents spend more on advertising
and promotion than corporate agencies, while corporate agencies
spend more on salaries. Independent agents spend a significantly
bigger chunk on travel and
entertainment, presumably because
they do not enjoy the supplier perks
available to higher-volume agencies.
For all agencies, keeping a watchful eye
on operating costs is critical.
Learn
More
“In good times and bad, the travel
agencies that survive and prosper are
those that are tenacious about routing
out unnecessary expenditures.”
ASTA
Travel Agent's Management Toolkit
Travel Market Report
5 Business Lessons We Learned in 2013
Put Outsourcing to Work for Your Home-Based Agency
Dr. Robert W. Joselyn, CTC, TAMS
Average % of Operating Expenses
Footnotes
*Other includes non-travel contractors, training, utilities, dues fees, automotive, insurance, rebates, GDS
payments, postage, agent error, bad debt, etc.
10%
15%
10%
2%
7%
11%
7% 7%
5%
1%
2% 10%
2% 2%
2% 2%
17%
12% 11%
55% 74%
9
12. Getting Paid: HOW MUCH Do Agents Earn?
Starting travel agent with
limited experience
Paying competitive salaries has long been a challenge in the travel
agency industry, making it dicult to attract and retain talented travel
sellers. With profit margins thin, owners and managers need to get
creative, providing non-monetary rewards and perks that show
employees they are valued while giving
them opportunities to grow. Some
agencies find that paying a mix of
salary and commission is the best solution.
Learn
More
13% Commission Only
“Compensation is important, but it is not
the only factor in finding the right balance
for employees. Young talent coming into
the industry value flexibility in work
schedules and having access to a strong
mentor. More seasoned talent value work
flexibility more than compensation.”
ASTA
Salary Tool
Travel Market Report
How to Avoid a Stang Crisis
6 Tips for Attracting Retaining Top Leisure Agents
Finding Keeping Young Agents
Nicole Mazza, TRAVELSAVERS
Travel Agent Compensation*
AVERAGE
Corporate Agency
AVERAGE
Retail Leisure Agency
MAXIMUM
All Respondents
Managerial position with
sales responsibilities
AVERAGE
All Respondents
Footnotes
*Compensation includes salaries, commissions
and bonuses for fulltime agents
Agent Pay Packages
30% Salary and Commission Mix
58% Salary Only
Managerial position without
sales responsibilities
$21,915
$40,000
$21,906 $25,643
$42,026
$115,000
$40,528
$56,753
$34,012
$137,527
$32,771
$45,157
$44,970
$175,000
$42,629
$63,671
Travel agent
10
13. GDS Trends: USAGE REVENUES
GDS: Cost Center or Revenue Source? Agency GDS Usage
in 2014
Overall
Independent Agent (incl. ICs)
Retail Leisure Agency (70%+)
Corporate Agency (70%+)
Independent Agent (incl. ICs)
Overall
Retail Leisure Agency (70%+)
Corporate Agency (70%+)
50%
Travel agency usage of GDSs has dropped steadily in the last 15 years,
with much of that decline linked to the growth of independent agents
and ICs. Fully 80% of retail leisure agencies still rely on GDSs, and 100%
of corporate agencies do so. But it’s primarily high-volume corporate
agencies that make money from GDS
incentive payments. For many leisure
agencies, GDSs are an expense. Agents
should take a hard look at their GDS
contracts, negotiate aggressively and
consider all their options.
Learn
More
67% 33%
42% 58%
80% 20%
100%
Use a GDS Do not use a GDS
“The shift away from the GDSs to various
online and app-derived solutions is
clearly seen in the booking trends.”
ASTA
ASTA’s E-Library Content on GDS
Travel Market Report:
GDSs Support New DOT Rules
Looking Back With Travel Market Report, Technology
Richard Eastman, The Eastman Group
Footnotes
Base: GDS Users
*Net equals GDS credits/incentive income minus GDS fees/charges.
7%
14%
54%
43%
39%
27%
25%
29%
16%
5%
9%
4%
15%
10%
4%
6%
6%
8%
14%
17%
$20,000 or more
$10,000 - $19,999
$5,000 - $9,999
$1-$4,999
$0
-$1 or less (owe money)
Net Impact*on Agency: GDS Costs Incentives
11
14. DEFINITIONS Methodology
This report dierentiates among three types of agencies:
• Independent Agent (Including ICs): One-person agency has no employees and may or may not
be hosted.
• Retail Leisure Agency: Agency has employees and derives 70% or more of its sales volume from
leisure travel.
• Corporate Agency: Agency has employees and derives 70% or more of its sales volume from
corporate travel.
The data in this report are drawn from ASTA’s Travel Agency Benchmarking Series, including:
• ASTA Agency – Demographics of ASTA members including sales and type of agents.
• Financial Benchmarking Report – Benchmarking data on sales, revenue sources, revenue by
type of travel, and operational expenses.
• GDS Report – Trends in GDS usage, contract lengths, contract negotiations, and
incentives/penalties and information on non-GDS users.
• Labor and Compensation Report – Detailed data on compensation and benefits by region and
agency size and type, plus turnover rates and hiring practices.
• Service Fee Report – Data on average service fees by travel type, service fee policies, service
fee collections, service fee revenue and consulting fees.
• Supplier-Travel Agent Relationship Marketing Report – Analysis of preferred supplier
relationships, booking channels and eectiveness of incentive programs.
• Technology and Web Usage Report – Examines business practices related to agencies’ Internet
usage, technology usage, agency websites and online bookings.
The Travel Agency Benchmarking reports are based on survey data collected through the ASTA
Research Family. The ASTA Research Family is a panel comprised of a representative sample of ASTA
member travel agency owners and managers. The Research Family reflects ASTA members in key
agency demographics including sales volume, leisure/business mix, number of part-time and full-time
employees and geographic location.
The size of the Research Family ranges from 300 to 465 responses per survey. Survey size varies due to
non-response, agency closings, mergers, and changes in membership status, but is designed to yield a
response representative of all ASTA agency members.
Learn
More
Additional research resources can be found on ASTA’s Research Program page.
Custom breakouts of data are available as a custom research request.
For further information, contact Melissa Teates, Director of Research at ASTA, at
mteates@asta.org.
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