(Of course, we know there are two sides to every story. This is the “con” side. For the many reasons some travel advisors do choose to sell air, see “Earning an Extra $50K: Travel Advisors Who Sell Air Say It’s Worth the Effort | Travel Research Online.”)

Liability issues. Time wasted. Late night calls. And the new DOT ruling about refunds that takes effect this week just adds one more reason to the litany of why many travel advisors hate to sell airline tickets.

“Selling air? Don’t.” That’s the succinct advice from Rich Greenway, owner of Greenway Travel Group-Dream Vacations. And he is not alone. Read the rest of this entry »

When a stick doesn’t work, reach for a carrot—and apparently that’s the smart new approach to its travel-agency partners at American Airlines. The carrier has followed up the recall of its highly unpopular NDC booking strategy by promising to pay 10% commission on NDC-enabled bookings of Main Plus, Main Select, and Flagship Business Plus ticket bundles through the third quarter of 2024.

Main Plus NDC bundles include a Main Cabin Extra or preferred seat and a checked bag. Main Select offer refundable fares, same-day flight changes, priority boarding, priority check-in and a choice of any seat in the main cabin at the time of booking, including Main Cabin Extra. Flagship Business Plus includes a business-class seat, access to a private check-in area, expedited security screening, Flagship First dining in a Flagship Lounge and a free third checked bag.

The news comes as a welcome bow to the role of travel advisors in the industry. Just two weeks ago, AA’s CEO Robert Isom canceled a set of proposed procedural changes that would have denied frequent-traveler points to travelers on bookings not made by preferred travel agencies through the NDC direct channel. In a quarterly call on May 29, Isom acknowledged that the changes—meant to push travelers and travel agencies to use direct channels instead of GDSs—had resulted in falling revenues and forced a cut in AA’s profit forecast.

By the next day, Vasu Raja, author of the stick approach, was gone—and Isom apparently already was reaching out to travel advisors, instead offering commissions to reward those who showed support.

The business travel blog The Beat first broke the story that several travel agencies, all of whom requested anonymity per their contracts with AA, received a memo from American Airlines introducing the program on May 30. It will last through the third quarter of 2024.

On February 29, Collette announced that US travel advisors will earn an extra $100 for each booking made in March 2024. This applies to tours departing through March 31, 2025.

And, for the big questions, there is no limit on what US advisors can earn with this offer… and Collette has said the bonus cash will be paid out in April 2024, even if the travelers cancel their bookings. The booking must be active at the time of payout.

“We value travel advisors and want to see them succeed,” said Jaclyn Leibl-Cote, chief executive officer at Collette. “This offer is one more way for us to show them our appreciation when they provide their customers with their expertise in planning a dream vacation.”

Adding to this, advisors will earn up to a $200 bonus with Collette’s Advanced Commission Program. These bonus cash payments are valid on new retail bookings only and are not applicable for group bookings.

For more information, please visit https://www.gocollette.com/en.

There’s a new niche in the travel industry and its name is Taylor Swift, it seems.

With her concerts selling out at exorbitant prices in the United States, some Swifties are looking to the pop star’s European tour schedule—and reaching out to travel advisors to book them a trip around their ticket dates. Better still, budget seems to be only a minor issue.

“This whole concept of parents taking their teenagers to Taylor Swift concerts is an opportunity for travel advisors,” Read the rest of this entry »

The changes in technologies that have surfaced this year will radically change how travel is sold before many realize what is happening. During the next two years, there will likely be changes that most industry travel industry experts haven’t imagined, because they have emerged from the little-known labs that develop natural language processing (NLP) computer software products rather than within the travel industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Founded in 2016, WeTravel was built to support travel businesses by digitizing and simplifying the travel booking and payment process. Now used by more than 5,000+ clients—to transact with nearly 500,000 travelers and thousands of suppliers, annually— the platform has revolutionized how the travel industry manages their businesses. With a suite of integrated SaaS and FinTech solutions that fit into an intuitive platform, WeTravel enables businesses to increase sales conversion, trim administration time, and manage fund transfers from travelers and to suppliers globally.

There were four interesting takeaways from the Travel Leaders Network press conference in New York last week, but this one really caught my eye: An air booking system, already in beta testing at new TLN member Avoya Travel, that holds the promise of increasing airline commissions and making it possible to build and price your own resort packages.

Also on the agenda were membership numbers that keep on growing, a new cruise booking tool, and more education around potentially profitable niches.

Las Vegas is hiring. The seismic rumble of a big comeback is roiling underfoot on The Strip.

Las Vegas’s KSNV TV recently reported that job fairs by the big casino operators are picking up steam in Las Vegas, signaling that the casinos are preparing for an abrupt turnaround as the vaccination rate reaches critical mass.

Casino owner Derek Stevens recently held a drive-through job fair, making offers to applicants in their cars. Caesar’s Entertainment recently held a job fair virtually. Now people are starting to worry about a possible labor shortage. Read the rest of this entry »