In episode 173 Steph and Lindsay Taylor answer a bunch of excellent questions submitted by you, our faithful viewers and listeners. If you have a question, by the way, send it our way at https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15!

2. I’ve decided to expand my agency and diversify income. I plan to open my host agency division soon. Do you have any tips for someone starting a host agency from scratch? —Anonymous

3. Hi, I am wondering how to join 'preferred agency program' (e.g. Marriott Luminous, Hyatt Prive etc.). All the program says they are invitation-only but I am wondering what the general criteria is. Does joining a consortium help to become eligible? –Anonymous

RESOURCES:

HAR’s travel jobs board. Subscribe to weekly jobs email of new postings! (https://hostagencyreviews.com/travel-jobs)

ASTA’s Roadmap to Becoming a Travel Advisor is a fantastic course for those looking to have a strong foundation before starting in the industry! Steph partnered with ASTA on it and they have a track for employees, independent contractors (ICs), and corporate travel agents. (https://har.news/roadmap)

ARC fraud protection resources (https://www2.arccorp.com/support-training/fraud-prevention)

Veriff identity verification (https://www.veriff.com/)

Older HAR blogs with some resources on credit card fraud and thinking like a frauster. A little dated, but still good content to read through.

PATH: Professional Association of Travel Hosts (need to be 50 ICs or more to join)

All about preferred suppliers in the travel industry. (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-preferred-supplier)

In episode 172 Steph welcomes Carolyn Orf of KHM Travel as a co-host! They will cover a ton of helpful topics, including the following:

1. My friend and I are interested in launching an agency together. We each bring slightly different skill sets to the table and have already worked together and been students together (and have been close for decades).

When evaluating host agencies we see that only Travel Quest / WorldVia host agency seems to have a membership option geared towards a two person agency.

Do other host agencies have a way to structure things so that two advisors are working together under the same hosted agency, sharing their clients and working together towards revenue goals and tiers of membership? From the outside looking in it appears that if we went with an agency like Fora we'd each have to independently reach revenue goals to unlock certain perks and access. —Shannon A.

2. What merchant account service should you use to take payments for bookings and what is the difference between Travefy, TravelJoy and Tern? Thank you! –Robin B.

3. Hi Stephanie! I've been loving your podcast and all the content you provide. Thank you for all you do! I'm working through the 7 Day Setup Lite and am brainstorming a name for my agency. I came up with one I keep coming back to. I Googled it as you recommend and there is not much competition. Then I searched the trademark database and there are 3 trademarks similar to my name but they are all dead. Should I be concerned about using this name if all similar trademarks are dead? Don't want to give up this name unnecessarily but also don't want to set myself up for trouble down the road. How would you advise? Thanks so much for sharing your expertise! -Anonymous

RESOURCES:

Host Agency List of over 235 hosts with reviews from their travel advisor members.

Travel Agent FAM Trips: What They Are + How to Find Them + Etiquette (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-fam-trip)

Friday 15 with Tern on things to think about before going into a business partnership.

Over 200+ travel agent rates and info on how to access them

More on Travefy (https://www.hostagencyreviews.com/travel-agency-software/travefy)

More on Tern (https://www.hostagencyreviews.com/travel-agency-software/tern)

More on TravelJoy (https://www.hostagencyreviews.com/travel-agency-software/traveljoy)

How Seller of Travel...

In episode 171 Steph co-hosts with Chad Burt of Outside Agents. Here’s the questions that they’ll cover:

1. Which host agency has the most organized training and accessible people if there are questions? –Joanne A.

2. Hi! I decided I can practice doing property inspection locally. I printed out your questionnaire and intended to go through it. I asked for a manager’s name and said I want a tour. Is it a good idea for me to do it at the point where I am at right now? Maybe I should just chill? Should I be paying attention to anything specific since I am a total amateur at this point, except everything listed in your questionnaire? How should I be introducing myself. I mean - I already did… but how do the professionals do it? —Anonymous

3. Which title should I use travel advisor or travel consultant and why? –Thanks, Jenn

00:00 Welcome to the Friday 15 with Steph and Chad

02:01 Most organized host agency?

10:30 Property Inspections!

17:01 Advisor or Consultant?

RESOURCES:

Hosted travel advisor report will go live soon! Pre-order here: https://hostagencyreviews.com/page/travel-advisor-research-reports

TPI Webinar: Holiday Travel: Do’s & Don’ts as a Selling Travel Advisor Wed. Sept. 4th, 1pm ET / 12pm CT / 11am MT / 10am PT

Fora Webinar: Scaling Success: Fora's Roadmap for Aspiring Travel Advisors Wed. Sept. 11th, 4pm ET / 3pm CT / 2pm MT / 1pm PT

Check out both events and others here! https://hostagencyreviews.com/travel-conferences-events

Advice on how to find the best host agency. (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/tips-on-how-to-find-the-best-travel-host-agency)

Training and education options for travel agents. (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-training-travel-agent-education)

The Definitive Site Inspection Checklist (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/definitive-site-inspection-checklist)

How Travel Advisors Can Make the Most of a Cruise Ship Inspection (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/how-travel-agents-can-make-the-most-of-a-cruise-ship-inspection)

Travel Agent FAM Trips: What They Are + How to Find Them + Etiquette (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/travel-agent-fam-trip)

What do travel agents do? And how do they do it? (https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-do-travel-agents-do)

HAR’s travel industry conferences and events calendar with over 100+ events! https://hostagencyreviews.com/travel-conferences-events

Submit your very own Friday 15 questions here! https://hostagencyreviews.com/friday15