[Travelandtourism] Hi, I'm new

Mon Sep 15 11:48:42 UTC 2014

Good morning Megan and welcome to the Travel & Tourism Division, a proud
division of the National Federation of the Blind.

I will also be hosting the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month from 7-8pm
Eastern on the NFB LIVE Chat site in the NFB Travel & Tourism Room Travel
Chat Talk with Cheryl. If you are not in the www.nfblive.org, please try and
sign up for it. You do not need to be a member of the NFB, or just from the
US. We encourage everyone to learn about blindness and living the life we
want, and knowing more about the National Federation OF THE BLIND.

My name is Cheryl Echevarria, and I am the President of the division, I also
own my own travel agency, and also am the host of The Echevarria Travel Show
on the WTOE Network, that airs the 1st Wednesday of each month from 8-9pm
Eastern Time, on www.thruoureyes.org, which is run by the Northeast Chapter
of the NFB of New Jersey.

Okay, now, owning any kind of business; as you know, is that you are the
business owner. 

As a travel agent, you need to invest in how you are going to run the
business, whether as an independent contractor (which meaning you can work
for what is called a host agency, which I do, and they do most of the back
end area of the business, meaning, they send you the tax forms at the end of
the year, do training on all most all topics and have information on all the
suppliers. They also have the industry id for proving you are a travel
professional, which the supplier like cruises, land destinations, hotel, car
rentals, broadway show tickets, and more. Without these IDs such as (CLIA -
Cruise Lines International Association, TRUE -  Travel Retailer Universal
Enumeration, becoming more and more widely used, and IATA/IATAN The
international Air Transport Association (IATA) is the global trade
association for the airline industry. 

You do not have to go to school or get a license to be a travel agent.  But!
And I mean but, you should know this business is not just sitting at your
desk and not travel. In the last month. I went to Jamaica for the 1st time
and it was on vacation. I won a 8 day/7 night trip to Sandals Grande Riviera
in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  Even though I was on vacation, my husband took
pictures and videos for my clients.  Then September 6-8 we went on a FAM,
which is a travel professional supplier offer of a location, sometimes they
are free like, when you graduate a cruise lines training program they offer
a free cruise, accept the taxes and fees; or like what I did with my
husband, Sandals, we were flown from JFK airport here in NY, and they do
this all over the country, but it was the NY Areas time to go. The flew us
down in their plane, and we went to the Sandals - Couples Only Royal
Bahamian in the Bahamas, we then flew over to Beaches For Everyone Property
by Sandals in Turks & Caicos, and then we flew over to the newest property
in Grenada - Sandals LaSource.  Again the point of you traveling is to eat,
drink and experience the places you are selling to your clients.  This is
not a job, you want to sit at home. Especially being blind, you need to
experience yourself, so you can sell the product. Your clients will know if
you are going there or not.

You need to invest in learning the 1st few months or even the 1st year. Not
all travel professionals do everything, some specialize in different
destinations. Like we are finding out that the Caribbean is our niche, but
also our specialty is offering services to the Blind and visually impaired
community.  But if you are going to specialize in an area, you better know
that like the back of your hand. Invest the time to study about the product.
We have studied all the cruise lines, Disney Destinations, Certified Sandals
Specialist, Specialist in Puerto Rico (FYI, my husband is from there but we
studied through the PR Tourism Board all the destinations we didn't know
about. Many other places like Bahamas, St. Martin, US Virgin Islands. We
have over 50+ certifications.  The reason for this, there is a pocketbook at
every one of the destinations for everyone. Because you will get someone to
say, I cannot afford to go this place or that place, and you need to
overcome and ask the right questions to counter act it.

Getting back to running your own business. I am hosted and I am also my own
company; under the host you are your own company as well, but you use their
IDs for booking; also I have these IDs for my own business. Why both?  Well
comes down to the commission you are getting if you are not well known for
selling that product you will get less commission like 10-12% vs. 15-16%
commission through your host. But that all depends on the host. 

Again, these are a lot of issues to think about.

You need your own marketing either way you go host or unhosted
Business cards
Maintaining your own website, being on social media
Are you going to do local events  for destinations you are promoting
So much more!

Remember also you do not have to be a travel agent to be in the travel
business. The hospitality industry is the largest industry in the world. I
am posting the link the my radio show that was recorded with Mr. Patrick
Keyes of the Statler Center, he was also a speaker at the National
Convention in Orlando back in July.  We discuss that the hospitality
industry whether you realize it or not, affects us all every single day. It
is a trillion dollar industry. You eat it, touch it, stay in it, fly in it,
enjoy it, not enjoy it.

 This is going to get a little long but I will try and make it as painless
as possible, also those interested in finding out more, I will have a
discussion on this on NFB LIVE in October.  Watch for the announcement on
it.  If you would also like to be mentored, I will be willing to work with
anyone on the industry and in which direction you want to go in.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/4492945/the-echevarria-travel-show-8-6-2014

Cheryl Echevarria, President
National Federation of the Blind's Travel and Tourism Division
A proud division of the 
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND - "Live the life you want"
www.nfbtravel.org
631-236-5138
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Cheryl Echevarria is also the owner of Echevarria Travel
www.echevarriatravel.com; 631-456-5394 or reservations at echevarriatravel.com
and  has partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her
braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama

-----Original Message-----
From: Travelandtourism [mailto:travelandtourism-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Meg via Travelandtourism
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2014 7:20 PM
To: travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Travelandtourism] Hi, I'm new

Hi all, my name is Megan. I've been self employed the past six years, and
recently relocated to midland, tx for my husbands job. So, I sold my
business before the move. I'm ready to get back out there and would like to
continue with self employment.I would like to work from home, I love to
travel, and helping others. 

I would like to learn more about the travel industry, specifically, travel
agent.

Can you tell me pros and cons of of the profession?

How to get started, education and certifications?

Thanks!!
Megan

Sent from my iPhone
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