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The article discusses the changing reputation of American travel agents over time. In the past, travel agents were ranked similarly to used car dealers by the public due to inconsistent pricing and competition. However, the internet and the COVID-19 pandemic have not put travel agents out of business, and there is increasing support for using professional advisors when planning trips. Travel agents have adapted by changing their terminology and striving to become trusted advisors. They aim to form personal relationships with clients, provide support in emergencies, and offer services that prioritize the client's needs. The article suggests that travel agents can be seen as equal to other trusted professionals in a person's life, such as physicians or financial advisors. [Extracted from the article]

The article offers information related to the evolution of paper travel brochure, which reportedly an important tool for travel sellers, into a sophisticated supplement to web content. Other topics being presented include efforts made by tour operators to print and publish costly paper brochures in aim to better illustrate and sell their destinations and itineraries as well as the emergence and proliferation of technology and social media.

Features the top 50 travel agencies in 2005 listed in the Travel Weekly Power List. American Express Business Travel; Carlson Wagonlit Travel; Travelocity.

The New Year is here, which means new challenges, booking opportunities, and the start of WAVE Season! Reach out to your existing clients and build lasting relationships with new ones by setting them up with the best offer they can find for their dream cruise vacation. Some of your clients may be hesitant to book a vacation coming off the expenses of the holidays - but they'll be grateful you reached out once they see all the savings, and you'll be starting off the year strong!. [Extracted from the article]

The article reveals that the percentage of full-time National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents (NACTA) agents for whom selling travel is the only source of income has been falling since 2003. It details the 2006 Independent Agents Demographic Profiling Survey of NACTA. Comments regarding the issue from Joanie Ogg of NACTA are included.

The article presents an interview with Terry Jones, founding president and CEO of online agency Travelocity, regarding the issues facing the travel agency business. According to him, online agencies do not give advice, they are the electronic marketplace relying on the volume and a low level of fees, low costs. They do have service but do not generally give advice on purchases. He also observed that the number of retail agency business has stabilized and agents have changed the model.

Reports on the lawsuits being faced by online travel agencies in the U.S. related to taxation. Comments from Paul Chronis of McDermott Will & Emery; Claim of Orange County, Florida on its lawsuit against Expedia and Orbitz; Arguments of online travel agencies. INSET: Clarifying judgment sought in Fla..

The article focuses on the benefits that travel advisors and their clients can get from a new solution designed to reduce the confusion that can result from booking codeshare itineraries. According to Phocuswright senior technology analyst Bob Offutt, the solution is unique to the market. Atmosphere Research Group founder Henry Harteveldt adds that it will help the traveler to understand not only which airline will operate the flight but what the onboard experience will be.

The article reports that travel agencies have their own websites and commissioned agents usually have their websites as well. Wall Street motivates travel corporations to expand their direct bookings as and when possible as cultivating direct customers online has measurable advantages for the bottom line.

The article focuses on the move of hosts agencies to consider creating agent-facing technology in-house and offering agents a single place to access everything from customer relationship management (CRM) to marketing to social component in the travel industry. Stephanie Lee, founder of the website HostAgencyReviews.com, highlights the evolving hosts' technology.

The article offers the author's perspective about technology-related issue and trends in the tourism industry. He discusses the absence of an area dedicated to leisure travel at the Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas Convention Center as well as the lack of a common language among tour operators, travel firms, and airport personnel in providing data to each other to make a trip holistic.

The article offers information related to travel agents and the industry which includes threats to businesses, meetings, and appointments.

The article features travel agent Carol Green. Green specializes in booking travel for rock groups, with clients including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Billy Joel. She recalls having stage freight, learning the travel business on the job and going to wok for another agent who specialized in entertainment. She is known for getting her clients by word of mouth. She got Joel because of lot his crew are also Springsteen's crew.

The article reports on criticisms raised against the online magazine "WomansDay.com" for running a story about travel agents in 2013. It mentions that travel agents, suppliers and consumers opposing the claims of the article regarding the practices of travel professionals. According to the author, they also filed a petition with over 1,000 signatures to retract the story.

The article focuses on the nearly 30 travel agent peers who are presenting at the 2012 Travel Weekly's Cruise World and Home-Based Agent Show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 7 to 10. The list includes Virginia Barthel, owner of the Booked by Barthel agency, "Captain" Lou Edwards, founder and owner of Little Shop for Cruises and SpecialEventsAtSea.com and Timothy Smalls, owner of Reunion Cruise Shoppe.

The article reports on the result of a study commissioned by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) suggesting that travel agents have more opportunities to serve travelers of all age ranges and income levels than many realize. It also suggests a surprisingly rich opportunity for current and future from the younger travelers.

Two letters to the editor are presented about the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) membership and travel agents.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "A Step Outside the Cube," by Richard Turen in the August 7, 2006 issue, "Disruption," by Arnie Weissmann in the September 25, 2006 issue, and the pending passport requirement for travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

Reports on the plan of American Airlines to begin charging agencies a booking source premium for all bookings made in the U.S. through Sabre and Amadeus as well as through certain programs offered by Worldspan and Galileo/Apollo. Decision of the company not to charge agencies for bookings made through competitive booking sources including G2 SwitchWorks and Farelogix; Launch of Galileo's outlines of its optional Content Continuity Program; Reaction of agents to the plan of American Airlines.

Stresses the importance for travel agents to know the needs of luxury cruise clients. Comments from Ricci Zukerman, president of Worldview Travel, on the challenge of providing unique amenities in order to differentiate one luxury client from another; Technique in spotting a client who are able and willing to pay for a luxury cruise travel; Factors that make luxury ocean travel appealing to clients.

Reports on the decision of American Express (Amex) to disregard their plan on charging independent travel agents with fees for a right to book Platinum and Centurion card benefits for clients. Reason for the decision of the company; Amount planned by Amex to charge independent agents; Proposal of independent agencies to Amex on charging fees. INSET: WHAT WILL OTHERS DO?.

Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics discussed in previous issues. Tools suppliers are using to reach as many sellers of travel as possible; Reason big businesses do not want home-based agents to succeed; Commission rebates of Carnival cruise line.

Reports that cruise lines could realize cost savings over time by cutting back on commissions to travel agents. Percentage of the commission payout rate of cruise lines; Percentage of cruise sales that come from travel agents; Efforts of Carnival to reduce commission expense.

Reports that Sabre Travel Network has decided to form the Jurni Network, a consortium of independent travel agents who buy their hosting services from Nexion. Information on the customized programs for several categories of travel agents to be created by the Jurni Network; Discussion of the preferred arrangements to be offered to suppliers who will join the Nexion, Sabre Exclusives hotel merchant-model program; Reason behind the decision of Sabre to establish Jurni.

Reports on the decision of Primaris, an all-first class U.S. airlines that will open in 2004, to sign travel agents to be the marketing representatives of the firm. Views of Hank Alexander, senior vice president of the company, on the strategy; Payment that will be given by the firm to the travel agents; Initial travel areas of the airline upon its opening.

Relates the views of travel agents on the automation and travel agency services offer made by Cendant to corporations. Implications of Cendant's move; Comparison with supplier attempts to sell tours directly to customers; Competition between Cendant and travel agents.

Focuses on the problem faced by travel agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area in California in finding qualified travel agents to fill up vacant positions. Travel agencies that participated in the 2000 Travel Agent Career Fair; Salaries and benefits offered to agents.

Deals with travel agencies in the United States (US) which closed in 1999. Details on travel agency locations which closed their offices in the US; Increase in sales of travel agencies; Forecast on the status of the travel agent market share.

The author discusses several factors that travel agents and vendors should consider in choosing global distribution system contract.

The author comments on social media marketing for travel agents. It discusses the travel-tracking survey commissioned by Google on the significance of social media for generating and converting leads to sales. She recommends to home-based agents and independent agents to establish their brand identity through social media. She stresses the importance of story telling as an agent's tool to help clients visualize their dream vacations.

The article reports that travel professionals are resurgent despite the interim rise of online bookings that did not involve a live travel professional. It took a while, but travelers have started seeking assistance of travel professionals again and reporting entities have detected steady growth of such travelers. However, it is only those agents find customers, who take the time to counsel a client on what to do from the time they take the suitcase from under the bed until they put it back.

The author comments on the WomansDay.com article titled "9 Things Travel Agents Won't Tell You." She suggests that while the article is filled with mischaracterizations and bad advice, its key message is that an implied or direct criticism can be turned into something positive. She also comments on the way the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) leveraged the article to get a positive portrayal of travel agents.

The author reflects on a certain level of pride and respect that travel agents must receive for their valuable work. He suggests having a document that details the travel consultant's bill of rights. He also says that this bill of rights should include the right to be fairly compensated, the right to work in a nonabusive environment, and the right to be successful and independent.

The article discusses "From Travel Agent to Travel Advisor: Defining, Elevating and Promoting the Role of Travel Agents for the Next Generation," a report issued by CLIA describing the status of the travel agent business. The document discussed the role of travel agents in the travel industry. It also highlighted the issues that should be addressed by the travel industry.

The article reports on the representatives of several firms who give home-based agents the advantages and disadvantages of franchising. It notes that in the session titled "Different Models for Home Based Agents: Which Is Right For You," the value of business names and brands emerged in various context. According to president and general manager Jackie Friedman of the Nexion Inc. hosting business, franchising may or may not appeal depending on how an individual want to brand his or her business.

The author reflects on the determination of ARC Travel company to win the Travel Agent's New Best Friend award. The author comments on the agency's proposal not to restrict the voiding window. The author argues that the agency has found a way to give airlines what they wanted without hurting agents.

Information about the Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultants (GIVC) program sponsored by the Karisma Hotel & Resorts which was held on December 3-6, 2008 in Cancun, Mexico is presented. Topics include an aggressive marketing, company's launch of its GIVC initiative, and proper management of business enterprises during economic recession. The conference features several agents across North America.

The article reports on the policy implemented by Outrigger Hotels Group that limits trade discounts and benefits to agents with International Air Transport Association (IATA) or Annual Report Code (ARC) numbers or obtains the Outrigger Hospitality Specialist designation. It notes that to avail the discount an IATA or ARC number will be asked at the time of the booking. A one-hour online course and 10-question test plus supplier recommendations will be required to become Outrigger specialists.

The article reports that he result of two studies on corporate travel suggest that travel managers have been caught flatfooted by a la carte airline pricing and that many of them will continue playing catch-up to the airlines in the year ahead. 34 percent of the respondents said they had no plans the measure the impact of extra airline fees for once-free things on their travel spending.

The article profiles Astrid Breuer, a native of Seychelles and an independent contractor for Michaels Travel Center in Agoura Hills, California. An overview of her career as a travel agent and tour guide from Seychelles to Australia and the U.S. is presented. In addition, the author notes Breuer's passion for Seychelles, as well as how she transacts with clients.

The article reports that Dillard's department store chain has closed its 43 in-store retail travel agencies in the U.S. on August 29, 2008. The company, which has operated since 1985, said it will review and close underperforming units. Moreover, the firm retained sufficient travel staff to tend to the needs of customers who are already booked on the company, but it has stopped taking bookings.

The article reports that the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) will file a friend of the court brief in a case brought by several Florida travel agencies which challenged amendments to the state's seller of travel law. According to ASTA, the law, which requires Cuba specialists to pay registration fees and post bonds, violates the Constitution by infringing the freedom to travel.

The article reports that ARC has set for travel agencies the annual fees of $160 per location for all types of locations including home offices and branches. The per-transaction fees will be 1.8 cents for all transactions over 1,000 up to 1.9 million per quarter per location. The ARC refunded directly to agency accounts for offices that had paid fees in full at the beginning of 2008.

The article discusses Arnie Weissman's views on how the role of travel agents as concierge will affect customer loyalty and revenue. In the luxury sector, frontline marketers are expected to have a master concierge. The growth of agent as concierge is closely connected with the Internet and telephone service on a global basis.

The article deals with a formula proposed to a travel agency owner by another travel agency owner that will buy the agency. According to the formula, the selling agency will be paid 20 percent of commissions actually received by the buyer agency, that are derived from the sale of travel services, fees, monies from sale of invoiced air, tours, cruises, insurance, car, motorcoach and hotel commissions. It notes that the formula is very poorly drafted.

The article reports on the survey of the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN) which revealed that 75 percent of the travel agents they surveyed said that they had a good year in 2007 and that they expected 2008 to be even better. The results of the survey noted that a third of OSSN members made bookings through host agencies, while two-thirds booked on their own.

The article reports on the hotel open-systems platform that will be launched by Amadeus in 2008, which will enable travel agents to migrate from code-based, green-screen hotel searches to picture or icon-based options. Debra Iannaci, public relations director for Amadeus in North America, said the system essentially marks the evolution of the behind-the-scenes technology that will enable the company to bring next-generation hotel functionality to the agency desktop.

The author comments on the gross bookings of travel agencies appointed by Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC). He states that in the 1990s, 50 percent of the travel agencies had gross bookings of less than $3 million. He stresses the importance of both quality and quantity for travel agencies. He notes that the stock for small, unsophisticated, generalist travel agents has risen among suppliers.

The article reports on the decision of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) not to seek a stay which prevents Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) from collecting an increased annual fee for travel agencies. The decision of ASTA came after the agreement of the management of ARC to a concession that would permit single-office travel agencies to pay the fee in two installments.

The author reflects on the competition between tour operators and travel agents in the cruise industry. He notes that tour operators are losing the battle for travel agents. He highlights the views of Bob Whitley, president of the U.S. Tour Operators Association, on promoting tours as a product. He believes that diversity has a huge influence on the tour industry.