chapter 16
your next position: if you are interested in moving up the career ladder, your first step is to establish yourself as being excellent at whatever you are doing. maintain and extend your networks. also, join and take an active part in local industry associations. remember to keep your portfolio and resume up to date. mention seminars, trade shows, courses, and any other experiences that have added to your expertise.
a professional: has learned a body of knowledge, mastered skills needed for a certain occupation, and demonstrates a commitment to standards of that occupation and the interests of his or her clients. professionalism requires both ethical behavior and continuing education, and we take a closer look at both of these topics at the end of the chapter.
airlines: aviation weekly and publications of the future airline professionals association can help you keep in touch with developments in the field. supervising and training positions are logical promotions. another path is to move into sales, advertising, or marketing. business development manager. if flight attendants decide to end their flying days, they have a good chance of securing a position in other areas of the airline.
accommodations: those who want to take advantage of these opportunities need to gain expertise in areas such as room inventory management, housekeeping, facility maintenance, and food and beverage sales. supervisory and assistant managerial positions maybe obvious steps after an entry level job. for example, gambling resorts, spas, and western ranch resorts need people who know the special features of their operations.
ARC offers a number of self paced tutorials and virtual classes. CLIA offers one of the best known training programs. its certificate programs has two levels accredited cruise counselor ACC and master cruise counselor MCC. the program includes classroom training, sales and marketing seminars, cruise conferences, exams, ship inspections, and cruises. CLIAs one day seminars and courses offered in cities throughout the country and abroad ships.
among the many other examples of certificate and training programs are the following:1) advanced training for the hospitality industry is available from CHRIE, an organization devoted to education and training for the hospitality and tourism industry.2) organizations such as the national business travel association of corporate travel executives can help you keep up to date with developments in business travel.3) the NTA awards a certified tour professional certificate, and the association of destination management executives offers a destination management certified professional designation for successful completion of their programs.
ethics in the travel industry: one aid in determining the ethical published by professional associations. ASTAs code, states that all ASTA members pledge themselves to conduct their business activities in a manner that promotes the ideal of integrity in travel and agree to act in accordance with the principles of the code; table 16.2 reprints those principles.
confidentiality: duties to preserve confidentiality protect and restrict travel agencies, travel counselors, clients, and supplier. travel professionals should never discuss with the public the cost of travel benefits received from suppliers, and supplier representatives should treat info about travel counselors as confidential.
ground transportation: many jobs in this travel sector involve vendors relations and marketing relationships with other segments of travel industry. generally, positions related to yield management and computer based distribution and marketing are growth areas. fleet acquisition and logistics offer fascinating career paths. auto rental news, is the publication to keep you current in the industry. advancement within Amtrak maybe slow, but longevity and dedication may pay off. representing international rail or small local excursion rail companies maybe another avenue.
cruises: most positions are in US cities, and most of these are in Florida. watch for opening in supervisory or managerial positions, marketing, and sales. travel management, hotel financial, or ship experience might lead to the position of purser or even hotel manager.
continuing education for travel professionals: effective travel professionals are always learning. four types of continuing education might enhance your career:1) college or university education.2) industry education.3) computer education.4) general education.
educational resources of the travel industry: suppliers are a tremendous source of educational opportunities. discounted trips, familiarization trips, and ships inspections offer unique and enjoyable opportunities for learning.
discounted trips, you join with others to sample a companies service or tours; these trips may require little of you other than sampling the service as any traveler might.
familiarization trips: is a working trip, you travel with a group of other travel professionals on a specially arranged itinerary and are expected to participate in all scheduled functions and to learn as much as you can. the magic of mexico programs are some of the best known. other educational opportunities come from professional organizations. ASTA holds seminars in cities and online on a variety of subject, such as selling to the youth market, group pricing, and net versus commission-able pricing.
the first step toward success in a new job is to have appropriate expectations and attitudes, enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and patience with yourself as you encounter new situations.
following are tips for starting a position:1) make all your first impressions good ones.2) don't pretend to know something when you don't.3) look for a mentor, a person who serves as an unofficial teacher, counselor, role model, and advocate.4) be a team player.5) demonstrate initiative.6) have a positive attitude.
travel agencies and home based offices: to keep up to date, travel counselors should read trade journals such as travel weekly, travel agent, and TravelAge West.
for counselors with several years of experience, other options for advancement are:1) to work for a mega agency. a mega agency is likely to have many specialized jobs and levels of management.2) to work as an outside sales agent.3) to work as an independent contractor.4) to start their own travel agency.
fiduciary responsibilities: you have an obligation to try to deal only with reputable suppliers, and you have a specific duty to disperse the funds as the client intended. in some states, these responsibilities are regulated by requirements that travel agencies or suppliers place client funds in escrow accounts under certain situations.
government regulation of travel sellers: when an industry's attempts to police itself fail, government may provide a last line of defense. ASTA asked the federal trade commission and the national association of attorneys general to investigate the problem of card mills, and its request brought some results. these laws often require that travel sellers register with the state in some way and either post a bond or contribute to a consumer restitution fund.
back to back ticketing, the client buys two discount tickets and rearranges the departures and returns. the practice occurs when the cost of two discount round trip tickets is less than the cost of one round trip ticket at full fare, but the discount tickets have restrictions that the client cannot meet.
hidden city ticketing, a client who wants to go to city y buys a ticket for a flight from city x to city z with a connection at city y because the fare for a ticket from city x to city z is less than the fare from city x to city y. the airlines argue that these practices violate ticketing agreements. many travel counselors complain that it is not their job to police clients requests.
travel benefits: people who misrepresent themselves as travel industry employees in order to obtain these benefits are guilty of unethical conduct. this type of misrepresentation became a business of its own in the 1990s, when companies popularly known as card mills, began selling travel agency credentials. card mills advertise for outside sales agents as if they were bona fide travel agencies, but they provide minimal support and training. ASTA, IATA, and the association of retail travel agents have been working to stop this abuse of travel agent credentials.
misrepresentation and disclosure: the facts in an advertisement should be clear and complete. travel counselors are ethically obliged to warn clients about facts such as code shared flights and drawbacks of a destination. when services are limited, the advertiser should clearly spell out the limitations.
earlier chapters describe types of specialization. they include:1) particular kinds of travel based activity or interest.2) specific demographic or affinity groups.3) specific geographic areas.4) cruise travel. but if you want to advance and increase your salary quickly at the outset of your career, consider concentrating on business travel. in addition, web specialists handle bookings via the internet or keep the agencies website updated; system administrators respond to users calls to the help desk; database administrators provide technical support and maintenance for computer networks. to keep up to date with these areas, read meeting and conventions magazine.
online agencies, GDSs, and e-careers: a combination of computer and travel knowledge can put you on the fast track. most online travel companies, including airline reservation centers, hire fulfillment companies to provide customer service, ticketing, and reservation services through call centers in the US and other countries such as India. many companies are looking for people within the travel industry who have computer and internet skills rather than hiring technical experts who are unfamiliar with the industry.
corporate culture: its own set of values, beliefs, priorities, and practices. in one company. people may saunter in anytime between 9 and 9:15 am and no one cares; in another, if you are consistently five minutes late, you maybe fired.
remember that:1) your coworkers have been doing the job for a lot longer than you have.2) it is human nature to resent criticism from a new person.3) there is bound to be a lot going on in the company that you don't know about yet.
reservations: ethical considerations also limit reservation practices. it is unethical:1) to try to book travelers who have already made reservations or paid for travel with another agency.2) to book reservations that you don't intend to use and then cancel them at the last moment to open up space for standby passengers or those hoping for an upgrade. booking two reservations for an individual at the time is called double booking and is unethical. many agents feel ethically correct in doing so even though they are technically violating a suppliers regulations.
selecting suppliers: some agencies could not survive without the override commissions given by preferred suppliers. as an employee, the travel counselor has a duty to concentrate on these preferred suppliers. the travel counselors has an obligation to help the client choose the service or suppliers best suited to that client. given the fact that employees in many businesses and governments are not allowed to accept any gift worth more than $25, the policy of offering gifts worth $100 or more is questionable. agencies should set clear policies regarding their employees participation in reward programs.
programs from the travel institute: travel agent proficiency test. the tap test, you will earn the nationally recognized tap credential and shorten the waiting period to receive the IATAN travel agent ID card after meeting requirements. passing tap test also reduces by 6mo. the work experience to complete the first part of the travel institutes two level cert. program, which consist of the certified travel associate and certified travel counselor designations.
the certified travel associate program focuses on core competencies and skills needed for work in the travel industry. the certified travel counselor designation requires at least 5 years of full time experience in the travel industry and reflects study in topics related to advanced accomplishments in the travel industry. continuing education and membership each year are required to maintain the designation.
the certified travel industry executive program teaches business to business travel professionals how to analyze new business opportunities, develop marketing strategies, negotiate, manage more effectively, and master technical skills. the travel institutes other educational programs include destination specialist and lifestyle specialist courses.
the travel institutes trip kit contains a comprehensive collection of essential tools for entry level professionals. it includes this textbook as well as exploring the world, a travel agent proficiency test voucher, and a six month membership with the travel institute. both basic and premium membership offer many benefits. including free webinars, white papers, and podcasts.
tours: wholesalers tend to be larger companies than tour operators, which are often small operations in the US. the best opportunities lie with the largest domestic tour companies. high growth has increased openings, particularly in product innovation and quality control.
to advance in a career in tours, you might take one of three general paths:1) if you start as a tour guide or tour escort, your advancement may come by working more often, with larger groups, or on more prestigious tours.2) if your entry level position is in the office, your career path might involve moving into groups, sales and marketing, or operations.3)if you are committed to working on tours and have something special to offer, you might start your own operation or begin a new program for an existing tour operator.
skills to develop: learn another language, take a geography class, do Greek dances, take classes toward a business degree, or go to a one day seminar on African pottery. which skills are most likely to help you as you advance in the travel industry? chapter 1 describe general skills required for entry level positions.
to perform professionally in the travel industry, you will need not only to build on those skills but also to develop other, such as those listed below:1) business communication.2) organization.3) time management.4) negotiation.5) understanding consumers.6) planning and crisis management.7) embracing cultural diversity.8) staying current.
travel professionals who would like to specialize in e-marketing, web design and maintenance, database management, distribution systems, web-based applications, and customer relationship management. GDSs have been the traditional employers of travel professionals specializing in computers although it remains to be seen if the GDS system will be as strong as it has been.
tourism and destination management: opportunities exist in destination management companies, government tourist office, and convention and visitors bureaus. career paths may begin with behind the scenes support jobs and move to highly visible positions planning events.
