Agent to Agent: Should You Join a Travel Consortia?

Dear Tammy: I recently heard about travel consortiums and wanted some more information so I can understand more about what they really are. The information will help me understand more about the kind of benefits they really offer, which will help me determine if it really is worth joining a travel consortia or not.

Tammy: Great question, especially if you haven’t made a business plan yet. This topic is often confusing for those who first find out that this may be an option for them. A travel consortia is a term that’s used to refer to a group of people who come together with a goal of combining resources. This group can include travel agencies, host agencies, travel agents and any other company or individual that’s involved within the world of travel.

The idea behind joining a travel consortia is that the more travel-related resources that can be gathered together, the better able the consortia will be when it comes to offering clients what they want when they're traveling. A travel consortia is simply aimed at helping those who work within the travel industry by providing them with any marketing and training they need to get them to the next level and beyond, but at what cost?

Specific examples include learning the importance of direct mailings, how to create a travel website, how to create social media platforms, how to create a customer relations management system, how to learn about specific areas of the travel industry, etc. These are just some of things you need to ensure you’ll be there for your clients.

But, there are also many things a consortium can’t do, including providing you with your all-important and necessary accreditation number. It also can’t give you any support when it comes to keeping track of things like your daily reports and commissions. Many consortiums even require their members to reach a certain sales number before they can join, and most expect their members to pay member dues.

On a personal note, I have put this one to the test many times. What have I learned? That I still get overall better rates and higher commissions without using a consortia. If you’re someone who’s new to the travel business, I suggest you look into all of your options so you can understand everything you can about today’s travel services before making a final choice.

Even though a travel consortia uses their own sliding scale, they will make a certain percentage from each of us on the back end from their vendors. And honestly, we never see any of that money, so I would rather look into other options that will help grow my own travel business.