Paying Your Dues While Paying it Forward

Carl Howard is a former airline employee who got tired of being laid off as the industry consolidated and/or airlines went out of business.

Thanks to his good computer system skills and travel experience, a friend introduced him to an Atlanta-based travel agency. When he started, he was working with mostly corporate travelers, but soon found a love and a new career for leisure travel.

Today, Howard is a destination wedding, group honeymoon specialist with Expert Honeymoons by UNIGLOBE Five Star.

“I have incurable wanderlust,” said Howard of Atlanta, Georgia. “While growing up, my father worked for a major hotel company as an executive chef in charge of the hotel’s restaurant, bar and convention center. My brother and sister and I would often go to work to help dad. It was hard work but interesting and rewarding.”

DOT Forgoes Ancillary Fee Transparency

ASTA Has Tax Bill Concerns for Congress

Italy Voted Top Luxury Destination

His father always paid the kids fairly and, like all of his employees, Howard enjoyed the post-work meal—the same that had been served to the convention guests: “In the summer for vacations, we would, of course, stay in his company’s properties. Connecting rooms, room service and fancy restaurants plus just signing the check was exciting and fun.”

When the travel industry began to change, Howard knew that travel agents were getting concerned about their futures.

“At a travel convention, I heard some very good advice on how agencies needed to change in order to survive. For many years, agencies had been order-takers and sold anything and everything. The future, according to experts, was to specialize—pare down products and services. Specialize in one or two travel products and be the best in the market.”

Howard said he was very fortunate to be introduced to Tourism Australia and a new agent program they were developing for training and marketing support. One of his favorite hotel representatives called him about one of the hotels she worked with and their new agent training and support program.

“I joined the Australia program and had great success and a lot of fun working with the Australians,” he said. “It also allowed me to visit Australia 13 times and experience some of the most amazing things: People, places, hotels and so many wonderful products that I continue to sell with confidence to clients.”

He developed his love of groups and began to focus on the wedding/honeymoon market. He is currently in his 10th-year anniversary working with them.

“I am proud to say that with the hotel company I have become one of their top 10 wedding agents in the USA and Canada, of 450 agents who specialize with them,” said Howard.

Currently, he sees two major problems for agents: “The huge increase of home-based agents and the marketing strength of the online travel giants. There seem to be two types of home-based agents: those with many years of experience and have shifted to a work-from-home model and the newbies, the wanna-be agents, who have traveled a lot and just LOVE travel.”

Unfortunately, many of these agents have bought into the MLM (multi-level-marketing) schemes who promise you can be an agent with only a $79 investment.

“The online giants, many of whom are related in some way to an airline or hotel parent company, have big marketing clout. A lot of advertising dollars to make sure the consumer knows how easy it is to be your own travel agent until it’s not,” said Howard.

“Agents work hard like any successful business and it takes years to build a client base and gain product knowledge. Travel can be very financially rewarding, but like any job an agent has to pay their dues. Starting pay is still low, and it takes a while to really earn the big bucks.”

Looking back on his career, Howard tells one of his favorite stories about one of his travel suppliers, the main hotel group that he works with: “This company is very generous with the agents who specialize with their product. Their annual sales meeting is like no other. Throughout the year we receive lots of training, FAM opportunities, bonus commission promos, IPad awards, etc.”

When agents are on the property, Howard said they are treated like royalty with room upgrades, turn down treats and excellent service from every employee.

“Two years ago, while sitting at lunch with a friend at one of my favorite restaurants, we were talking about the company’s generosity and how well treated the agents always were,” he said. “I had an idea. What if we, the agents who sell the product day in/day out, could give back to the hotel staff?”

Howard created a program that allowed agents and his clients to nominate their favorite employees for a cash prize and company recognition.

“The company has funded my program with $250 and $500 prizes that are now awarded during our annual sales convention,” he said. “Needless to say, the employees are ecstatic with this program and now openly compete for client and agent nominations. We jokingly call the award presentation ‘the clap and cry’ as it always becomes a very emotional ceremony.”

In the past few years, he said he was fortunate to attend a FAM to Colombia, which is where he likes to go when he’s not traveling for work.

“It is so incredible, a true gem and almost undiscovered by the US market,” he said. “Beautiful cities, incredible history and culture, gorgeous and friendly people, excellent world-class cuisine and an excellent US Dollar/Colombian Peso exchange rate.”

He has already visited eight times and is heading back again.