Travel Agent: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire a travel agent?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your bottom line. A great travel agent hire can help your business by:

• Being familiar with domestic and foreign travel destinations
• Coordinating the use of frequent-flier miles or lodging perks
• Resolving scheduling conflicts or rescheduling canceled reservations

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance travel agent

Before writing a travel agent job description or interviewing candidates, decide if you need a full-time or freelance travel agent.

Full-time travel agents typically work in a travel agency as part of a team with other travel agents, consultants and an office manager. In larger companies, additional roles such as a corporate travel agent or social media manager may be required to handle the increased workload.

Freelance travel agents often work from home or a remote office, performing the same duties as full-time agents (e.g., booking, marketing). A small travel agency may consist of a core team with a few employees while hiring freelance travel agents as independent contractors for support.

What are the titles of travel agents?

When you want to hire a travel agent, it’s important to understand their job titles. Travel agents may work independently or within a travel agency, and their range of responsibilities depends on the type of clients and commercial partners. Here are some common job titles for travel agents:

• Retail travel agent: Retail travel agents help clients choose destinations, book reservations and find transportation and lodging. They also typically provide information on passport and visa requirements, currency exchange rates and local laws.
• Business travel agent (or corporate travel agent): Business travel agents coordinate travel arrangements for businesses and develop cost-effective travel strategies for organizations or smaller units such as teams.
• Customer service travel agent: Customer service travel agents handle inbound customer inquiries, usually for a travel agency, with the aim of increasing sales conversions.
• Remote travel agent: Remote travel agents work remotely with clients to determine their travel needs, preferences and cost targets.

Where to find travel agents

To find the right travel agent for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Hire from other areas. Look around the hospitality industry to see if any potential candidates are interested in a new position. Many jobs in this field have highly transferrable skills.
• Network. Attend travel and tourism conferences, aviation trade shows and other events where qualified candidates might be available. Prepare a business card or quick introduction to start conversations.
• Ask traveling professionals. Ask the frequent travelers you know how they book important business trips or vacations.
• Post flyers around your community. Put up flyers advertising your job opening in high-traffic areas such as public bulletin boards and community centers.
• Post your job online. Try posting your travel agent job on Indeed to find and attract quality travel agent candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Travel Agent

A great Travel Agent candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• Comprehension of travel booking services and software
• Knowledge of area travel requirements
• Skilled planner
• Experience in hospitality
• Highly organized
• Flexible availability

Writing a travel agent job description

A thoughtful description can help you find qualified travel agent candidates. A travel agent job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your travel agent job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting . These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on travel agent jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Travel agent
• Travel
• Travel agent work from home
• Remote work from home
• Travel agent remote
• Online
• Remote travel agent
• Hospitality
• Airline
• Work home online

Interviewing travel agent candidates

Strong candidates for travel agent positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Knowledge of timezones and layover times for connecting flights
• Reserving hotels and transportation
• Areas clients can visit

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of travel agent interview questions for examples (with sample answers).