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Do I have to enter into a contract with Design Travel?
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Yes, there is a contract. Federal law states that to be an independent contractor with or without a company name, Federal ID, etc, we have to have you under contact. Our contract is very basic. It protects you. It protects us.
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Is there a cancellation clause in the contract?
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Yes. The contract carries a thirty-day out clause for both of us, should the relationship need to be terminated.
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Is there a monthly fee?
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Yes, it is called an alliance fee. For experienced agents, it starts at $100 per month and is payable by credit card or check. The fee is charged on the 1st of each month. You will always receive an email confirmation of the alliance fee when it is charged.
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What does the monthly fee cover?
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- A full-time administrative staff working for YOU electronically networked to your office, counseling to help you grow your business;
- Utilization of Design Travel’s accreditation with ARC/IATA, CLIA;
- IATAN card or CLIA card when applicable;
- Customized backroom accounting system & ClientBase Plus customer resource management system exclusively for you to manage your clients;
- Electronic access to daily agency faxes and emails to always keep you current;
- Electronic access to important vendor resources and internet subscriptions such as Star Service online, Intelliguide (Weissmann), Official Hotel Guide, Official Cruise Guide and much more;
- GDS access on Apollo or Sabre;
- Great FAM opportunities;
- Document disbursement;
- Web presence and newsletter;
- Errors & Omissions coverage.
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Who pays postage?
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We pay regular postage for document disbursement within reason. You will need an account with UPS, FedEx, etc. to expedite rush deliveries. We will cover non-emergency UPS shipments. Large boxes of brochures should be shipped directly to you, if the vendor will allow it.
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How and when do I pay the alliance fee?
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Your alliance fee will be charged to your credit card on the 1st of each month. We will need a current card number to keep on file. Rest assured, we will not make any charges to your card without your permission. This is a separate transaction from any commissions that would be paid to you.
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Where are incoming documents sent?
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Documents will always come to our office. We proofread all documents and ask that you do the same. The main criteria necessary for us to be able to proof your documents is that you have prepared and sent us the proper invoicing information.
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How do I get the documents to my clients?
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Depending on the time frame and instructions from you, we will either mail them out directly or forward them to you for presentation to your clients. Keep in mind - this is your company. You tell us how you wish us to dispense the documents.
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When are commissions paid to agents?
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Commissions are paid to you by the 15th of each month providing your invoicing has been submitted and your Alliance Fees are current. If we have received payment from the vendor prior to your client’s trip, you will receive the commission the 15th of the following month. Likewise, if your clients cancel and your commission has not been protected and we have already paid you the commission, we will recall the commission the next month as a deduction from your commissions earned for that month.
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How do we calculate the total monthly sales?
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Your monthly sales are calculated when the sale is finalized and the payment in full has been applied. The total paid-in-full sales for the month are the determining factor used to apply the appropriate commission percentage earned for the month.
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When I qualify for my IATAN Card, how will it read?
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The card is in your given name and Design Travel, Inc. We carry credentialing with ARC and IATAN, not you.
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How do new agents get on the IATAN list?
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Your name is submitted to IATA when you sign the contract. This tells IATA you are now working towards your IATAN qualifications that are achieved after selling $50,000 in travel or receiving $5,000 in commissions annually. However, we can issue you a CLIA card during this qualifying period.
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What do I need to become an Independent Contractor with Design Travel?
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First of all, select a name for your business. Show it the respect it deserves. Set goals and begin establishing the business. Be certain you are the only company with your selected name, by verifying it with the Secretary of State to ascertain that the name has not already been chosen. Then, you may choose to incorporate the name. It is to your advantage. Once you have established your company name, you need a checking account with the new company name appearing on the checks. A sum of money should be deposited in the account to serve as its foundation. Now, select business cards and stationery. Your business cards must display the phrase “in alliance with Design Travel, Inc.” somewhere on the face of the card in very small print.
You will need a personal computer and/or laptop, fax machine, a minimum of four telephone lines dedicated solely to your business. Two of the lines would be voice lines, one would be for dedicated faxing and the remaining one would be for internet access. Make sure you have a good color printer, too. Once you have established connectivity, we will assist you in becoming connected to the most innovative, elite networking system in the industry to help you begin selling travel and building your business! If you are not technology savvy, that’s perfectly all right. We will work with you until you become comfortable with your new platform for doing business.
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What if associates join me?
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If additional associates join you for the purpose of selling travel for your company, thus utilizing Design Travel’s ARC and IATA, having access to our network and its software suite of online programs, they would be responsible for their associate’s monthly fee unless negotiated otherwise with Design Travel. This is for your protection as well as ours. It is essential that each person selling travel be covered individually for errors & omissions. If Design Travel uncovers anyone in your company selling travel utilizing Design Travel’s credentials not duly protected individually under Design Travel’s errors & omissions policy, not only would your company be held responsible should a liability arise, but also the contract with you and/or your company would be void and all outstanding commissions retained.
Likewise, any additional associates joining you for the purpose of expanding your business would become eligible for IATAN status to enjoy the benefits of FAM and reduced rate travel. They would also be entitled to the same support you receive from the network including CRS access, continuing industry education via seminars, and our own internal support.
As an incentive to grow your business, if you add more associates to your company and they are actively selling travel on your behalf and their alliance fees are being paid each month, we will combine the collective sales to bring your company to a higher commission level than would otherwise be realized on an individual basis.
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Are there ticketing machines in the main office?
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Yes. We supply either Apollo or Sabre technology at home when you’re ready.
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What software do I need to start?
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You should have some knowledge of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook. In addition, we will train you to learn ClientBase Plus which interfaces with TRAMS (Travel Resource Agency Management System), our backroom accounting system.
ClientBase Plus becomes the backbone of your company. It will be your private database and marketing tool. ClientBase Plus will set you apart from your peers with your ability to manage your client.
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What is ClientBase Plus?
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ClientBase Plus is the travel industry’s first Client Database Information Manager. This program incorporates the popular features that provide invaluable customer and vendor information with the click of a button and adds next generation booking and data management capabilities. ClientBase Plus is an easy-to-use, Windows-based software program that gives you instant access to the information you need to build lasting relationships and provide outstanding service to your customers. With ClientBase Plus you can quickly turn a cruise or a tour promotion into a direct marketing campaign, by finding all interested clients and prospects in the database looking for the product you are selling plus much, much more. It is your secretary, office manager, bookkeeper, and additional staff you couldn’t afford to have.
With ClientBase Plus, you can slice, dice and rearrange clients by travel preferences and travel history giving you an unbeatable edge in promoting and marketing your travel products and services.
The ClientBase Plus software features are:
- Agents view client history at their desktops;
- Import or export data to/from other sources;
- Reservation Card for tracking all trip reservations;
- Invoicing directly to TRAMS without data entry in CRS;
- Itineraries and Invoices;
- Flexible queries and ability to save as folders for reuse;
- Data merge to labels, PNRs, documents and reports;
- Profile data moves to PNR – replaces CRS Profiles;
- Customized tables for storing client preferences;
- Customized template letters for various communications;
- Blast e-mails;
- Total Scalability… one user to more than 100;
- Inquiry into payment history for clients and vendors;
- To-Do Lists & Alarms for contact management;
- Day, Week & Month-At-A-Glance calendars;
- Global modification of data;
- Ability to monitor changes to database real-time;
- Client-Server technology;
- Enhances user security features to protect your lists;
- Real-time results tracking of marketing activities;
- Runs on CRS terminals or your own hardware;
- Database can be networked with most agents.
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Do I need to own my own computer?
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Owning a computer is essential, in order to have access to our programs. You can do your own invoicing on your PC or laptop, as well as sending/receiving faxes and email. We recommend a desktop PC for your stationary office and a networked laptop for your traveling office. These are the cornerstones of your business!
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Do I need a FAX machine?
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Yes, at the simplest level you would need to have a fax machine and a dedicated phone line for receiving and transmitting those faxes. A personal computer or laptop would have a software application enabling you to send and receive faxes, but a stand-alone fax machine would serve as a backup system if you were to incur any computer downtime, prohibiting faxes from coming across.
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What if I only want a FAX machine, not a computer?
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Certainly, you would be able to run you business without a computer. However, you would then require more services from our support staff. Thus, your commission structure would be significantly lower.
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How do I handle my clients, if I am traveling?
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You are an independent contractor and the owner of your own business. You should be in contact with your clients from wherever you are to properly service them. It will be your responsibility to return client calls, handle their questions and/or problems or make new reservations even when you are not physically in your office. You will have the tools and certainly the knowledge to accomplish it. In those instances when it is impossible for you to assist your clients, we will be happy to service them on your behalf.
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How do I delete a message that posted (3) times
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