What kind of operation you are running.
WHAT FORMS EXIST
Travel agency: booking flights, accommodation and services for clients
Tour operating: assembling and selling packages
Ground handling and transfers Guided tours and experiences Corporate travel management Destination management Accommodation booking and short-stay management
WHY THE DISTINCTION MATTERS
An agent arranges what others provide; an operator creates and carries the product.
WHAT AN AGENT CARRIES
Responsibility for booking correctly, and a commission or fee.
WHAT AN OPERATOR CARRIES
Responsibility for the whole experience, and commercial risk on what they committed to buy.
WHY THAT MATTERS
Operators can lose money on unsold capacity; agents generally cannot.
WHAT ALL SHARE
Client money held before services are delivered Dependence on third parties Consequences when things go wrong far from home Seasonality
WHY HOLDING CLIENT MONEY DESERVES EMPHASIS
It is the central financial and ethical risk in this business.
WHAT DETERMINES SUCCESS
Accuracy of bookings Relationships with suppliers Handling problems when they occur Repeat and referral business
WHAT MOST OPERATORS UNDERESTIMATE
How much time problems consume, and how thin agency margins are.
WHAT TO TREAT THIS CATEGORY AS
Operational guidance, with licensing and regulatory requirements verified locally.
