Aggieland Travel
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Amanda Mendoza
Aggieland Travel
Interning Travel Agent, Summer 2007
History of the Organization and Mission Statement
Aggieland Travel has served the Brazos Valley for over 30 years. In the early 1990s, there were approximately to 13 travel agencies in the community. Ken Hayes purchased the agency in 1994, shortly before the major airlines stopped giving commissions to travel agencies. As a result of the changes made by the airlines, and the increasing popularity in online travel agencies, the community now only has three operating agencies. Aggieland Travel is proud to still be present in the area and is noticing an increase again in its popularity as more and more clients are looking for personal interaction with travel agents.
The agency’s primary mission is to “provide prompt, professional, accurate service.” We emphasize the importance of delivering personalized travel services, in an era when most travel planning has moved to an automated environment. In addition to mission statement, the agency has a compilation of benefits clients can expect to receive when they visit the agency, and this also serves as a description of how the agency operates.
- Aggieland Travel has provided local service to the Brazos Valley for over 30 years.
- We have established a good customer rapport with A&M faculty and staff.
- We know your hotel and flight preferences without asking.
- We are familiar with the rules and regulations within Texas and internationally.
- There are no consultation fees for leisure travel.
- We have a loyal following.
- We have two agents that speak fluent Spanish.
- Our travel specialists have at least eight years of experience in the travel industry.
- We have a delivery service on request; free of charge.
- Aggieland Travel is easily accessible because of the central location between Bryan and College Station.
Job Description and Responsibilities
- In a list of qualifications for this position, one would find the following requirements:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a tourism-related field
- One to three years experience as a travel agent, preferably bringing in more clientele
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access)
- Experience with multi-line telephone, copy, and fax machine
- Excellent customer service skills
- Know how to sell yourself and your product to the clients
- Familiarization with Amadeus (or another reservation system) preferred, but not required
- Responsibilities for the position of travel agent include:
- Answering online, phone and walk-in requests for travel planning
- Giving expert guidance for clients regarding pricing, options, and budgeting.
- Researching vacation packages through various applications and booking systems
- Constantly required to handle multiple clients’ bookings and plans for travel
- Making yourself known in the community as a travel agent, and selling yourself and the agency to the general public
- Maintaining confidentiality between yourself and the clients and handling sensitive material, such as credit card information, with care
- Invoicing all fees, deposits and final payments and issuing airline tickets
- Upholding the standards of performance and service set forth by the agency
This is just a short list of tasks, and is not meant to serve as an exhaustive list of expectations. Each travel agent at the office has slightly different responsibilities.
Benefits and Opportunities
Travel agents work at least 40 hours a week. The hours of operation are Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:30PM and Saturdays 10:30. All agents are expected to work full-time during the week, and typically one Saturday shift per month is expected. For each Saturday that an agent works, they are granted one day of paid vacation for use during the year. Only five paid holidays (Christmas, New Year's Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Memorial Day or Labor Day) are given to the agents. The starting wage is $8.00/hour, but those agents with more experience are paid a salary amount. Agents are also given commission on sales of certain packages. Currently, other financial benefits, such as insurance or 401K packages, are not available to employees at Aggieland Travel.
As for non-monetary benefits and opportunities, the cruise lines will occasionally offer the agents a chance to travel to Galveston for a tour of a cruise ship and a nice dinner. Some of the all-inclusive resorts and hotels offer travel agent discounts so agents can experience the destination firsthand and return to Bryan/College Station with more knowledge about the properties. Once the 90-day probationary period expires for new employees, they are eligible to apply for an International Air Transport Association (IATA) membership that will give them access to special discounts on some types of vacations.
Achievements
This summer I have learned how to use the Amadeus reservation system that is used for airline ticketing and sometimes hotel bookings. I have also learned to book vacation packages that include flight, hotel, rental car, entertainment and insurance using the online booking system called VAX Vacation Access. The most exciting part of the job is learning about the beautiful travel destinations around the world and learning what opportunities are available to travelers to that destination. I have also enjoyed working with people and having clientele of my own to get to know.
Contact Information
Name: Dorothy Hernandez, Office Manager
Organization: Aggieland Travel
Address: 4411 South Texas Avenue, Bryan, Texas 77802
Phone: (979) 846-1702
Fax: (979) 846-8369
Email: info@aggielandtravel.com
