Buying a Travel Agency

[Bang4Buck]

A fairly aggressive post IMHO.

Perhaps. Please note I challenged the information; not the individual. A quick review of TGs previous posts reveal he's made a lot of intelligent and informative contributions to the forum, and I respect that. Nonetheless, I'm always dubious of people who identify themselves as "gurus".

Having said that I think that you are dreaming :!:
There is not a chance that it would be that easy to make it all work.

Depends what you mean by making it work. IME start-ups are relatively easy (though time intensive) provided you're sufficiently funded. Sustainability is another issue altogether.

 

[straitman]

Perhaps. Please note I challenged the information; not the individual. A quick review of TGs previous posts reveal he's made a lot of intelligent and informative contributions to the forum, and I respect that. Nonetheless, I'm always dubious of people who identify themselves as "gurus".



Depends what you mean by making it work. IME start-ups are relatively easy (though time intensive) provided you're sufficiently funded. Sustainability is another issue altogether.

Why start up if there is not intent to sustain :?:

 

[Bang4Buck]

Why start up if there is not intent to sustain :?:

To sell and profit.

 

[QF WP]

A quick review of TGs previous posts reveal he's made a lot of intelligent and informative contributions to the forum, and I respect that. Nonetheless, I'm always dubious of people who identify themselves as "gurus".

I suppose one can take anybody's handle two ways when using common words - likewise I've always found Travel Guru's posts extremely well balanced and have no reason to doubt his knowledge on this subject either.

My wife thinks I should do this (buy a travel agency) in my dotage (still some time away). Hmmm, not so sure

 

[Travel Guru]

To sell and profit.

Out of interest, how many businesses have you to started from scratch and on sold to date?

TG

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Bang4Buck

Depends what you mean by making it work. IME start-ups are relatively easy (though time intensive) provided you're sufficiently funded. Sustainability is another issue altogether.

Sustainability and/or viability of a travel agency is not always an option ie there are some newbies who buy a travel agency thinking they're jumping on some kind of gravy train where airlines are just dying to throw first class FOC tickets their way and profits just automatically roll through the front door.

Before you sell a business you'd have to have put in some serious time and energy into your business promoting it, maybe not even drawing a salary yourself for a while. Your general ledger initially will probably be in the red more than the black. You are not going to make a huge profit when you sell unless you have built up goodwill (ie a customer base) proving your business is a worthy venture for a prospective buyer to purchase.

This thread raises a couple of issues:
a) buying a travel agency and
b) booking through a travel agency

No I wouldn't buy a travel agency - that's just my personal opinion. Yes I would use one but it's important to get referrals from people who have used one and were happy with the arrangements made for them.

Too many people out there trust travel agents with thousands of dollars of their hard earned cash assuming that they've had a lot of training/ experience whereas the reality is that they may have had very little.

There is no training course that can teach you what you need to know - it's knowledge acquired over time by going to seminars, functions and trade fairs which are almost always in your own time after hours & also listening to airline reps etc when they visit the agency to giving updates.

Mind you if you have been in the industry a while, know what you're doing and have an established client base who will follow you, you're well on your way to having a successful business.

 

[Bang4Buck]

Out of interest, how many businesses have you to started from scratch and on sold to date?

TG

From scratch, two.

 

[Bang4Buck]

BTW, Bang4Buck means "value for money".

 

[brissyflyer]

One place to look for listings of Travel Agencys for Sale is realcommercial.com.au

I acutally looked very seriously at buying a small but well established travel agency here in Brisbane last year, it didn't happen in the end simply because the owners accountants were so slack at preparing the 30 Jun accounts that the business broker delisted it mid November when the figures were still not forthcoming and I wasn't doing anything without up to date financials.

There is a lot of hoops to jump through with the TCF etc but it can be done.

 

[straitman]

BTW, Bang4Buck means "value for money".

.... and you think that people did not get that :?:

 

[Bang4Buck]

.... and you think that people did not get that :?:

Ummm, I was referring to a previous post from another member questioning the meaning of my handle (which has subsequently been deleted).

 

[QF WP]

Interesting to see the meanings of these two handles:

Bang4Buck

Interestingly I put the words "travel guru" into a Wikipedia search and this is one of the searches it contained

straitman, Bang4Buck is quite correct for his reason behind his post above. There are a couple of deleted posts that he must have seen and responded to after serfty had deleted them.

 

[straitman]

Interesting to see the meanings of these two handles:

Bang4Buck

Interestingly I put the words "travel guru" into a Wikipedia search and this is one of the searches it contained

straitman, Bang4Buck is quite correct for his reason behind his post above. There are a couple of deleted posts that he must have seen and responded to after serfty had deleted them.

OK.

I apologise if my post sounded pushy or a put-down but I'm only commenting on what is there to be seen :!:

 

[QF WP]

Takes a man of quality to apologise . Wish it was more common sometimes

 

[Travel Guru]

One place to look for listings of Travel Agencys for Sale is realcommercial.com.au

I acutally looked very seriously at buying a small but well established travel agency here in Brisbane last year, it didn't happen in the end simply because the owners accountants were so slack at preparing the 30 Jun accounts that the business broker delisted it mid November when the figures were still not forthcoming and I wasn't doing anything without up to date financials.

There is a lot of hoops to jump through with the TCF etc but it can be done.

It's certainly not the sort of business you'd want to get into if you have no background in the industry.

Sure you can put a manager in who does, but being the business' owner you'll still want to understand the daily workings of it so you can keep on top of things and ensure its sustainability and hopefully growth.

A tafe course, whilst comprehensive, isn't going to teach you everything you'd come across on a day to day basis, i'm constantly learning new things and thats after years in the industry.

Like any investment, unless you understand it, best to invest your money in something you do.

TG

 

[Worldtraveller8888]

Thanks everyone for their responses. I didn't think when I started this thread that it would initiate so much discussion. Although, it has drifted a little away from where I started - which was where to look to buy a TA.

Thanks to those who have expressed concern for my welfare and advised not to operate a TA without any experience. The concern was welcome, although the question asked in the thread was not asked for myself, so you didn't need to worry!

It's interesting to follow the conversation though. I've worked at an established organisation for over 10 years where we had a start up, 'ametetur' operation come in as our competition. There was a lot of people in our organisation that insisted they wouldn't be able to succeed, that they would fail because they didn't have the experience of us oldies.

Those people were well and truly proved wrong.

The newbies quickly got experience, did things differently and better and delivered a product that customers wanted. In many ways their lack of experience contributed to their success, because it didn't constrain their thinking.

There are plently of good TA's out there. There are plently of bad ones. And like any large industry, there are also plenty of opportunities to do things differently.

WT

 

[Bang4Buck]

OK.

I apologise if my post sounded pushy or a put-down but I'm only commenting on what is there to be seen :!:

My apologies for any gruff writing. Wife has said 20mins a day is enough on any site, and I'm trying to respect that.

 

[Bang4Buck]

...It's interesting to follow the conversation though. I've worked at an established organisation for over 10 years where we had a start up, 'ametetur' operation come in as our competition. There was a lot of people in our organisation that insisted they wouldn't be able to succeed, that they would fail because they didn't have the experience of us oldies.

Those people were well and truly proved wrong.

The newbies quickly got experience, did things differently and better and delivered a product that customers wanted. In many ways their lack of experience contributed to their success, because it didn't constrain their thinking...

Reminds me of the Richard Branson and BA Chairman's exchange. BTW, the Virgin lounge in LHR looks totally cool. I haven't been there; just making the comment based on a Utube clip I saw.

 

[Dee Thom]

My wife thinks I should do this (buy a travel agency) in my dotage (still some time away). Hmmm, not so sure

If it was me, I'd be looking at an Australia Post Franchise, good hours, good earnings from two or more Terminals (not the A/Port type) and Aus Post is always adding new earning products to its portfolio. Usually a dozen or so for sale Qld wide on www.realestate.com.au.
But to each his own..................

Cheers Dee

 

[QF WP]

My apologies for any gruff writing. Wife has said 20mins a day is enough on any site, and I'm trying to respect that.

That's what my wife said years go after she married me. It still works some days