When you hear the words travel agent, you might picture someone booking flights, hotels, and vacations all day. While booking travel is certainly part of the job, there is a lot more happening behind the scenes than simply choosing a destination and clicking a few buttons.

While “travel agent” is still a common term people use when looking for travel planning help, I operate my travel business as an Independent Travel Advisor. And honestly, the longer I’ve been doing this, the more I’ve realized how accurately the word advisor describes what I actually do. From researching destinations and comparing travel options to working within a client’s budget, there are many moving parts involved in putting a vacation together.

What Does a Travel Agent Actually Do?

A travel agent, or Independent Travel Advisor, helps clients research, plan, book, and organize travel based on their needs, preferences, and budget. Depending on the vacation, that can include accommodations, flights, cruises, theme park vacations, transportation, activities, travel protection, and other pieces of the trip.

But one of the biggest misconceptions about working with a travel professional is that our job is simply to find the lowest price. When I’m researching a trip, I’m looking at the vacation as a whole. Where are my clients going? Who is traveling? What do they want to experience? How much are they comfortable spending? Will they need transportation? Does the hotel charge for parking? How far is it from the activities they want to do?

Sometimes changing travel dates, choosing another airport, staying in a different area, or adjusting part of the itinerary makes more sense for the client’s overall vacation. My job isn’t simply to book whatever appears on a search screen. It’s to research the options, provide recommendations, and help put together a trip that makes sense for that particular client.

What Does an Independent Travel Advisor Do for Clients?

There is quite a bit of research clients may never see. I might check several flight options and travel dates, compare hotel prices, look at resort and parking fees, research transfers and local transportation, compare travel protection options, and even look at the typical weather for that destination during the time of year they’re traveling.

Those little details matter. A hotel might look like the better deal until you realize it’s far from everything the family plans to do, requires a rental car, and charges a daily parking fee. Another resort might cost a little more upfront but make more sense once you consider the entire vacation.

An Independent Travel Advisor can also help keep the moving pieces organized. Depending on the trip, that can mean reservations, payment deadlines, transportation, activities, important travel information, and communication before the client leaves. Different vacations require different levels of planning, which is one of the things that surprised me most when I started.

Travel Advisors Aren’t Miracle Workers With a Coupon Book

I wish I had a magical coupon book hidden somewhere. Trust me, I would use it. 😂

One of the parts of being a travel advisor that I don’t particularly enjoy is talking about money. If budgets didn’t exist, I would happily have all my clients staying at amazing resorts, adding the experiences they want, and taking the vacations of their dreams. Unfortunately, budgets are a very real part of vacation planning.

Sometimes a client’s expectations simply don’t match their budget. A weeklong international vacation for a family of four, for example, probably isn’t realistic with a budget that may not even cover the airfare. That doesn’t mean I simply tell someone no and send them on their way. As their travel advisor, I can explain what’s realistic and recommend other destinations or vacation options that better fit what they’re comfortable spending. Part of good travel planning is knowing when to adjust the plan while still helping the client have a great trip.

What Surprised Me About Becoming an Independent Travel Advisor

Before starting my travel business, I had already worked with a travel professional for one of our family’s Disney vacations, so I understood the client side of the process. What surprised me was everything happening on the other side.

I mainly plan family vacations, but as I started learning about different types of travel, I quickly realized how many moving parts some trips can have. Thankfully, I had training, webinars, ongoing education, and later completed a mentorship program that helped me continue building my knowledge and confidence.

I also learned pretty quickly that starting a travel business isn’t necessarily as easy as it might look from the outside. Like starting any business, there is a learning curve. From my own experience, I think it’s better to slow down in the beginning, focus on learning, complete your training, and build a good foundation before trying to jump into every possible booking.

What I Love Most About Being a Travel Advisor

One of my favorite parts of being an Independent Travel Advisor is researching new destinations. I genuinely enjoy learning about a place, finding great accommodations, looking at the experiences available, and figuring out how all the pieces can come together for a client.

I also love when clients come home and send me pictures or tell me about their trip. Besides getting to see them enjoying something I helped put together, their feedback helps me learn. I can use those experiences when researching future vacations and make better recommendations for other clients traveling to the same destination.

That’s one of the things I enjoy about this business: I’m always learning something new.

Do You Have to Know Everything About Travel to Become an Independent Travel Advisor?

Absolutely not. There are far too many destinations, resorts, cruise lines, attractions, and types of travel for one person to know everything.

Research and continued education are a big part of being a travel advisor. Training, webinars, destination education, supplier education, personal travel experiences, and feedback from clients can all help you continue building your knowledge over time.

You also don’t have to specialize in everything. I personally tend to focus heavily on family travel and destinations and experiences I know well. As I’ve grown my travel business, I’ve continued learning about other types of trips and destinations along the way.

Do Independent Travel Advisors Have to Find Their Own Clients?

Yes. This is an independent business, so finding and building relationships with clients is part of it. Clients aren’t automatically handed to you simply because you’ve completed your training.

There are many ways Independent Travel Advisors can market their businesses, including referrals, networking, social media, creating travel content, and building an online presence. My blog over on my travel business website has become one of the ways I share travel information and connect with people online. Like any business, finding what works for you and staying consistent with it takes time but it’s so worth it in the end.

Can You Work as an Independent Travel Advisor From Home?

One of the things I personally appreciate about running an independent travel business is that much of my work can be done from home. For me, that matters because I homeschool my children and have a family schedule that doesn’t exactly fit neatly into a traditional workday.

That flexibility doesn’t mean there isn’t work involved. Client communication, research, training, marketing, organization, and managing bookings still have to get done. I’ve had to create systems that work around my family’s schedule and adjust them as life changes.

What Skills Help You Become a Good Travel Advisor?

You don’t have to walk into the travel industry knowing everything, but certain skills can definitely help. Communication, organization, customer service, research, attention to detail, problem-solving, and a willingness to continue learning are all valuable when working with travelers.

Basic marketing and business skills are helpful too, especially when you’re building an independent business and finding your own clients. Many of these skills can also improve with experience, so you don’t need to have everything perfected before you begin.

Is Becoming an Independent Travel Advisor Worth It?

Whether becoming an Independent Travel Advisor is right for you depends on what you’re looking for and whether you actually enjoy the work involved. It isn’t simply booking vacations and traveling all the time. There is training, research, client communication, marketing, organization, problem-solving, and continued learning behind the scenes.

For me, getting to research new places, put vacations together, help families plan their adventures, and continue learning about the travel industry are some of the things that make the work enjoyable. Like any business, though, it takes time to learn what you’re doing and create systems that work for you.

Interested in Learning More About Becoming an Independent Travel Advisor?

Maybe you found this article because you were simply wondering, what does a travel agent actually do? But if you’ve made it this far and caught yourself thinking that this sounds like something you would enjoy doing, you can learn more about what it means to start an Independent Travel Advisor business.

I’ve shared more about my experience, the process, and what I’ve learned throughout my travel business resources here on The Walking Mermaid. Take some time to explore those articles, ask questions, and learn about the business before deciding whether it’s something that might be a good fit for you.

Final Thoughts on What a Travel Agent Actually Does

There is a lot more happening behind the scenes of a vacation than most travelers ever see. From researching destinations and comparing travel options to managing details, working within a client’s budget, and continuing to learn along the way, being an Independent Travel Advisor involves much more than simply booking a trip.

For me, that’s also what makes the work enjoyable. Every client, destination, and vacation is a little different, and there’s always something new to learn. Whether you’re here because you’re considering working with a travel professional or you’re curious about becoming an Independent Travel Advisor yourself, I hope this gave you a better look at what the job actually involves.