WHAT if, all of a sudden, a swathe of new businesses selling dream holidays around the world opened in your community?
You might know the person running one of them. They could be a friend, a relative, a neighbour, or just somebody looking for a side hustle who has decided they could be a travel agent.
Chances are, this person may be a member of the Archer Travel Group – a US-based organisation that claims anybody can be a travel agent, even without qualifications, skills or experience. All you need is to be over 18 and have access to the internet and you can book travel and make commission on the sale – all for a low monthly membership fee.
What’s more, in addition to margins on each sale, by referring friends, neighbours, friend’s neighbours, parents at local schools, to sell travel too, members can grow their income further by taking a share in commissions made by these referrals. The more people you recruit, the more you can earn if they all start earning too.
“Network marketing” is what Archer’s second-generation owner, Ron Archer, calls it, favouring ideals such as the ability to make extra money and enjoy a flexible job with a low barrier of entry.
“We make it very affordable to get in. We give you a turnkey package,” Archer told travelBulletin.
“It’s kind of a new beast, and some people find it attractive, and some people think it’s a pyramid scheme, to be frank, and we do everything we can to support and be a travel agency first that uses network marketing to recruit, or they recruit to build their own businesses.
Archer naturally defends any suggestion his business is a pyramid scheme, saying members are under no pressure to refer anybody else to the business or even to actually sell anything. They simply provide the tools for somebody to start a home-based travel business, selling travel, regardless of professional background, experience or education.
“There’s not a lot of network marketing in Australia, and there’s certainly no network marketing in Australia in the travel business,” Archer added.
“What we’re talking about are things that are relative to how we operate, and not necessarily what are commonplace. If people are getting into our program and promoting the program as a travel discount program, they won’t be with us very long.”
Based in California, the company first expanded to Australia in 2019 and opened an office on York Street, Sydney, but its ambitions were put on the backburner by the pandemic.
In 2024, they are trying again, eager to build an Australian network of travel agents to join 20,000 others operating home-based businesses in the US, Mexico and the UK.
And in a little over a year, the company has recruited “north of 100 and south of 200” people to its Australian network and is eager to grow further, claimed Archer.
For the monthly fee, Aussies can gain access to Archer Travel Group’s ‘Travel Café’, a library of training material comprising all the videos you can handle, provided and updated by a suite of highly reputable brands including Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line, Disney Destinations, Expedia and many more.
Ron Archer is well credentialled in the travel industry and has sat on the Board of both CLIA Global and Signature Travel Network. Few would question his professional pedigree, his entrepreneurial acumen and dedication to the travel industry in his home market.
For a new sign-up starting work for Archer Travel Service, day one’s introductory training consists of 12 video modules, lasting six to eight minutes each, before you can start selling and promoting your business.
By Archer’s own admission, high attrition is a natural consequence of network marketing almost by its very nature.
“We have not found the testing in our environment works very well, because they’re either going to get it or they’re going to get out,” Archer said.
“It’s short term. Either somebody gets out in the first 30 days or they’re in for about six to seven months.”
While there’s nothing wrong with a business shaking up an industry by doing things differently to enable somebody to make a living for themselves – history has seen plenty of those – one may argue a travel booking for most people is a cautious, judicious purchase made only a handful of times in a lifetime and often using funds equating to years of hard work and savings.
After all, would you buy a house from somebody who has never sold one before? Or be represented in a lawsuit by somebody who has never set foot inside a courtroom?
Travel Agent Finder – a highly respected resource which is, as its name makes clear, very pro-trade – says that for an industry always craving talent, a Certificate III in Travel “is considered the recommended entry-level qualification for a Travel Agent” to gain steady employment in the travel industry.
Certificate III is a minimum one-year for the basic theory and up to four years to complete both the course and a recommended apprenticeship for a vocation the Federal Government last year placed on the Australian Apprenticeship Priority List to incentivise uptake and compensate businesses developing a trainee.
Australia’s highly robust and stringent ATAS accreditation, run by the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), may be the strongest roadblock standing in the way of Archer Travel Group jeopardising the reputation of travel agents in Australia.
The association has positioned the marque as the “gold standard” for the travel industry to attain and maintain.
“To hold ATAS accreditation, a business must ensure that at least 50% of their front-line selling positions are held by individuals with either a minimum of two years’ experience or a Certificate III in Travel or an equivalent qualification,” said ATIA Acting CEO, Ingrid Fraser.
“These stringent standards guarantee that consumers are dealing with knowledgeable and experienced professionals, protecting both the consumer and the reputation of the travel industry.”
Flight Centre Travel Group’s Head of Accredited Training, Kylie Conboy, told travelBulletin any suggestion somebody with such little training or experience in a field as complex as travel could possibly know what they’re doing should be an automatic red flag.
“We have a really robust training program in Flight Centre, and that’s a combination of both accredited and non-accredited travel qualifications,” Conboy said.
“We put new people through a really robust training program that goes over two, three years and sees the delivery of Cert III and Cert IV in Travel and Tourism, because it is our only nationally recognised qualification in Australia that can talk to the fact that people are actually trained and accredited.
“So that’s part of the reason why we deliver that program, because it is the only thing that Australia recognises.
“But also, when you look at what that business is doing, one of the things that we pride ourselves on is having experts in travel to help make sense of everything that’s out there for the customer. There is so much information online for a customer these days that you need an expert to actually go to make sense of it all.
“And I think if you’re going to give someone 90 minutes of training or a day’s worth of training, it just doesn’t talk to the fact that they are an expert in what they need to be able to do.”
Conboy said travel agents are far more than just salespeople selling a pair of sneakers.
“We have a very complex role, and it is a very skilled profession, and one that involves information, product and how to be competent in systems and technical systems as well as providing, really good customer service.
“It’s more of a technical role, and we see this as part of the Cert III and Cert IV in the fact that we are a VET trainer, we’re on the job, so what they learn through that program, they then have the ability to apply it on the job.”
On the condition of anonymity, travelBulletin spoke with another prominent and highly experienced Australian travel industry identity, who said he had seen several of these similar competitors come into the market and leave just as quickly, without any marked success.
“At the end of the day, a DIY consumer will always exist and see no value in using a professional advisor.
“Adding value is why great advisors continuing to thrive and someone with no skill set in selling travel will always struggle to make a living considering the access of consumers to booking it all online”.
ATIA’s Ingrid Fraser added that the existence of fly-by-night “travel agents” were a vital reason why ATAS-accredited businesses should proudly display their accreditation and educate consumers on what it represents.
“It’s a crucial reminder for the entire travel industry to foster trust and engagement with ATAS-accredited businesses, further elevating industry standards and safeguarding the industry’s reputation.
“In short, if a business is not accredited, consumers should be asking why.”
