Two recent announcements from Joystar inc.:
• The company introduced its new hosting program tailored for small and mid-sized travel agencies.
• Joystar said it was increasing its commission payments to home-based agents.
For a limited time, Joystar says it will grant “charter membership” status to select agents enrolling in the company’s hosting program.
Benefits include no start-up costs, no annual renewal fees and no monthly fees.
The new service for smaller and medium-sized companies, Travel Advantage, can be customized for individual users.
“After three years of consolidation and closures (in the travel agent business), the industry is experiencing an upturn, especially in the complex leisure products which include cruises, packages and group travel,” said William Alverson, CEO of Joystar.
He said an emerging trend is more home-based agents. He estimated there are 20,000 small and mid-sized agencies in the US with sales between $1 million to $5 million dollars.
Of the estimated 100,000 agents in the US, 15,000 have moved to home-based operations, according to Mr Alverson.
Report by David Wilkening
