FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS

01) Are the Training Manuals part of the Atlas Package or do I have to pay extra from them?

02) Why is the Atlas Program different?

03) Could You further explain the type of Training available to me and the potential cost involved?

04) Yes, I am interested in joining the Atlas Team. What is the Next Step?

05) I would like to know if Atlas encourages "network selling"? For example, the practice of having a certain amount of sub-agents working for a home-based travel agent? Do you have that program? I'm inquiring only because I read about it in my search for a host agency.

06) Since the start-up cost with Atlas is only $125.00, is there a "hidden" fee for going to a Sabre training school in the home-based agent's home town? If so, how much?

07) The Sabre reservations system that Atlas starts everyone on, is it the "fill in the blanks" reservation form system? Are there limitations to what an agent can do on this system as compared to the full Sabre reservations system?

08) What do I have to do if I want to do this?

09) How many hours a day are required?

10) Are there any limitations on who can join this company?

11) Where can I check on this company?

12) I read that the only expense is $125 for Insurance reasons. Is this correct?

13) Do people call me directly?

14) Do I sell them travel arrangements & take all of their information for the vacation travel over the phone/Internet?

15) Do I need a business license?

16) How do I become bonded?

17) Is all the training I will need going to be on the Internet or are there other training materials that I will have to buy?

18) You mentioned that it is not necessary to have the Sabre computer software to begin with. How do you make reservations for travel without it?

19) I was curious as to whether I would actually have to get a separate phone line for my computer in order to use Sabre or could I get by with one phone line for a while?

20) When you do bookings do you charge a "service fee"?

21) Who is the actual check made out to to pay for the reservation that is booked?

22) What comes in the business package besides the insurance, will I receive manuals or will they cost me additional money?

23) We would like to know how much is your business affected by the internet buyers?

24) You stated that it would be just $125 to you to get started but I foresee that there is more to it than that. You have to have advertising, business cards, etc and the costs involved with setting up your office. What is a realistic figure for that?

25) We are also wondering about how long it takes to get to the point where you can make a fair amount every month in commissions (assuming we put in the work necessary)?

26) I would also appreciate a list of maybe 3 of your agents I could contact for references.

27) Is there a minimum in commissions that must be generated?

28) Can tickets and documents be mailed to my office, or to the client? Is there a postage charge?

29) Can I cancel my contract at any time? Quarterly or yearly?

30) When is commission paid?

31) How do I get this free 1-800 number?

32) How do we get brochures to give to clients, are they free of charge or do
we have to order from the cruise lines or land tour companies?

33) If I book a consolidated ticket / tour / cruise through a supplier and they sell the package to me at a net price, what is the minimum commission that I must set on the package?

Question: Are the Training Manuals part of the Atlas Package or do I have to pay extra from them ?

Answer: All training manuals are available for purchase ranging in price from $25-$95. However, in an effort to reduce the operating expenses for our Agency owners, in everyway we can, we have placed several of the manuals on the Web which are available and free of charge. We already have our "How to Get Started Manual", "The How to Book of Cruises - 187pg $95", and "The Travel Dictionary" on the Web available and for free. We are in the process of and should have fairly soon our "The How to Book of Marketing - 215pg $95" manual on the Web as well, available and for free. These truly represent the most highly requested and used manuals within our library that our Agency owners typically find value in. The remainder of the manuals have basically become victims to the Internet as most information contained in them can easily be found on the Web, which by-the-way, we provide links to our Agency owners to these sites providing this information - again free. So, I would venture to state that even tho they are available for purchase - you will probably have no need to purchase any of them.

Question: Why is the Atlas Program different ?

Answer: The Atlas program has been developed using a very common sense approach. If you know how to research a vacation value for your family, know how to use the phone and computer, know a little world geography or at least have the desire to research, you can organize yourself and are willing to speak to others about what you do.....then your training should be in the form of putting it all into action. Our "Information Packet" will provide you a good feel of how this industry operates.

Question: Could You further explain the type of Training available to me and the potential cost involved ?

Answer: We hope our Website accurately reflects our Atlas Training program/procedures. We do make adjustments any and every time we realize a few people may have interpreted it differently than our intentions were meant. But just to give you an idea of some of the key aspects of our program, I thought I would take the time to respond to your question directly. Our "Information Packet" we will be sending you once you provide us your address will provide further explanation as well.

We have very recently begun placing the most valuable training manuals directly on our WebSite. Thus far, we have placed the "How to Get Started Manual", "Travel Industry Dictionary" and "The How to Book of Cruises" on the Web. The later is formally a 187 page hardcopy manual that previously was a $95 expense to those Agency owners that wished to order it from Atlas. We are very close to having our "The How to Book of Marketing" on the Web as well. It too is a large 215 page hardcopy manual that was a $95 charge to our Agency owners that choose to order it. These are now FREE to our Agency owners via our Website. We have taken this action to reduce in every way we can the costs our Agency owners have for the most widely used and most valuable of our available Training manuals. Our remaining library of manuals are still available in hardcopy ranging from a cost of $25-$35 (approximately) for our Agency owners that request them. Although, recent past has proven that with all the available sources of information we introduce to our Agency owners and information they discover themselves on the Internet these days, and share with other members of our Team there is very seldom any need for these additional manuals.

All videos are available for approximately $10 per video, but here again with all the available sources of information available via the Internet there is very seldom any request for these as well.

Our Atlas training is provided mainly in the ongoing consultation and support you receive via telephone, email, fax etc. and the ongoing information we proactively provide you via email broadcast several times weekly. We do conduct a yearly (considering going to twice per year) 2 Day conference/seminar where training is provided as part of the agenda. For the bulk of all Industry training there is a wealth of opportunities provided (in most cases Free and in some at minimal cost) from the premier Suppliers in the Industry. Conferences, seminars, familiarization events and seminars at sea are plentiful and frequent in most major metropolitan areas. We do provide information to our Agency owners on upcoming events via our broadcast typically several times per week. If you are like most of us, the only problem you will have with the vast amount of training/familization opportunities presented to you - is to find the time to take advantage of them.

The Sabre training is derived directly from Sabre included as part of your enrollment cost with them in most of the major cities throughout the United States at varying times during the year. There is also the Sabre self study course available to you on CDRom. These are the reasons we have chosen to have our Agency owners deal directly with Sabre for the acquisition of their CRS, because of the Free training available and the reduced cost to them for Atlas not performing the middleman role. We simply provide the authority for Sabre to source their system to our Agency owners enrolling them using our credentials.

I hope this represents our continued efforts and desires to reduce cost and improve efficiency for our Agency owners with every opportunity we can. Our intent is to solely benefit from our Agency owners via their successful Sales of Travel. We feel that this is the very best way to maintain good checks and balances that keep us focused on providing them what they need to succeed, because with our approach - if they don't - neither do we. We also hold the belief that this approach does create good teamwork and loyalty within our Atlas Network of Agency owners.

Question: Yes, I am interested in joining the Atlas Team. What is the Next Step?

Answer: First step is filling in the Independent Contractors Agreement (Contract). It can be printed from the website or we can fax/email/mail you a copy if printing from the website does not produce good enough quality. A common question is the percentage amount to place in that area is 60%. You then should fax the signed contract back to us along with your $125 annual premium for the required Travel Industry insurance coverage. We submit your payment to them on your behalf and have your Agency added to our agreement. Second step is to mail a completed contract to Atlas for your Sabre Computer Reservations Systems software. We can mail you a Sabre contract with the Atlas information filled in for you upon your request. You will need to order the Turbo Sabre version which is a $195 one-time charge plus a $45 unlimited usage monthly charge. This version provides the point and click overlay interface to the basic Sabre Platform which without it is a very text based command line formula entry environment software interface (Complex!). Turbo Sabre truly enhances the learning curve and ease of use (it's much more user friendly).

If you are inexperienced with Sabre and are new to the Travel Industry without an existing clientele you may want to consider using our interim "Please Ticket" process prior to investing in the Sabre CRS software. This would allow you time to build your clientele base to a point that it can financially support the Sabre ongoing expense. Some of our new inexperienced Agency owners do decide to install the Sabre software immediately because they feel they have more time now to learn the system than once their business begins to flourish. The choice is yours but certainly you should plan on getting to Sabre as soon as feasible for you because it really will add to your ease of doing business and enhance your professional posture with your clients.

That's basically it ....... then it's build the business time and we very much look forward to assisting you in that endeavor. If this is your first venture into the Travel Industry you should begin immediately telling all your family and friends that you are starting your own Travel Agency and would appreciate their travel business as well as asking them to help you spread the word.

Question: I would like to know if Atlas encourages "network selling"? For example, the practice of having a certain amount of sub-agents working for a home-based travel agent? Do you have that program? I'm inquiring only because I read about it in my search for a host agency.

Answer: This is not a MLM (Multi Level Marketing) opportunity. We start our inexperienced Agency owners on a 60% full commissions base with opportunities to escalate from there. But there is a limited number of times you could split your commission with subs underneath you to be of any value to anyone. Some Host Travel Agencies do offer their Agency owners with as little as 40% but usually it's between the 50-70% levels depending on experience. So the best answer to your question is: Some of our Agency owners have Sub-Agents working with them that they share they commissions with but this is definitely not your traditional MLM type opportunity.

Question: Since the start-up cost with Atlas is only $100.00, is there a "hidden" fee for going to a Sabre training school in the home-based agent's home town? If so, how much?

Answer: There are NO hidden fees of any type with the Atlas Program. Sabre training is free from Sabre once you order their product. Their training classes are held in most major cities. Atlas allows our Agency owners to deal directly with Sabre which reduces their cost because we eliminate the middleman profits (which would be Atlas profits) which most other Host Travel Agencies do take advantage of.

Question: The Sabre reservations system that Atlas starts everyone on, is it the "fill in the blanks" reservation form system? Are there limitations to what an agent can do on this system as compared to the full Sabre reservations system?

Answer: Turbo Sabre is our Sabre product of choice. It is a windows based GUI (Graphical User Interface) point and click type system. It was just released a month or so ago. Certainly you will have to enter information into blank fields but dominantly it will be point and click activity. There are many varieties of Sabre products and some provide functions others don't. The term "Full" reservations system possibly would not be applicable to Turbo Sabre but it certainly provides every function our Agency owners require. The "Full" Sabre reservations system would have a great deal of function that we would never utilize but have to pay for regardless. Turbo Sabre is a very function rich, user friendly, inexpensive solution that meets and exceeds every need our Agency owners require and or desire.

Question: What do I have to do if I want to do this?

Answer: Read all the information we send you to make certain you fully understand that this is a real business that you own and operate as a full or specialized travel agency. Then ask any and all questions that you may have so we can eliminate any potential misconceptions of what this business is about.

Question: How many hours a day are required?

Answer: It is your business ...... only you can answer that. We don't impose any requirements, minimums, or quotas whatsoever.

Question: Are there any limitations on who can join this company?

Answer: We make the determination if we need to do a background check. If so, we initiate one. We have been very fortunate not to experience much concern in this arena. One absolute limitation is a felony record of any kind eliminates candidates.

Question: Where can I check on this company?

Answer: You can check with any/all Suppliers in the Travel Industry and any of our Agency owners. Each and every one of our Agency Owners are our references and they (those that selected too) are listed on our WebSite in the "How to Contact Us" area. We are the only Host Agency (that we know of) that provides our entire network of Agency owners to you for your inquiries. We do not encourage our Agency owners to respond to inquiries, some do - some don't, but we do ask that you be considerate of their time if you do choose to contact any or all of them. We also are members of the Greater New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.

Question: I read that the only expense is $125 for Insurance reasons. Is this correct?

Answer: That is correct - the only other expenses are your operating expenses i.e. computer / fax / stationary etc. all decided by you of which Atlas has no part in.

Question: Do people call me directly?

Answer: This is the same concept as owning your own Storefront Travel Agency with the exception of no walk-in customer (they are very rare in the Industry anyway). You build your client base in the manner that is most comfortable to you. I will state that we do not profess this to be an Internet business alone ..... you will need to start with you family and friends and then their friends as well. It is truly amazing how it all grows after you build an initial client base.

Question: Do I sell them travel arrangements & take all of their information for the vacation travel over the phone/Internet?

Answer: Yes, that's pretty much the concept. The phone is used a great deal more than the Internet.

Question: Do I need a business license?

Answer: You need to check with your City, County and State to determine their requirements. Each are different, some require some don't.

Question: How do I become bonded?

Answer: You are bonded under our Atlas bond as long as you have no felony record. This will be verified by a criminal / civil background and credit check.

Question: Is all the training I will need going to be on the Internet or are there other training materials that I will have to buy?

Answer: We have placed the bulk of all essential training/manuals on our website. We will soon (hopefully by months end) have the remaining essential manual "The How to Book of Marketing" there as well. The remaining manuals, due to the vast amount of Travel Industry Information available from different areas on the Internet (which we provide Links for you), have all but become obsolete. Thus, there are NO training manuals you will have to buy. Purchasing these manuals was always optional but now has become really unnecessary, although they are still available for purchase. A great deal of your training will come from seminars, conferences, seminars at sea etc. sponsored by the many Industry Suppliers. The vast majority of those are Free as well and held at most Major Metropolitan areas throughout the year. We keep you informed with many of the Major Suppliers training/seminar events but many are advertised in your local newspapers and on the Internet. We also sponsor a Free conference yearly (optional) where the emphasis is mostly on training from Suppliers. Typically held in New Orleans for two days and you are responsible only for Travel & Living (which we get very good rates at nice locations here in New Orleans).

Question: You mentioned that it is not necessary to have the Sabre computer software to begin with. How do you make reservations for travel without it?

Answer: In the "Information Packet" you received it covers briefly our "Please Ticket" method New Agencies can use as an interim process prior to getting online with Sabre. How long is "Interim" is defined by you as the owner of Your Travel Agency business. We do highly recommend that you plan on getting on Sabre as your business grows and can support it because it certainly does provide you with the ability to be very responsive and professional to your clients. If you have further questions about our "Please Ticket" process please don't hesitate to ask. We do have a Sabre Online Reservations System available from our website that you can use free of charge to look up flights/fares for your clients. Then when you have what your client wants - you just call the airline and place a "courtesy hold" on that itinerary as if you were the customer - then fill out the "Please Ticket" form and forward it to us and we book/claim it for you. You actually can book directly from our WebSite but it does assess a $3 service charge (from Sabre) that you would be responsible for so we don't recommend that you book from there.

Questions: I was curious as to whether I would actually have to get a separate phone line for my computer in order to use Sabre or could I get by with one phone line for a while.

Answer: Several of our Agency owners do have a shared line for their computer/fax. It seems to suffice for them. Typically as your business grows you will determine the need for additional infrastructure to support it. Keywords are "as your business grows" - because it is your business to operate - we are only here to support you.

Question: When you do bookings do you charge a "service fee"

Answer: We do not charge "Service Fees". The industry trend is to charge "Service Fees" mainly in the Airline booking arena due to reduced commissions there. We take a position that Airline bookings are not the main source of revenue for Travel Agents and we consider them a great form of Customer Service and competitive differentiation. We find that this approach increases our opportunities in the more lucrative revenue generating arenas i.e. Cruise, Tours, Hotels, Vacation Packages, Resorts etc.

The only exception to this rule is when booking airline tickets. Since most airlines no longer pay a commission to travel agents it has become necessary to implement service fees on airline tickets issued through Atlas. Atlas requires that an independent contractor charge a minimum of $10.00 per airline ticket issued. We believe this fee to be very low and will only cover the expenses associated with issuing airline tickets. We know that if you check around with other travel agencies in your home area you will find that they charge much higher fees for issuing airline tickets. Most travel agencies charge between $20 and $35 per airline ticket. You are allowed to set your service fees as you see fit but they must be a minimum of $10.00 per ticket. This service fee is then split between you and Atlas as a commission.

Question: Who is the actual check made out to to pay for the reservation that is booked?

Answer: Most cases you will provide your Clients Credit Card information directly to the Supplier of your Travel Arrangements (i.e. Delta, Carnival, SuperClubs etc.). When you need to receive a cash/check payment from your Client - you receive it and you then send Atlas one of Your Travel Agency Checks (Can be your personal check) and we submit payment on Your behalf for Your Client to the Supplier. Reason for this is - 1) Suppliers only accept checks from authorized ARC Agencies (i.e. Atlas) - 2) We do not accept checks from Clients of our Agency owners.

Question: What comes in the business package besides the insurance, will I receive manuals or will they cost me additional money?

Answer: Your $125 insurance payment is strictly that - Travel Industry Insurance coverage for one year. The Atlas Package is our ongoing support and information sharing. We will provide you regularly (several times per week) information on Travel Industry specials. We also have many sources of Travel Information we provide you initially and continue to update. This information is all contained within our Atlas Agents Specials Bulletins Area of our WebSite. It also has many links to other valuable sources of Travel Industry Information.

We have several of our most requested Travel Manuals currently on the Web and are continuing to place additional ones there (i.e. "The How to Book of Cruises (formerly 195 pg manual that sold for $95"), Travel Dictionary, "How to Get Started Manual", and we are close to having our "The How to Book of Marketing Travel (a 215 pg manual also $95)). These are all FREE to our Agency owners in our attempts to reduce their cost as much as possible.

That is what our Atlas package mostly consist of and You pay nothing for our Atlas package. We make our rewards solely as you succeed in booking Travel for your clients as a member of our Atlas Team - by the way, that is the only time this business benefits you as well - it is a great way to insure checks and balances are in order. We have to be focused on assisting you become successful because if you don't - we don't.

All remaining manuals and videos are available for fees ranging from $10-$35. Although we continue to discover equal/superior sources of information on the Internet that replaces the need for these manuals/videos and we provide this to you. Thus in reality this source of Training is quickly becoming obsolete due to the vast wonders of the Internet.

Question: We would like to know how much is your business affected by the internet buyers?

Answer: We derive approximately less than 5% of our business from internet inquiries. We have lots of inquires but our success rate seems much less than 1 in 10. That marketplace is dominated by the low price shopper/buyer. Our main customer base is derived from our repeat customers that value our service, responsiveness, knowledge & prices as well as our first time customers sent to us from our existing satisfied customers, family and friends (word of mouth). I would not lead anyone to believe that they could build a thriving Home Based Travel Agency business solely from internet traffic alone. Not today - anyway!

Question: You stated that it would be just $125 to you to get started but I foresee that there is more to it than that. You have to have advertising, business cards, etc and the costs involved with setting up your office. What is a realistic figure for that?

Answer: We do project/estimate those startup cost on our WebSite and also I think in our "Information Packet". The setting up your office cost certainly vary greatly among different individuals - but they are basically the cost of a computer, internet service provider, fax, phone lines, business stationary, etc.. We have begun placing the most widely used training manuals on our website for free to our Agency owners so there is really no absolute additional needed cost in that arena either. The cost for your Computer Reservation System via Sabre is $195 one-time for PlanetSabre and an ongoing operating cost of $45 per month for unlimited usage. Sabre is optional but highly recommended.

The only cost we require is that you are covered by Travel Industry Insurance which is $100 annually. I hope this gives you a basis to derive your estimated cost given your particular needs/desires. If you wish to speak more on this please don't hesitate calling me - sometimes that is the best method of communications.

Question: We are also wondering about how long it takes to get to the point where you can make a fair amount every month in commissions (assuming we put in the work necessary)?

Answer: Obviously the answer to this varies greatly with each individual (or team), environment, geography etc.. But speaking from our initial venture into this without experience, years ago, it took us approximately 6-9 months to build our cash flow to a point where it consistently surpassed our expenses and it exponentially grew from there in a very satisfying way. We have seen success stories with beginners in the range of 3-6 months because they had the opportunity of valuable contacts initially - and we honestly have seen total failures as well. I can best offer for a global answer to your question the norm maybe somewhere between 6-12 months.

Question: I would also appreciate a list of maybe 3 of your agents I could contact for references.

Answer: Each and every one of our Agency Owners are our references and they (those that selected too) are listed on our WebSite in the "How to Contact Us" area. We could and would provide you a list of several very selected Agency owners that we know would give us high marks, but that is what most Host Agencies do and we think it is of very little value to you. We are the only Host Agency (that we know of) that provides our entire network of Agency owners to you for your inquiries. We do not encourage our Agency owners to respond to inquiries, some do - some don't, but we do ask that you be considerate of their time if you do choose to contact any or all of them.

Question: Can tickets and documents be mailed to my office, or to the client? Is there a postage charge?

Answer: Yes, they can be mailed to your office or your clients. You are responsible for all postage expenses. We recommend you set up a Fed Ex account for savings and convenience to handle some of the last minute expediting events.

Question: Is there a minimum in commissions that must be generated?

Answer: No minimum commissions. No quotas. No minimum amount of time devoted to your business. The Keywords here are it's - "Your Business".

Question: Can I cancel my contract at any time? Quarterly or yearly?

Answer: Yes at anytime.

Question: When is commission paid?

Answer: We pay commissions on the 25th of each month based on all received commissions and overrides. Our Agency owners are requested to submit their Sales Report by the 1st of each month for that months anticipated commissions.

Question: How do I get this free 1-800 number?

Answer: We will provide you the contact name and number of the Rep serving our Agents when you join us. We send all our interested Agency owners directly to him. This eliminates any middle man which provides better savings for you. BTW, there are many other avenues to get really good 1-800 rates besides our Rep. But he has served us very well over the years. Just like the Sabre software, I have our Agency owners deal directly with Sabre. This saves them money. Many of our Competitors require that Agency owners go thru their business for almost everything and they add in their little profits here and there that really add up. We do not subscribe to that process. We are here to make money with You only thru Your successfully bookings of Travel.

Question: How do we get brochures to give to clients, are they free of charge or do
we have to order from the cruise lines or land tour companies?

Answer: Brochures are provided FREE by most Suppliers (i.e. Cruise Lines, Tour Operators, etc.). Some allow you to order directly from them while others require that the Host Agency (i.e. Atlas) order them. If we are required to order them and in turn mail them to you - we do charge you for postage. We don't charge postage to you for normal Ticket mailings and such that require a normal stamp. We do charge you (only the amount of postage) when we have to mail things to your Agency that require excess of normal letter cost. Hope this answer your question.

Question: If I book a consolidated ticket / tour / cruise through a supplier and they sell the package to meet a net price, what is the minimum commission that I must set on the package?

Answer: When a supplier sells a package to you at a net rate, meaning that there is no commission paid on the package by the supplier, you must add a minimum of 12% commission to the package before quoting it to your client. For example, if a consolidator quotes you a price for a roundtrip ticket from New York to London at a net rate of $450.00 then the minimum amount you must quote to your client is $504.00. If you fail to add at least 12% then you will be liable to Atlas Tour And Travel for our portion of the 12% commission BEFORE documents will be released to you. Due to our overhead as a host travel agency there can be NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy. If this is a "Competitive Sale" you can contact Atlas to negotiate those in writing.