Start An Online Travel Agency - Business Ideas
Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.
An online travel agency is a web-based marketplace that allows consumers to research and book travel products and services.
Nearly 1 billion people make travel bookings online. Besides, 70% of travelers research trips on mobile devices.
With the online booking trend on an upward trajectory, 2024 is a great time to start an online travel agency.
Starting an online travel agency requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell travel services, or selling travel services online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Key Stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
|
Office Space Expenses |
$0 |
$7,000 |
|
Employee & Freelancer Expenses |
$151 |
$352 |
|
Website Costs |
$223 |
$7,215 |
|
Business Formation Fees |
$5,600 |
$20,400 |
|
Software Expenses |
$162 |
$3,094 |
|
Advertising & Marketing Costs |
$0 |
$8,050 |
|
Specific Industry Expenses |
$0 |
$300 |
|
Total Startup Costs |
$6,136 |
$46,411 |
Case Studies
•
$1.5M/mo
•
$50K/mo
•
$250K/mo
•
$233K/mo
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Tripadvisor |
tripadvisor.com |
398 |
|
|
Kayak |
kayak.com |
1,505 |
|
|
Priceline |
priceline.com |
2,495 |
|
|
Kiwi.com |
kiwi.com/ |
3,250 |
|
|
Costco Travel |
costcotravel.com |
21,950 |
|
|
Travelgenio |
travelgenio.com |
37,676 |
|
|
Your 360º travel partner |
bedsonline.com |
72,322 |
|
|
YouTravel.Me |
youtravel.me/en |
98,137 |
|
|
PHPTRAVELS |
phptravels.com |
114,707 |
|
|
Book cheap holidays: flights, hotels and car hire |
opodo.co.uk |
117,355 |
|
|
VAX VacationAccess |
vaxvacationaccess.com |
135,159 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
|
Flexibility |
You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own. |
|
Rewarding work |
Starting a online travel agency can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about. |
|
Scalable |
With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers. |
|
Traffic to your website |
A online travel agency gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you! |
|
No overhead costs |
To get your online travel agency started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money! |
|
Meaningful business connections |
You never know who you will meet as a online travel agency. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
|
Longer Sales Process |
A online travel agency can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers. |
|
Security Issues |
With any Saas business, data loss and security issues may arise throughout your process of building your product. It's critical that you understand exactly what you're responsible for and how to avoid potential issues down the road. |
|
Low margins |
The gross margins for your online travel agency are typically around 20%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability. |
|
Taxes |
As a online travel agency, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it. |
|
Niche Market |
A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience. |
|
You may need to charge sales tax |
If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out this article |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Affiliate Program
Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.
-
2
Direct Sales
Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.
-
3
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
