Travel Agent Business Requirements? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
PassPorter.com
Award-winning travel guidebooks

   guidebooks   |   news   |   podcasts   |   boards   |   blog   |   worksheets   |   photos   |   articles   |   updates   |   register   |   follow us on


Forums Closed
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.

So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.

Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.

And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.

We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm​. You made it all happen.

There are other changes as well.

Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:

We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.

It's time to move on and move forward.

PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.

But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.

So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.

And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.

That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!

If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.

So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

Go Back   PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums > PassPorter Universe: General Trip Planning and Discussion > Ask the Travel Agents: Your Q&A
Register


Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.

To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.

If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-12-2011, 09:47 AM   #1
caralynne
Community Rank: Visitor
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Oswego, Illinois
Posts: 3

Post Thanks / Like
Travel Agent Business Requirements?

Good morning!

I have been doing a lot of research on becoming an independent consultant for a host agency, as a Disney Travel Agent (currently leaning toward OutsideAgents.com). One thing I can't figure out is what steps I would have to take to establish myself as a business, from a legal standpoint.

I have found some guidelines that say a travel agent needs to open a trust account for handling any funds, but would that apply if I'm working for a host agency? I can certainly see the benefits of opening a separate account to handle all my business expenses, but I'm just not sure if it's required!

Thanks for all your help! I'm excited to get started but just want to ensure that I am taking all the right steps!!
caralynne is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2011, 02:22 PM   #2
NicNoc12
Community Rank: Trekker
 
NicNoc12's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 1,152

Post Thanks / Like
Hi! I live in Montgomery, IL!! So we're neighbors. I work for a host agency myself and I opened a separate business checking account for just my travel income. We spoke to our accountant and financial adviser before I started and they both suggested a separate account. It will be much easier to keep track of all commissions that I am paid as well as all business expenses I pay out. Everything is in one account and come tax time I can just pull reports from my account rather than trying to separate everything out from my personal accounts. I don't have it as a trust account though, just a business account through the bank. Hope that helps and good luck to you!! It's a great career!!
NicNoc12 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2011, 11:36 PM   #3
disneycruising
Community Rank: Sightseer
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Northern, California
Posts: 53

Post Thanks / Like
I work with a host agency & I did not have to open a trust account.

When you pick a host agency,they will be able to tell you what you will need to get yourself up and running.
__________________
~ Cindy
http://www.facebook.com/MainSt.TravelAgency
*affiliated as an independent contractor of Montrose Travel
My Previous TripsApril'00 1St trip to WDW as a family! ~Sept '01 WDW~ May '02 WDW & DCL 'Wonder' ~ Feb '03 DCL 'Magic'~ Sept '02 DL ~ May '04 DCL Magic ~ Nov '04 Thanksgiving on the 'Magic'~ May '05 'Panama Canal' Cruise ~ Nov '05 Thanksgiving on the 'Magic' ~ Apr '06-Easter @ WDW & 'Magic' ~ Feb '07 ~ DCL 'Wonder' ~ May '07 Transatlantic on 'Magic' ~ Oct '08 "MNSSHP" @ WDW & Halloween on the 'Magic' ~ Dec '09 WDW Christmas & New Years on the Wonder ~ Feb '10 DL & DCA ~ Dec '10 "SURPRISE!" MVMCP @ WDW, Christmas & New Years (B2B) on the Magic ~ March '11 Mom & son trip "ESPN the Weekend" ~ April '11 Mom & Daughter Trip ~May 2011 Transatlantic on the Magic.
disneycruising is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Reply




Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump










Please login or register to hide these ads -- it's free and easy!

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:29 PM.

-->

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like v3.4.0 Patch Level 1 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
(c) 1998-2017 PassPorter Travel Press/MediaMarx, Inc.
Celebrating 19 Years of Making Dreams Come True
Ad Management plugin by RedTyger