Teppanyaki Two Nights in a Row, Shrinking Shrimp, and the App That Left a Blind Man Standing in Line Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – HomeBasedTravelAgent.com Part 3 of 3 We covered a brief ship overview and the various ports on this cruise. In this part of the review, we’ll take a look … Continue reading “Alaska Aboard the Norwegian Joy A Review in Three Parts (Part 3)”
A Practical Guide to the Ten AI Tools Every Travel Advisor Should Be Using in 2026 Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – HomeBasedTravelAgent.com Yes, the robots are here. No, they’re not stealing your job. But they will absolutely steal your excuse for not answering emails faster. Let me be honest with you and … Continue reading “10 AI Tools Every Travel Agent Should Be Using Right Now”
Written by Tom Ogg
Most Alaska Cruise Reviews Read Like Brochures. This One Doesn’t. Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – Travel Professional NEWS Part 2 of 3 In Part One of this review, we took a look at the Norwegian Joy and its first port of call, Ward Cove. In Part Two, we’ll cover the rest of … Continue reading “Alaska Aboard the Norwegian Joy A Review in Three Parts – Part 2 of 3”
Written by Tom Ogg
4,622 Passengers, One Spectacular Coastline, and a Few Honest Truths About Sailing Alaska on NCL Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – Travel Professional NEWS Part 1 of 3 Alaska cruises are a favorite among travelers for all kinds of reasons, the wildlife, the jaw-dropping scenery, the shopping, the dining, and the chance to … Continue reading “Alaska Aboard the Norwegian Joy: A In-Depth Review – Part 1 of 3”
Written by Tom Ogg
“Dear Valued Customer” Is Not a Strategy — Here’s What Actually Gets Travel Emails Opened Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – HomeBasedTravelAgent.com Part One Let’s be brutally honest with each other for a moment. If your current email marketing strategy consists of blasting “Check Out These AMAZING Cruise Deals!!!” to your entire contact … Continue reading “Creating an Email Campaign Strategy That Doesn’t Put Your Clients to Sleep”
Written by Tom Ogg
A Practical Guide to the Best Dedicated AI Travel Planning Apps for Home-Based Advisors Written By: Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC – HomeBasedTravelAgent.com The Purpose-Built App All-Stars Beyond the general-purpose LLMs that we discussed in the last article, there is a wave of dedicated AI travel planning apps that have emerged, each with a specialty. Consider … Continue reading “Your New Best Employee Never Takes a Lunch Break (Or a Vacation) – Part 2”
Written by Tom Ogg
The Best Host Agencies for New Travel Agents With No Experience in 2026 Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – Travel Professional NEWS I hear this question all the time and the answer to it is a resounding YES! Many host agencies have formidable opportunities for brand new travel agents with absolutely no experience … Continue reading “How to Become a Travel Agent Without Experience in 2026”
Written by Tom Ogg
What New Travel Advisors Should Do in Their First 90 Days With a Host Agency Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – HomeBasedTravelAgent.com Congratulations. You’ve survived the gauntlet: the business plan drafts, the late-night research rabbit holes, and the very important question of whether to use “travel advisor” or “travel agent” in your email … Continue reading “So You Signed With a Host Agency – Now What? A 2026 Guide for the Modern Travel Advisor in an AI-Driven World”
Written by Tom Ogg
A Practical Guide to Travel Advisor Service Fees — What to Charge and How to Say It With Confidence Written By: Tom Ogg, Co-Founder and Co-Owner – FindaHostTravelAgency.com Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, or more accurately, the robot behind the chatbot. Service fees have been a hot-button issue in the travel industry … Continue reading “Travel Advisor Service Fees in the Age of AI – Why You’re Worth Every Penny (and Then Some)”
Written by Tom Ogg
We Were Skeptical Too. Then the Itinerary Came Back and We Stopped Exchanging That Look. Written By: Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC – Travel Professional NEWS How travel agents can harness artificial intelligence to build stunning itineraries, impress clients, and maybe, just maybe, reclaim their weekends. Let me confess something. When a publicist first pitched us … Continue reading “Your New Best Employee Never Takes a Lunch Break (or a Vacation) – Part 1”
Written by Tom Ogg