Dugan's Travels LLC

I joined Dugans in September of 2012. I had no experience as a travel agent prior. I am very appreciative of the opportunity given to me to start up my travel agency with Dugans support with very little start up costs. All the agents in the Forum are very helpful and we support each other. I found that a huge plus. I am pleased with the decision I have made with this Host Agency.

I have been with Dugan's for only a few months, and I am returning to the travel industry after many years. I wanted to work from home, so when I began my search for a host agency, my main goals were to have low start -up costs, great training opportunities, support from host agency, and highest commission possible. Dugan's offers all these things. Anytime that I have a question or concern, it is always answered or addressed quickly. Communication from the agency is daily, and they do a great job of keeping agents updated on current promotions, changes, etc. As with any home business, you will only grow if you put your time and energy into growing your business. Dugan's will give you all the tools to do so. I am very happy with Dugan's and would recommend them as a host agency.

I've been with Dugan's since January 2008. Everyone else who has posted has covered the specifics of working through Dugan's as an independent contractor under their host agency. I have zero complaints about Dugan's as a whole and Jennifer as an owner. She does a great job with managing the agency and works hard to support all of us. She provides the tools that help us succeed as agents and training is always available for those who need/want it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Dugan's Travels for a host agency!

I have been an agent of Dugans Travels for almost 3 years. I have been very pleased with their services and would and have highly recommended them to people who are interested in pursuing a career or passion for travel planning. They have always been very quick with returning my emails and answering any questions or problems I may have had. I love the fact that they do not Micro-Manage you and allow you to build your business the way that you want. They have recently upgraded all of their systems and processes that make everything work even smoother and quicker and they are always open to suggestions on how to make things better. I have no plans on leaving Dugans Travels and anyone that is considering this host agency won't regret it.

I have been with the agency for almost 2 years now and have had nothing but wonderful experiences. The owner is very honest and straight forward to do business with. Any negatives that I have noticed with other agents is usually because they don't follow simple instructions. Everything you need to start and keep going is available and if I was not able to find something, I only had to ask for assistance and it was at my fingertips. I have gone to one of the agency hosted seminars and my general impression was that many top notch suppliers are very happy with Dugan's agents and do thier best to get and keep our business. That alone says the most about any agency. I heard glowing review after glowing review about our agency from suppliers in the cruise industry, top of the line all inclusives and even the travel insurance reps that came as well. The thing that stands out about this agency is that the owner started this to help others succeed and she still strives to do just that. The other agencies charge higher fees, higher commission split and I assume in the larger agencies you may not direct access to the owner. With our agency you have the opposite. Very low fees, very reasonable commission split and open communitcation with not only the owner, but the rest of the management team as well. And every single person that I have come in contact with that is a part of the agency is a travel agent, including the management team, so they know the ins and outs as well as the challenges that we face. They want to help. I have never been a part of another host agency and never have any desire to either. I researched quite a lot before deciding and Dugan's Travels is the best for someone that wants to be a part of a positive growing agency that will help you to succeed.

I am new to the professional travel industry and have been with this agency for 11 months. I can't speak to other host agencies, but this is the one I chose. I looked around online and just couldn't find anything that made me feel like it was the right fit until I found Dugans.

I am still learning the ropes and growing my business but I feel like I get my questions and requests responded to promptly with a lot of support and help from the staff. I'm starting to sell more and that is exciting. It is extremely easy to track in the system that is offered to us and many tools, helps and training opportunities are offered. There is enough available that I often feel unable to keep up because I am also working my 'real' job.

I just made my payments for my E&O insurance so I plan on keeping at this with Dugans and only Dugans for at least another year.

UPDATE 4/26/2016: I’m just posting an update. My last review was thorough. I’m still with Dugan’s and can’t imagine being with any other host agency. It has been seven years. Dugan’s is really like a big family. I personally know many of the other agents and most of the management team. I highly recommend them to anyone, whether you’re just starting out or if you’ve been doing this for years!
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Before I joined Dugan's in 2009, I spent weeks researching host agencies and sending emails to the owners. I researched blogs by industry experts, and checked out current status with such agencies as CLIA.I even went to a live presentation by one agency who turned out to be a "card mill" agency--very scary. I had done lots of on-line travel booking for me for years, but had never been a travel agent. Dugan's was very welcoming, and didn't cost several thousand dollars to start up, like some of the other host agencies. I faithfully read all of the teaching materials, and had help from Angela and Barb when I got stuck. I followed the good advice that Jennifer shared for new agents. Without spending too much money, I was ready to get started.

I have never regretted my choice. Dugan's has a wonderful staff of very caring people. They are regular people, many are moms raising children and working for Dugan's on the side. All of them put in long hours and are very dedicated and patient. This April, I was finally able to get time off to attend the annual Dugan's seminar. It was a fabulous week packed with learning, and I had a chance to meet many of the staff and other agents in person. There were multiple of the Dugan's managers in attendance. They organized the event and spoiled us with all kinds of goodies. We inspected ships and spent long hours into the night in our lounge. Some people needed a little help with one-on-one coaching, and others such as me just enjoyed talking and sharing a bit of wine.

One thing that's very important to me about Dugan's is the flexibility. You can work one hour a week or 10 hours a day. They don't push anyone-- you are in charge of your own travel business.
Many of us have full time jobs, and do our travel business on the side. Others do travel full time. There is no stress, and it's up to you what you do.

Dugan's has an excellent website for all of us with a library of reference materials, and a social networking site, among other things. ClientEase is the system we are currently using to track our bookings and information. It also has marketing tools, and many features. These two items make it so easy to run a business. Jennifer, who is a busy mom herself, somehow manages to find time to look out for her agents, and is constantly coming up with new helpful tools and advice for us.

I'm so glad that I picked Dugan's. I feel that I'm part of a big family, and I really enjoy my work as a travel agent.

Found the training to be very good and the personal support is more than I expected. The new ClientEase booking site is fantastic and makes record keeping a very simple task.

Dugans is always trying out new ideas to help agents. Since I have gotten active two years ago, I am impressed with their professionalism.

I have been with Dugan's Travels since November of 2007. I am very happy with Agency. I really had very little experience when I started and found the training to be wonderful. Also, the support was always there whether is was management or other agents, you always get an answer to your question. More recently I did a large destination wedding and had some problems with the supplier, Angela Brown was there to help me through the whole process. With the addition of Clientease and a private agency website things just continue to improve. I highly recommend this Agency.

Dugan's has allowed hundreds of agents to follow their passion by selling travel from home. I have been with them for nearly four years and have seen a huge improvement in the past year. Jennifer has invested in this company because she takes pride in it and wants her agents to be successful. With Angela on board(as well as other employees)I think this company is outstanding and would be hard to beat. I want to work for a company that stands for integrity, knowledgable agents and access to good products. I have found that here. The information we have access to from other agents through our chat rooms and conventions is outstanding. Training is available from many sources.