Just need to give a shout out to KHM Travel Group! I started with them over 5 years ago, and had no previous travel agent training except planning my own trips! I jumped right in with Boot Camp, then Destination Success, attending webinars that were hosted by KHM along with getting to know other travel agents within the orgainization...I have made an extended "family" that I didn't know I could ever have! That has been one of the biggest blessings to me! So many great agents that I can reach out to and get some assistance when needed!
Last year, during the loss of so many bucket list trips for my clients, KHM was there all along helping each of us with our unique situations! And even offered a very extensive 12 week training to keep us engaged and learning during such an trying season to be a travel agent!
The moment I met the owner, Rick Zimmerman, I knew that God had led me to the right Host Agency..He is a Godly man with his leadership of this company and has surrounded himself with incredibly educated and engaging staff who go above and beyond to make sure we are successful! Thank you for all those behind the scenes who make us look like rockstars!
If you are looking for the right fit for you for a Host Agency, please strongly considered this one! I know there are many out there, but this could be the right fit for you! I love KHM and how they have crafted their training programs (and it is a continuous training type career)...I would love to share with you more my experiences over these past 5 years--feel free to reach out!
I have been with KHM Travel Group for over a year now and I love the support, training, and opportunities that this Host Agency gives their agents. I love the new ideas they come up with to help their agents grow, and the news of the industry that they pass out. I love having them as my host.
For context- I work as a full-time science teacher and as a part-time travel agent with KHM Travel Group. Since day one with this Host Agency, I have had amazing support from all staff members in this organization. They truly take the time to answer questions, provide multiple platforms to ask for help, their website abounds with TA training online and when one needs more, they provide virtual training and in person training (in non-covid conditions).
In addition to providing excellent support all around, this company also advocates to suppliers when some of their practices go south. During this pandemic, Bill Coyle and Marie Smith frequently hosted live FB meetings and posted informative tips on how to manage cancellations, how to rebook and other helpful marketing tips.
All in all, they are a consummate Host Travel Agency who honestly cares about the continued success of their home-based agents. Thank you KHM for all that you do for us!
I want to start off by saying "Thank you" KHM. As a newbie to the travel industry, the training materials were resourceful and easy to comprehend. The notes and outlines for each course were arranged precisely to agree with the topic. Each tutorial, glossary, forms, and website links were saved for future reference. Your ideas and topic early into the courses were noted and detailed to help assist with taking notes.
I look forward to learning more from KHM and strengthening my knowledge throughout the world of travel.
I am not new to the travel business but I am pretty new to KHM. My team and I joined in January when we could never have known how badly we would need so much support because of the COVID crisis. I have had two hosts prior ---one early on which I hated (60/40 split) and another the past few years which I jsut tolerated ;) My former host regularly dropped passing on emails to me. They were hard to reach and not helpful or kind on the rare occasion I needed help.
KHM is the opposite of all of this. Having been around the block a time or two I cannot over-emphasize what a breath of fresh air partnering with KHM has been. They are responsive. They are kind. They have shown integrity every step of the way. They have never missed a beat in supporting agents even as their staff has had to reduce their hours during the pandemic. They are providing us a continual life-line of Live chats, webinars, zooms, etc. Their training is good and even an old dog like me always has something to learn. (I hear their in-person Boot Camp is awesome but I have only been able to do the virtual EDU.) I cannot say enough to encourage a new agent to consider partnership with KHM. None of my prior hosts showed this level of concern or support. I am grateful every day.
My son Victor & I started in this business just over 10 years ago with KHM as our host. We actually stumbled upon them by chance while Victor was applying for a job in web design. When he was too new to that he was invited to a small meet & greet informational seminar about becoming a travel agent. Knowing only about being a travel agent from using one ourselves I went along with him to check out what they were talking about in support of my son who was right out of college. We were greeted with friendly smiles and made to feel like family from the beginning. We listened to their talk and found ourselves very interested in finding out more about running our own agency. We did some research and liked what we saw. We signed up and have been with KHM ever since. With their wide variety of training platforms, their agent support system, their ability to negotiate larger than average commission levels for us, and their ability to bring together suppliers from every aspect of travel to also provide training and certifications I have watched our business grow from having a small income with just a few bookings to one that provides a nice income for both my son I. Top that off with the ability to network with suppliers face to face at many events, KHM dedicated FAMS, even Supplier sponsored Facebook Pages dedicated to work directly with KHM Travel Agents Exclusively. Facebook pages that our monitored by our supplier BDM,s (Business Development Managers) with the leading Cruise and Resort suppliers who are there to provide us with up to the minute news release, promotions, and sales tools to help us support them and help us grow our business.
I mentioned earlier on that the staff at KHM made us feel like Family from the start. Well that relationship is even stronger felt today with Regional support by local Support Staff assigned to help us in our different regions of the US, The bonds created by the networking that take place with not only other Local KHM Agents with local Meet-ups to share ideas but with Agents across the country on Our dedicated Regional and Cross Country KHM Facebook Pages.
The support from the office staff to the regional coordinators, to agents that are running their own agencies is always there for you. If you join KHM Travel you will never feel alone and will always find support and encouragement.
Before I became a travel agent I did a lot of research - I read so many reviews and kept coming back to KHM. I have been with them for almost 3 years now. Honestly, KHM has a lot to offer as I am sure many of the other agencies do as well. Here are a few of the most important I have found beneficial for me.
Support - you receive support from the staff. They are pretty responsive when you have a question or concern. The training is good, I think it was harder when I started than it appears to be now. (I can say that because my husband has joined and his was a lot easier than everything I had to do when I joined lol) Not only do we have the support of the staff - we have some great support from other agents. We all tend to help each other out with questions, reviews on properties, the ins and outs, business questions etc. The group facebook page I find extremely helpful.
Rick Zimmerman - he is our president with KHM. You could not ask for a more Godly man. He prays for each and everyone us daily which says a lot to me. Mr. Rick is very approachable and loves to sit down and talk to the agents, get to know us and always wants to know what he can do to help us grow. I had the pleasure of sitting with him at a training in Vegas with some other agents. We sat there for several hours just talking, learning about his experiences, more about the company, the things he wants for the company and agents in the future, and then he wanted to know about us. He asked each of us to share our passion, our heart, and our concerns. I found a whole new respect for him that day.
Finally, I would say KHM has help me grow as an agent and as a company. They provide many opportunities to attend training events, FAMS, webinars, etc. Their goal is to help me be the best I can. As I grow they grow and that is always a win win situation for everyone.
I can not say anything bad about KHM. I have been very happy, I have made some of the best TA buddies a girl could ask for and in my opinion KHM is a great option you should consider. As stated earlier I have not been with any other host and yes, you should do your research and find the company that offers what you are looking for. I did and KHM is were I landed. Good luck and I hope you rock the world of travel! It's not about competition, it's about growing awareness of being a great TA. There are so many people out there, we do not have to compete against each other, but we do as a whole need to bring the industry up to higher standards.
I chose KHM because in comparison to many other companies, they consistently promote education, not only of the newly starting Travel Agent, but also for those with 30+ years. The industry is always changing and KHM makes an effort to consistently inform its Independent Contractors of the changes and to progressively move forward themselves as a Host Agency within the industry. Association with Travel Leader's Network is another huge bonus. Not only does it link ICs into a huge consortium, it boosts the purchasing power. This enables ICs with KHM to have Platinum purchasing power with boutique personalized service.
That does not mean the KHM spoon feeds newcomers. They bombard the incoming IC with both business set up and travel industry from the first joining. It is up to the incoming agent to be prepared to work on both business and travel simultaneously. KHM offers education to assist, specifically the Boot Camp, but the agent is fully expected to put in the time and effort to do the homework before, during and after the training weekends. For those who work hard, there are levels of achievement and advancement within KHM which open the doors to higher levels of commission and even greater educational opportunities.
The best aspect of KHM. ICs can, and are encouraged, to pick up the phone and call. There is always someone to help.
Let me start by saying there are no perfect companies.
The pluses: Overall KHM does a very good job as a host. Payments are made timely, support staff is helpful and responsive and there are plenty of training opportunities. Other agents are willing to help too. Commission levels are usually significantly higher, even after splitting with the host, than you can get on your own, unless you do a lot of volume. It is a great place for a new agent to start as there are many training opportunities, both in house and FAMs. Their Boot Camps and Destination Success trainings are high quality. It is a great place for a new agent to start.
The minuses: If you leave the host, you forfeit all commissions on pending travel. They sometimes make changes mid-year and if you decide to leave you will forfeit future bookings. For a few suppliers, commission is lower than if you book it without their credentials (assumes you have your own).
Hi Jamie, thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your experience with KHM Travel Group. We truly appreciate the honesty of your comments as we continually strive to improve our education programs, resources, and support for our independent travel agents.
The changes to our independent contractor agreement that went into effect in October were actually the first updates made to agreement since 2012. As you know, the role of host agencies in the travel industry has evolved since then, and we made these updates with today's independent travel agent and traveler in mind. If a travel agent decides to cancel their membership and suddenly stop doing business, they no longer have access to our credentials and won't have the ability to fully service their clients through to the end of their trip. We want to make sure that the travelers are still taken care of.
The changes made to the policy on the commissions for future bookings allows us to provide solutions for those clients and ensure their booking is honored. It is meant to protect the traveler and preserve the integrity of KHM Travel Group and travel agents at large. If you have more questions about the agreement or any of our other policies, please feel free to contact our team. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience here.
I signed on with KHM in February, after having a horrible experience with my former host agency (for only a month!). KHM has provided amazing opportunities for training, exceptional support for this newbie, and empowered me to have an almost immediate return on my investment with quickly paid out commissions. Every person that I have had the pleasure of contacting at KHM for one reason or another has been an expert in their field and able to assist me with easy-to-understand explanations and tutoring. I am so grateful for their guidance and support. I've only been an agent for 7 months, but already I've got repeat clients and the knowledge to expand even further. No question is too mundane or obscure for the assistance of the KHM team. They are fantastic!
KHM has an amazing support team not only in the home office but among the agents themselves. In the 6 yrs and started as a newbie I have had tons of training available, a large variety of suppliers, FAMs, a hands on owner, access to BDMs and a great reputation among industry leaders, exclusive specials offered by suppliers because of KHMs reputation and volume, 80/90 split of commissions, IATA and CLIA offerings and more, and an over all amazing experience.
I have been provided a business website and a CRM that is integrated with the ability to quote, record and track bookings, collect with all proper regulation credit card info, send invoices, record payments, track commission and see your weekly check amounts, automated client contact for forms and follow up and an integrated client portal that helps clients market you too! Yes all this and more for a very very reasonable monthly or yearly fee.