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Frequently
Asked Questions
Why Do We Need Another
Professional Designation?
With the proliferation of
card mills, network marketing companies and
others portraying themselves to be travel
agents, it has become increasingly more and
more difficult for our industry to discern
who is actually selling travel and who is
not. There are hundreds of thousands of
people walking around with travel agent ID
cards pretending to be travel agents when,
in fact, they have never sold to a single
client. One company has 130,000 "referring
travel agents" that represent themselves as
home based travel professionals that make
money by recruiting others into the scheme.
Unfortunately, our
industry has done a poor job of identifying
professional agents simply because those
that do so are profit motivated. Our
industry needs a grass roots initiative to
identify real professional agents vs. wannabes.
How Much
do the Designations Cost?
The only cost of
obtaining a designation is the cost of
processing the application. This entails
processing and grading the test(s) (a designee may
retake
the test if they do not pass the first time), verifying the applicant's credentials,
awarding the designation and certificate,
publishing the articles and white papers and
adding the designee's profile to the TPN
website.
The cost of processing
the application is $49.95. This is a one-time investment and there
are no other continuing expenses associated
with maintaining the designation. TPN uses
PayPal for settlement and you may pay for
your designation with your PayPal account,
your credit card or you may send your check.
If a designee would like a professional
parchment copy of their designation suitable
for framing, there is a cost of a nominal
$8.95.
What Exactly Do I
Get For My $49.95?
There will soon be a TPN
Member's only private forum on the
www.HBTACommunity.com which should be a
very valuable resource. You also get a
one-year's membership in
www.HBTANetwork.com which in itself
sells for $49.95. You are basically getting
your TPN designation for free. You will also
be listed on the TPN Member's web with a
complete profile of your agency including
links back to your website. Consumers will
be able to find you on this site.
What if I Initially
am Awarded an ITP and then Qualify for a
Different Designation?
Those designees that wish
to upgrade their designation will only need
to provide the proper documentation and pay
a one-time upgrade fee for verifying the
applicant's credentials, awarding the
designation and certificate and upgrading the designees profile
to the TPN website. There is no need to
retake the test. It is anticipated that the
cost for an upgrade will be $25.00.
How Will Other
Agents and Suppliers Become Aware of TPN?
TPN
is a grass-roots travel agent initiative and
as such, will depend on its members to carry
on an ongoing program to inform suppliers,
other agents and the industry at large about
the benefits of TPN. Since there is no
central TPN organization, members carry the
burden of evolving TPN within the industry,
as provided for in the designee agreement.
The use of the TPN Member's logo can only be
employed by designees.
What is a Cooperative Network and How Does
it Differ From a Non-Profit Entity?
A
non-profit entity still has salaried
employees who benefit financially from an
expanding membership. This would include
high salaries, benefits and retirement
plans. It behooves the executive of a
non-profit organization to grow the
membership simply to make sure that the
organization's salaries, benefits and
retirement plans are funded. While a non-profit entity enjoys
certain tax benefits, the employees may be
experiencing great profitability.
A
cooperative network is an entity that is
focused on serving the associates of the
network and has no financial presence at
all. It is driven by its designees who benefit
from decentralized consensus. There are no
employees, salaries, benefits or retirement
plans to weigh decisions made on behalf of
its designees. The Board of Directors acts out
the designee's consensus. There is never a
penny paid by a designee to the cooperative
network.
However, TPN designees assume the responsibility
of marketing the cooperative network and
controlling its actions and destiny by
consensus. Designee participation drives the
network in its actions and growth.
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