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Additional Information
ASTA conducted this financial benchmarking survey to assist travel agencies in benchmarking their financial performance. The information can be used to pinpoint areas of excellence and areas where improvement opportunities exist.Survey data was collected through the 2011 ASTA Research Family. The ASTA Research Family is comprised of a representative sample of ASTA member travel agency owners and managers. The Research Family reflects ASTA members in key agency demographics including sales volume, leisure/business mix, number of part-time and full-time employees and geographic location. Members of the Research Family were recruited randomly and were contracted to complete at least seven out of nine surveys every four to five weeks from January 2011 through October 2011. The Family’s size varies from survey to survey due to non-response, agency closings, mergers and changes in membership status, but is designed to yield a response representative of all ASTA agency members. References to (travel) agencies in this report pertain to ASTA member agencies only.
The survey data was collected online via www.surveygizmo.com in June 2011. 279 of the 472 family members completed the survey. This reply level indicates a minimum of 95% confidence with an error rate +/-5.5% representing the total ASTA agency membership. This is considered to be a good sample with reliable results.
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- Average 2011 FTEs Show Shift from ICs to the Full-Time and Part-Time Agents When Compared to 2010
- Between 2007-2011 FTEs for Management/Sales Staff Decreased While Use of Part-Time, Administrative Staff and Management Staff Increased
- Smaller Agencies Saw More Contraction in FTEs between 2007 and 2011
- Annual Compensation for Full-Time Agents Increased Between 2007 and 2011 – Except for Agencies with $2 Million or Less in Sales
- Gross Sales per Front-Line Agent Increased in 2011 Over 2010 – But Still Not Normalized to 2008 Levels
- Revenue per Agent Remains below 2008 Levels
- Corporate Travel Agencies Have Higher Compensation and Sales per Agent
- Differences in Average, Median and Mode Show Much Variability in Total Gross Agency Sales in Each Category
- Variability between Average and Median Suggests that Average Agency Revenue is Skewed Larger by a Few Agencies for All Categories Except for the $5-10 Million Category
- Revenue as a Percentage of Sales Increased in 2010 - More So for Small Companies
- Revenue as a Percentage of Sales Remains Higher for Leisure Agencies
- ARC Air: Median Responses Reflect the Market Better – Average Revenue Has Been Skewed by Several Agencies with Large Commission Revenue
- ARC Air: For Leisure Agencies, Commissions Revenue Is Larger Than Corporate Due to Those Companies Specializing in International
- ARC Air: For Corporate Agencies a Larger percentage of Revenue Is from Transaction/Service Fees than Compared to Leisure
- ARC Air: Revenue Streams Differs for Leisure Air and Corporate Air Models
- Non-ARC Air: Revenue Model More Diverse for Non-ARC Air with Greater Dependency on International Air
- Non-ARC Air: Transactions Have Higher Revenue per Transaction Based on Median
- Cruise: Commissions Largest Source of Revenue for Cruise Sales – Fees and Overrides Also Notable
- Cruise: Revenue per Transaction Recovered in 2010
- Cruise: Commission Revenue Continues to Grow While Fees Remains Depressed After Seeing Growth in 2008-2009
- Tour: Commissions Are the Primary Revenue Driver – But Notable Share Coming from Fees and Overrides
- Tour: Average Revenue Up While Median Remains Depressed
- Cruise and Tours: Very Similar Revenue Breakout
- Hotel: Commissions Majority Source of Revenue for Bookings
- Car Rental: Based on Average, Commissions Majority Source of Revenue – Based on Median, It’s Split Between Fees, Overrides and Commissions
- Rail: Commissions and Fees Top Source of Revenue
- Insurance: Revenue for Bookings Almost 100% Commission-Based
- FIT: Revenue Is Primarily From Commissions and Overrides
- Revenue Sources by Travel Type Show Commission Revenue Remains the Primary Source for Most
- Cruise and Tour Provide Most Lucrative Revenue per Transactions for Agencies– FIT Highest for Some Agencies
- Average Revenues for Leisure Agencies Illustrate Value of Cruise and Tour
- Air Is the Keystone for Corporate Agencies’ Success
- Majority of Agencies Reported Receiving Commissions for All Segments Except for Air and Rail
- Average Commission Rates Rising for Cruise, Tour and Car Rental
- Salaries & Benefits and Outside Contractors Represents Largest Portion of Operating Expenses
- Salaries as a percentage of Operating Expenses Much Higher for Larger Companies
- Agencies Are More Optimistic for 2012 When Forecasting Profits with only 7% Expecting No Profit
- Leisure Agencies Are More Optimistic Forecasting Profits for 2012
- Larger Agencies Are More Productive When Measured by Total Sales per FTEs
- Revenue per FTE Generally Higher for Larger Agencies
- On Average, Smaller Agencies Have Much Lower Operating Expenses per FTE than the Larger Agencies
- Appendix 1 – 2011 Research Family Demographics
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