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Travel agent vs real estate agent

The differences between travel agents and real estate agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a real estate agent has an average salary of $91,788, which is higher than the $33,128 average annual salary of a travel agent.

The top three skills for a travel agent include reservations, booking and AAA. The most important skills for a real estate agent are customer service, real estate license, and excellent interpersonal.

Travel agent vs real estate agent overview

Travel AgentReal Estate Agent
Yearly salary$33,128$91,788
Hourly rate$15.93$44.13
Growth rate20%5%
Number of jobs34,16641,399
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 39%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age5149
Years of experience2-

What does a travel agent do?

Travel agents help plan, choose, and organize travel schedules. Generally, they ensure that clients can efficiently process their travel plans and get the best travel experience possible. Primarily, they assist individuals, groups, and business travelers in booking their flights and hotel accommodations, buying tickets to events, and arranging their transport from one place to the other. They also provide recommendations for itineraries and offer travel packages from different airlines, hotels, or cruise lines. Travel agents can work as freelancers or mostly be employed by travel agencies.

What does a real estate agent do?

A real estate agent helps owners in the selling or renting of houses, land, offices, buildings, or any piece of property. They should be knowledgeable in the area they work in, which local properties are in the market, and the competitive prices for various properties. It is their responsibility to either market or sells in the best possible and reasonable price and conditions. Negotiating is a vital skill for real estate agents as they act as the middleman for buyers and sellers. Most agents bill the client with a percentage of the final sale price as the fee, but some would get a fixed commission for every sale.

Travel agent vs real estate agent salary

Travel agents and real estate agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

Travel AgentReal Estate Agent
Average salary$33,128$91,788
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $41,000Between $66,000 And $126,000
Highest paying CityMadison, WILong Beach, NY
Highest paying stateWisconsinWest Virginia
Best paying companyPerkins CoieSanta Clara Valley Water District
Best paying industryTechnologyFinance

Differences between travel agent and real estate agent education

There are a few differences between a travel agent and a real estate agent in terms of educational background:

Travel AgentReal Estate Agent
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 39%Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Travel agent vs real estate agent demographics

Here are the differences between travel agents' and real estate agents' demographics:

Travel AgentReal Estate Agent
Average age5149
Gender ratioMale, 21.9% Female, 78.1%Male, 43.4% Female, 56.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 8.7% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 70.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage17%13%

Differences between travel agent and real estate agent duties and responsibilities

Travel agent example responsibilities.

  • Manage corporate travel arrangements for business accounts, including passport and visa documents.
  • Book hotel reservations; recommend and cross sell hotel rooms for availability within the Marriott brand of hotels and resorts.
  • Service inbound calls using Sabre system by setting itineraries and booking new reservations, also including billing reversals or accommodations.
  • Create PDFs prior to being send to print vendors and edit sell sheets for product introduction mailings.
  • Assist all travelers with acquiring passport, passport renewals, and visa requirements on any international travel itineraries.
  • Create scripts to help agents process long driven formats in Worldspan, Sabre, and Amadeus for quickness and accuracy.
  • Show more

Real estate agent example responsibilities.

  • Manage all accounting, cash management, budgeting and financing for individual LLC's and for corporate entity.
  • Manage extremely complex REO and short sale transactions, coordinating sellers, buyers, and lenders in order to complete them.
  • Create ad campaigns via Google ad-words and Facebook.
  • Determine whether title transfers are assessable for taxation.
  • Learn all phases of real estate ethics, practice and procedures.
  • Review and analyze corporate leases, securities offerings, and secure transactions.
  • Show more

Travel agent vs real estate agent skills

Common travel agent skills
  • Reservations, 30%
  • Booking, 12%
  • AAA, 8%
  • Credit Card, 7%
  • Travel Itineraries, 4%
  • Reservation System, 3%
Common real estate agent skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Real Estate License, 11%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 10%
  • Real Estate Market, 10%
  • Open Houses, 7%
  • Develop Marketing Materials, 6%