President's Message
OSSN.com draws more traffic than any other home-based travel agent organization’s Web site.

Use OSSN’s Online Tools!
By OSSN President & Founder Gary M. Fee

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We’ve invested significant resources -- in terms of both time and money -- in OSSN.com over the years to keep your association’s site fresh and helpful for home-based agents. Today, OSSN.com boasts more than 6,000 pages, making it one of the largest home-based-agent sites in the world.

What does this mean for you?

As 2007 gets underway, I encourage you to spend some time inside OSSN.com. Log in as an OSSN agent, and check out the many different resources and services you’ll find on the site.

For example, we’ve posted the OSSN Official Member Handbook online, so that you can have around-the-clock access to the advice and answers found in this guide! Here’s the English version, and here’s the Spanish version.

You can use the Group Cruise & Tour Marketplace to promote leftover spaces in your cruise and group tour blocks to your fellow OSSN agents. They can sell into your blocks, and you’ll make your trips! Plus, you can check posting from other OSSN members for deals on unused space to promote to your clients, too.

In our Financial and Legal section, you’ll find links to everything from sample independent contractor agreements and legal disclaimer forms for your clients to IRS guidelines for outside agents and a list of tax dos and don’t for home-based travel agencies.

When you need quick answers to those nagging travel questions -- anything from “What tour companies offer packages to Israel?” to “Anybody know a good hotel in Ushuaia?” -- try the “Buzz”, OSSN’s members-only bulletin board! Lots of OSSN members use this service to solicit advice from other home-based agents (and stay abreast of what’s happening in the world of travel).

Notice one thing in common about these benefits? They’re reserved strictly for OSSN members! In fact, we spent a lot of money last year changing our Web site structure and password set-up, so that we could insure that only OSSN agents can take advantage of these resources.

So, this month, take half an hour to walk through the many different sections of OSSN.com! If you have ideas for other services we can offer on the site, send us an email! And, keep your eyes open this year, as we’re already planning a few online surprises for OSSN members in 2007 . . .