If you’re new to the home based travel agent business, you may be having a hard time finding an answer to the question

Photo Credit:Jonny Witkins

“What is a Host Agency?”.  Truth is, it’s hard to find a blanket statement that will cover all host agencies; they come in a variety of sizes, provide different services, and have different requirements.  But when it comes down to it, there is one common thread they all share. A host agency is a travel company that allows independent contractor travel agents to book under their IATA, CLIA, and/or ARC number.

When researching your options, you may have run into other business models like consortium and franchises and wondered how a host agency differs.  Trust me, you’re not alone. I still wonder what all the differences are!

To complicate matters, you may have found that host agencies can belong to consortia and franchises. Perfect example– we here at Travel Quest are a host agency and a Travel Leaders franchise. It gets a little confusing so we’ve created a graph to help you visualize some of the main differences between consortiums, franchises, and host agencies. While some host agencies may have significant revenue figures, as a general rule, franchises and consortia have even higher revenues.

Host Agency vs. Consortium vs. Franchise

One of the main advantages of a host agency is that the cost to join is low and the commissions are most likely higher than what you could earn on your own.  For many smaller agencies, the tiered commission structure of most travel vendors can make it difficult.  When you’re with a host, you’re commission levels aren’t based on your sales, they’re based on the host agency’s overall sales for that vendor.  That means higher commissions across the board even in the areas you may not book very often.   When you’re independent, a franchise, or a member of a consortium, the commission levels you earn are based on your sales.

Host agencies can vary drastically in what they offer.  There are some host agencies that host a few local outside sales agents and offer little in terms of support, training, and technology.  On the other end of the spectrum, there are host agencies that have thousands of agents with a dedicated support staff and plenty of training and technology.

So tell us what questions you have about host agencies and we’re happy to answer them the best we can!

About Travel Quest:
Travel Quest has been hosting independent contractor travel agents across the United States since 1998. We offer agents the support, technology, and trainings to successfully run their travel business. We get asked on a pretty regular basis what a host agency is so we thought this post might help!

Filed under: Choosing a Host Agency, Featured Posts