Commissions Are Just One Factor to Consider When Choosing a Host Agency | Travel Research Online

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Commissions Are Just One Factor to Consider When Choosing a Host Agency

Hi!

I’m so grateful for your website. I’m 2.5 yrs into my (currently) Part-time career in travel. I need to change host agencies and am having trouble sorting through who is great at paying the highest commissions to part time ICs. Do you have any suggestions on where or how to search this?

Thanks!

Marnie

 

 

Hey, Marnie!

Well, the good news is that we have totally overhauled our website. We affectionately like to refer to it as HAR 2.0. The new site includes a lot more detailed information about hosts on their profiles, including a host’s minimum and maximum commission splits offered.

In terms of commission splits, a host agency will pay an agent the commission as agreed upon and reflected in the host’s contract, regardless of how many hours you work. Many host agencies offer a range of commission splits and the agreed upon commission split may depend on volume that an agent sells, not necessarily the amount of time spent selling travel (though this can obviously correlate). There’s often a balance between commission splits and programming fees. So, even if a host does offer a higher commission, that cost might be offset with something like a higher monthly fee. After all, hosts do need to make money too, and if you’re curious where that money goes, you can read how hosts support travel agents here. It’s not that one fee model is better than another, they just serve different needs for different agents. You can read up more on commissions here.

Beyond commissions, the 7-Day Setup Travel Agency Challenge goes through steps finding other ways to narrow down your host options. After all, commission are just one small piece of the puzzle. Also, the new site also has a filtering feature that includes many other categories that will help you narrow down your choices.

When you need a break from researching hosts, you can take a look at HAR’s amateur video that includes inflatable t-rex costumes, a homemade comet costume and Steph’s dog, Rigel 🙂

Good luck with your search!

Mary


Picture Mary Stein joined Host Agency Reviews in 2016 as its editor. She’s passionate about supporting aspiring travel agents to turn their dreams into their livelihood.
A writer by trade, she can be found working on her novel and teaching creative writing workshops when she’s not tooling around on Host Agency Reviews writing articles and newsletters.
She has received awards for her writing from the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Jerome Foundation and the Loft Literary Center. She lives in Minneapolis, and loves hiking, camping, and traveling (of course!).

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