The news about possible stricter requirements for independent contractors got me talking to travel advisors and agency owners about the relative advantages of being—and hiring—an IC vs. an employee. And in the end, it seems, there is no right answer. The road to happiness follows the twists and turns of each individual’s definition of success. Many have changed from one side to the other—and how they arrive at their decisions offers up some interesting insights for those considering a shift.
The ICs, for example, tend to be go-getters and independent thinkers—and yet, it’s hard to work alone. For many, the key to success is to find support from a host agency or franchise to help grow their business.
Carol Anne Leibman of Pineapple Journeys by Carol Ann in Boca, for example, has been an IC for 12 years, under host agency Boca Express. “I like having the freedom to choose the hours I work and the money I make,” she says. “I like running my own business and at the same time being part of a bigger company. Boca Express has about 35 employees. I work in the office pretty much every day—but if I want to go in at 10, I go in at 10. The only difficult part is building your clientele yourself. As an employee they are sent to you—but I had to build mine by word of mouth.”
Agreed her colleague Claudia Dunne, “if you need benefits and a salary, then being an employee makes sense.” But the camaraderie and education of being in an office is very helpful, too. “You need a mentor,” she says. “I’m in my ninth year working from home, but it’s sink or swim as an IC, there’s no training. This past summer, when I went into the office for three months to help out, what I learned just listening to the other agents blew me away. I learned more than I learned in eight years at home. It was such an educational experience for me.”
Bobbi Felsot of Worldwide Cruise & Travel in Newport Beach, CA, credits her agency owner, Karen Vale, with making her career a success. “She’s incredibly respected and I’ve learned so much just watching the integrity with which she handles her clients,” she says.
Mary Swint is happy to have given up her agency to become an IC at Trapper Martin, Shane Smartt and Associates in Orlando. “I’m able to take care of my clients and have support when I need it through the franchise, as well as our HQ. I’m happier; I don’t have the pressure of the financial part of owning a franchise on me, and I still work very independently,” she says.
Longtime travel advisors with their own book of business agree. Says Denise Wiggins of Denise Wiggins Travel Services/Curran Travel, “I earn based on my goals, and I can equally run my other two businesses on my terms and time. My existing clients have a strong allegiance to me, and many have emulated being IC’s (travel or otherwise) and curated their lives as entrepreneurs who don’t feel limited restrictions. Sure, there’s requirements for doing business. It’s not for everyone. But for those who know themselves well enough, and have the confidence and courage to step up and out on their own… you become unstoppable! I’ve worn both hats… I’ll keep my IC hat always!”
After 30 years owning a brick and mortar that she closed during Covid, Judi Wendland of Uniworld/Jetaway Travel is loving being an IC. “It is better financially and I love the increased flexibility with my schedule. I’m fortunate to have a decent client book and get nice referrals. The only downside is not having a set place to meet with clients, but we figure it out.”
Stable, and with Benefits
Still, for every happy IC there is an equally happy employee.
“I’ve only been an employee. I can see both sides having good and bad points, but I personally prefer the stability of the employee side,” says 24-year agency veteran Geri Jacoby-Smith at Adelman Vacations. And now that she needs a little more freedom, she just works part-time.
After 17 years as an IC, Christine Pappin is having her best year ever, now that she has become a franchisee of Dream Vacations. She and her husband Gary sold “in the six figures” in 2022—a feat she feels she could not have achieved without a franchise organization behind her. “I wasn’t sure I could handle the back office, but they are there to help me,” she says, “and now we have a local BDM and local training if we need any help.”
“I love having a steady paycheck,” agrees Joan Bell. “Waiting for commissions is crazy. Plus I have a great retirement plan and health insurance, and get timeoff benefits. I want to know how much money I have to keep a roof over my head—especially after the last few years. 2022 was my best sales ever.”
Agency Owners Weigh the Options
David Johnson of Travel Yetis by Dream Vacations hopes the best option for agency owners like himself is to hire ICs who want to eventually buy franchises of their own. He just signed on his first two.
“From an owner perspective, I’m looking for someone who basically wants to be a franchisee—who wants to own their own life and their own business without the overhead getting started. So I’m looking for an adult, someone who is self-motivated and will get out there. And for me, an IC is going to be far less paperwork and overhead; a 1099 is much easier than a W2. You hold both to the same standard, they both have to perform. But with an employee, oh the HR! And frankly, if it doesn’t work out for both parties, terminating an agreement is easier and cleaner than an employee.”
TravelPerks owner Gary Smith, on the other hand, sees employees as the key to success. With more than $10 million in sales last year, “My business is very buttoned down; I don’t recruit ICs,” he says. “Our customers come because they get consistency. We build relationships. And we want them serviced in a certain way. We have employees because we can’t answer the phones fast enough ourselves—but my employees answer the phone my way.”
Still, as an owner of a host agency with hundreds of agents, including both ICs and full-time employees, Mark Elie of K&E Travel needs both. “Many people aren’t the kind of people to get their own clients, but are very good at what they do. Those are employees,” he says.
The thought of switching her 14 ICs to employees “is beyond tempting,” though, says Byrd Bergeron of The Travel Byrds. “While I trust my ICs, I do not have true control over the consistency of the client experience. I can’t tell them what to do or make trainings mandatory. I spend half of my time begging them to attend trainings that I know will make them better,” she says. “And they rarely work full-time, even though a full-time employee will likely be more knowledgeable in the long run. So I am leaning toward having a few employees in the next few years. It seems like this smaller team could easily do the same volume as my larger IC team, since they would be full-time.”
With her background in accounting, Susan Jeske of Finding Paradise with Sue offers a word of caution for other agency owners hiring ICs. “You have to be very careful with ICS,” she says. “Technically you cannot tell an IC exactly how to operate, and they can be a direct reflection on your company name. There are guidelines with the IRS as to what an IC is. And there are threats all the time about changes to those rules. Step lightly if you have ICs and cut them loose if you think they will reflect poorly on your business.”
After 20 years as an IC, Teri Hurley at Endless Love Travel sums it up well. “As an agency, if you don’t mind all the extra paperwork, payment taxes, possibly healthcare, and additional time devoted exclusively to employee management, you might like to have employees, as you are in control including overseeing their education and stipulating your business requirements. But if you are looking solely for sales numbers, if you can find already skilled and established agents, having ICs might be the way to go, as it removes a lot of the requirements for the massive amount of time spent overseeing employees, paying taxes, healthcare, all the additional paperwork an employee requires, etc. However, you are only as good as your ICs, and if they’re weak you could find yourself in a conundrum.”
But as a travel advisor, “if you don’t mind pegging into the hole of requirements, set hours, possibly having to go into an office, and operating under someone else’s rules and persona, then being an employee might be for you, as you would have a set net return. But if you are an A-type personality, like to walk at the beat of your own drum, are a go-getter for education and accomplishments, plus love a flexible schedule, working where you want, when you want, for whom you want or just yourself, and you don’t mind paying your own annual taxes on wages or not having employee provided healthcare, being an IC is your path.”
With over 40 ICs and 12 staff agents, Boca Express owner Stacy Fugere says either model works fine. “If you have a large database of people that will book travel with you and you want the ultimate flexibility, being an IC is perfect. If you are looking for a stable paycheck and leads to be given to you, being on staff is the right way to go.”
But for new agency owner Jamie Ross of Moms at Sea Travel, “ICs were a life saver. They enabled me to support rapid growth when I didn’t have the revenue or financial capital to hire and pay employees.” And as her business grows, “we will now be able to slowly add employees. That will allow me to delegate specific tasks I cannot ask of ICs.”
“They are two different things completely—and there is a place for both,” says Scott Caddow of Town & Country Travel. “I have employees and ICs in my company and it works great, giving the company and the advisor what they want or need in their role.”
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
