Questions to Ask a Host Agency
For anyone starting out as a travel advisor, or moving an existing book of clients, who is comparing host agencies and has not signed with one yet. The list opens with the five questions to settle on a first call, then takes the decision in order: the host itself, the money (split, fees and when commission reaches you), suppliers and credentials, support, and the contract together with the insurance, tax and registration questions that sit beside it. Hosts differ on nearly all of it, so put the same questions to each one on your shortlist.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
First call
Do you take new travel advisors, or only people with an existing book of business?
Why ask it
Some hosts are built for beginners and some want proof of sales before they will talk. If they take newcomers, ask how many joined in the last year and what the first month looks like for them. A host that mainly serves experienced sellers may pay better and teach less.
What commission split would I start on?
Why ask it
Get the number as a share of the commission the supplier pays, and find out whether it is the same on every booking or changes by supplier or product. A high split with heavy fees can leave you with less than a lower split with none, so do not compare hosts on this figure alone.
What fees would I pay to join, and to stay each month or year?
Why ask it
Ask for the whole list in writing: a setup charge, a monthly or annual fee, and anything billed for technology, insurance or a website. Add up a year of them and set the total beside the commission you realistically expect to earn in year one.
What training do you give someone who has never booked a client's trip?
Why ask it
'We have a training portal' and 'a person walks you through your first bookings' are different things. The details that separate them are how long the program runs, whether it is live or recorded, and whether it costs extra. Then ask what a new advisor can book alone by the end of it.
If I leave, do my clients come with me?
Why ask it
This decides whether you are building your own business or adding to theirs. Have them name the clause of the contract that says so, and read that clause yourself. A spoken 'of course they are yours' counts for little if the agreement lets the host keep contacting them.
The host
How long have you been hosting independent advisors, and who owns the agency?
Why ask it
You would be routing your income through this company, so its age and its owners matter as they would with any business partner. After the call, search the owners' names and the agency's name alongside the word 'complaints'. A young host is not a bad one, though it has less of a record to check.
How many advisors do you host, and how many of them sold travel in the last year?
Why ask it
The gap between the two numbers shows how many people signed up and went quiet. A big roster with few active sellers can mean the host earns mostly from fees. The number of staff who support that roster is worth writing down beside them.
Do you make your money mainly from advisors' fees or from the travel we sell?
Why ask it
A host that lives on its share of commissions does well only when you do. One that lives on sign-up and monthly fees does fine whether you ever book a trip. If recruiting other advisors is part of how people there get paid, ask to see that plan in writing and take your time over it.
What kind of travel do most of your advisors sell?
Why ask it
A host full of cruise sellers will have cruise line contacts, cruise training and colleagues who can answer a cabin question at night. If you plan to sell something else, such as custom tours or corporate trips, ask who on staff knows it and which suppliers they work with for it.
Is there a minimum I have to sell each year to stay with you?
Why ask it
Some hosts set a sales floor, and some charge a fee to advisors who miss it. What matters is the consequence in the year you fall short, and whether the first year is exempt. If you plan to sell part time, say so now and see how the answer changes.
Can I trade under my own business name and brand?
Why ask it
Find out whether clients would see your name, the host's, or both on quotes, invoices and emails. Building your own name makes a later move easier. Some hosts want their name or a registration number shown on your marketing, so ask what disclosure they require.
Can I bring bookings I have already made through another host or agency?
Why ask it
Whether a booking can move depends on the supplier and on the agreement you are leaving, so read your current contract's exit terms before this call. Where a transfer is possible, find out who files the request and which split applies to those trips. Skip this one if you are starting with no clients.
Can I speak with two or three advisors who joined in the past year?
Why ask it
A host confident in its program will connect you. Two things to put to those advisors: what surprised them after signing, and how long a support reply really takes. Find one more through an advisor forum or social group yourself, so that not every reference was picked by the host.
Money
Does my split go up as I sell more, and at what sales levels?
Why ask it
Have the tiers written out, and check whether the count resets each year. A higher tier may apply to all your sales or only to those above the line, which changes the sum a good deal. Judge the plan on the tier you will plausibly reach, not the top one.
Is the split worked out on the full commission the supplier pays, or after something comes off the top?
Why ask it
Processing fees, consortium fees or a 'house' share can be deducted before your percentage is applied. The clearest test is one real booking, followed line by line from the supplier's payment to your deposit. The figure at the end is the only split that matters.
Do you have more than one plan, such as a lower split with no monthly fee or a higher split with one?
Why ask it
Where a host has more than one plan, work out the sales level at which the fee plan starts paying more than the free one, and be honest about when you would reach it. Check how often you may switch plans and whether switching costs anything.
If I charge clients a planning fee, do I keep all of it?
Why ask it
Service fees can be income from the first week, long before commissions arrive. Pin down whether the host takes a share, how the fee would be collected and whether you may run it through your own payment processor. A vague reply suggests few of their advisors charge fees.
What charges are there besides the ones on your price list?
Why ask it
Name them yourself so nothing is missed: a fee per commission payment, a charge for airline ticketing, a renewal fee, a fee for leaving. Then find out which of them rose in the last two years, and how much warning advisors got.
Which bookings would pay me little or nothing?
Why ask it
Parts of travel carry no commission: airfare sold alone often pays little, and taxes and port charges are usually left out of the commissionable fare. Knowing which lets you plan a service fee for that work. The host's commission report should show the non-commissionable part of each booking, so look at a sample.
Can I earn commission on trips I book for myself or my family?
Why ask it
Policies on personal travel vary: a host may pay your usual split, pay nothing, or limit how much of your sales it can be, and a supplier may refuse commission on an advisor's own trip. It is worth knowing and a weak reason to pick a host. If saving on your own vacations is the center of the pitch, go back to the question about where the host makes its money.
When do I get paid for a booking: when the client pays, when they travel, or when the supplier pays you?
Why ask it
Many suppliers pay commission only after the client has traveled, so a trip booked today for next summer may not pay until after that. Have the host give its usual wait for a cruise, a tour and a hotel stay. Then plan how you will cover your costs through the first slow months.
How often do you send commission payments, and on what dates?
Why ask it
Weekly, twice a month and monthly all exist. Note the cutoff for each run and whether the money comes by bank transfer, check or some other way. A minimum balance before payout is common enough to check for, since small early commissions can sit under it for a while.
How will I see which commissions have come in and which are still owed?
Why ask it
You want a report you can open yourself that lists each booking, the amount expected and the amount received. A screenshot or a short demo settles it. Reconciling from memory and old emails gets hard once you pass a few dozen bookings.
Who chases a supplier that has not paid?
Why ask it
Commission sometimes never arrives, and somebody has to notice. It may be the host's accounting staff who follow up or it may fall to you, so get the answer and the number of days before anyone acts. A host that tracks this can say which kind of booking goes unpaid most often and roughly how much it recovers.
What happens to my commission if a client cancels after I have been paid?
Why ask it
A supplier may take commission back on a cancelled trip, and the host will usually pass that on to you. The part to understand is how a recall is collected: out of your next payment, by invoice, or from a reserve they hold. Put the same question about a client who disputes a card charge.
Suppliers
Which consortium or network do you belong to, and what does that get my clients?
Why ask it
Membership can bring extras such as onboard credit, hotel breakfast or upgrades, plus higher commission levels with the consortium's preferred suppliers. Two recent examples of a perk a client actually received are better evidence than a logo on the website. Check that every advisor has access, not only those above a sales level.
Who are your preferred suppliers, and what commission level do they pay you?
Why ask it
Hold the list against what you intend to sell. A host can be on top-tier pay with cruise lines and base-level pay with the tour companies you care about. See the supplier list before you sign, not after.
Can I book suppliers that are not on your preferred list?
Why ask it
Clients will ask for places and companies the host has never dealt with. Find out whether you may book them, whether approval is needed and how the commission would be claimed. A flat no narrows what you can sell.
Do suppliers pay you override or bonus commission on what I sell, and does any of it reach me?
Why ask it
A supplier may pay an agency extra once its total sales pass a mark, and your bookings count toward that total. A host that keeps the bonus is not cheating you, since it helps pay for the support you get. What you are listening for is whether they say so plainly.
Which accreditation numbers would I book under: IATA, CLIA, ARC or another?
Why ask it
Suppliers identify an agency by these numbers, and the host's number is what lets you book before you hold one yourself. Note which ones they have, then check whether any supplier you want requires one they lack. If you hope to get your own number one day, ask what that would change in your arrangement.
Can I book air through you, and who issues the tickets?
Why ask it
Air is where mistakes get expensive. The details to get are whether you would use a booking system, a ticketing desk or a consolidator, what each ticket costs you, and who pays when an airline bills the agency for an error. It is reasonable to leave flights to the client until you have been trained.
Do you have supplier reps or business development managers I can reach directly?
Why ask it
A named contact at a cruise line or tour company can fix a problem a call center cannot. Some hosts let advisors contact reps themselves and some route everything through head office, so find out which this is. Supplier-run training for the host's advisors is a good sign of a working relationship, and how often it happens is easy to check.
Would I qualify for an industry ID card, advisor rates or familiarization trips through you?
Why ask it
These usually depend on how much you sell, and the thresholds are set by the card issuer or the supplier as well as the host. Get today's requirement and how your sales would be verified. Treat perks as a bonus: a host that leads with free trips is selling to you.
How do group bookings work with you?
Why ask it
Weddings, reunions and club trips involve contracts, deposits and deadlines that a single booking does not. How hard that is depends on whether the host has a groups desk, who signs the supplier contract and whether you can hold group space under their name. If groups are your plan, ask to talk to an advisor there who runs them.
Support
When I am stuck in the middle of a booking, who do I call and how fast do they answer?
Why ask it
Get the support hours in your time zone and the usual reply time for phone, chat and email. Then test it: send a question before signing and time the answer. Evenings and weekends matter most if this starts as a second job.
Would I have a mentor, or is help shared across a general support team?
Why ask it
A person who knows your niche and your progress will catch mistakes a help desk will not. Find out how mentors are chosen, how long the pairing lasts and whether the mentor takes a share of your commission. A mentor's cut is not a bad sign in itself, as long as you know the rate and when it ends.
Which booking and client management tools would I get, and do any cost extra?
Why ask it
A client database, an itinerary builder and a website may be bundled, optional or billed per user. The point to press is what happens to your client records if you stop paying or leave, and whether you can export them. If you already pay for a tool you like, see whether you may keep using it.
Do you give leads to advisors, and how are they shared out?
Why ask it
Expect to find most of your own clients, whatever the brochure says. Where a lead program exists, ask who qualifies, how many leads an advisor like you receives in a month and how many of those book. The split on a host lead is often different, so ask for it.
If a lead from you becomes my repeat client, whose client is that?
Why ask it
A lead program can come with strings: the split may stay lower on every later trip, and the client may stay with the host if you go. Have them point to the part of the contract that covers it. Then price the leads as what they are, a paid service.
What marketing help is included: a website, email templates, social posts?
Why ask it
Ready-made material saves time and looks the same on every advisor's page, so see whether you can edit it and put your own name on it. The bigger point is who owns the web address and the email list if you build them on the host's system.
What happens to my clients' trips if I am ill or away?
Why ask it
A traveler with a cancelled flight needs someone to pick up. Hosts differ here: one runs an after-hours or emergency line, another charges for it, another leaves it to you. Whichever it is, learn how a covering advisor would see your bookings, and if there is no cover, arrange a backup with a fellow advisor before your first client departs.
Is there a community of your advisors I can put questions to, and how active is it?
Why ask it
Other advisors are often the fastest source for 'has anyone stayed at this hotel'. If the host allows it, look at the forum or group for a day before joining and count how many questions got a useful reply.
Contract and risk
Can I have the full agreement to read before I pay anything?
Why ask it
A host that will not send the contract until you have paid is asking you to buy blind. Read it against your notes from the call and mark every place where the paper and the conversation differ. For anything you do not understand, an hour of a lawyer's time is cheap next to a bad term.
How long is the contract, and how do I end it?
Why ask it
Look for the term, how it renews and how much notice you must give. Month to month is the easiest to leave. With a fixed term, ask what leaving early costs and whether fees already paid are refunded.
Would I have to book everything through you, or can I also work with another host?
Why ask it
An agreement may require every booking to go through the host, while some advisors keep a second host for a specialty such as cruises or luxury hotels. If exclusivity is required, check whether it reaches beyond bookings to things like a planning fee you bill yourself. Two hosts also mean two sets of fees and two separate sales totals, which is a lot to carry in a first year.
If I leave, do I still get paid on trips I booked that have not traveled yet?
Why ask it
This is where leaving gets expensive. An agreement may pay future commissions in full, cut the split, or keep everything after your end date. Whether those bookings can be moved to a new host is the other half of the question, and both answers should be in the contract's own words.
Is there a non-compete or non-solicitation clause?
Why ask it
Read for anything that limits selling travel after you go, contacting your own clients or working with the host's suppliers. Whether such a clause can be enforced depends on where you live, so do not assume it is harmless. Ask the host what it is there to prevent.
Can the terms change after I sign, and how would I be told?
Why ask it
An agreement may let the host revise splits and fees with notice. The points to settle are how much notice, how it is sent and whether a change lets you leave without penalty. Then ask when the terms last changed and what moved.
Would I be an independent contractor, and what tax paperwork do you issue?
Why ask it
How you are classified affects your taxes, your insurance and which expenses are yours. The rules depend on your country and sometimes your state or province, so take the host's answer to an accountant who knows where you live. From the host you mainly need the name of the form and the date the year-end statement arrives.
Do I need my own license or seller of travel registration where I live?
Why ask it
Some places require anyone selling travel to register, and in some you may be able to work under the host's registration. Give your location early, because a host may not take advisors from everywhere and should be able to say what its registration covers for yours. Confirm what you are told on the regulator's own website, since any penalty could land on you.
Do clients pay the supplier directly, or does money pass through you or me?
Why ask it
Handling client money can bring legal duties, such as a trust account or registration, and those differ from place to place. The simplest setup for a beginner is the supplier charging the client's card. If the host collects payments, ask how the funds are held and how refunds work.
Does your errors and omissions insurance cover me, and what does it cost?
Why ask it
Get the basics of the policy: whether contractors are covered, the deductible you would owe on a claim and what kinds of mistake are excluded. One host includes cover in its fee, another bills it separately or asks you to buy your own. Request the certificate.
Who pays if I make a booking error that costs money?
Why ask it
A wrong date, a misspelled name or a missed payment deadline can be costly. You might pay in full, insurance might respond above a deductible, or the host might share the loss, and it helps to hear how a real case was settled. Their reply also shows how much checking they do on a beginner's first bookings.
How to choose a host agency with these questions
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you contact a host
Write down what you plan to sell
A host suits a kind of business, not every business. Before any call, note what you want to sell, how many hours a week you can give it and whether you already have clients. Those three facts change which answers matter: a part-timer with no clients needs training and low fees, and an experienced seller needs a high split and little interference.
Shortlist three, not ten
A list this long across ten hosts is a month of calls. Read each host's website and published fee sheet first, and use the five questions under First call, by email if you like, to strike the ones that plainly do not take your kind of advisor. Then talk to three, and put the same questions to all three in the same order so the answers line up.
Send the factual questions ahead
Fees, payment dates, accreditation numbers and insurance are facts a host can put in an email. Sending them ahead leaves the call for the things that need a conversation, such as how support really works and what happens when you leave. It also gives you their answers in writing.
Know who is on the call
The person on a first call is often a recruiter or sales lead whose job is to sign advisors. That is fine for an overview. For the contract, commission accounting and support, ask to hear from whoever runs that part, or to have the answer confirmed by email.
Working out what you would keep
Run one booking through each host
Pick a trip you could plausibly sell, such as a cruise for two, and ask each host to show what reaches you after their share and any per-booking charges. Do the same sum yourself from their fee sheet. If your figure and theirs differ, you have found a fee nobody mentioned.
Count a whole year of fees
Monthly fees look small beside a commission payment. Total twelve months of every fixed charge, add the joining fee and insurance, and work out how much travel you would have to sell under their split just to cover it. In a first year with few bookings, that break-even point can decide the matter.
Plan for the wait
Commission tends to arrive after a client travels, so a new advisor can work for months before the first payment. Ask each host for its typical timing and sketch a calendar: bookings made in which month pay in which month. Planning fees, where you are allowed to charge them, are one way to bridge the gap.
Weigh support as part of the price
A lower split can be the better deal if it buys a mentor, a staffed help line and someone who chases unpaid commission. Put a rough value on your own hours. The cheapest host is expensive if every question costs you an afternoon of searching.
Checking the answers against the paper
Match each promise to a clause
Go through your call notes with the agreement open. Client ownership, commission after you leave, notice periods and fee changes should each appear in the contract in words that match what you were told. Where they do not, ask for the wording to be changed or for a signed addendum.
Raise the exit while everyone is friendly
It can feel awkward to talk about leaving before you have joined. A good host is asked it often and answers without flinching. The time to learn what leaving costs is now, while choosing a different host is still free.
Verify what can be verified
Accreditation, insurance and registration can be checked. Ask for the certificate, look the agency up with the accrediting body or regulator where a public lookup exists, and search for the host's name in advisor communities. None of it takes long, and it replaces a promise with something you have seen for yourself.
Get local advice on the legal parts
Contractor status, registration to sell travel, tax and whether a restrictive clause holds up all depend on where you live and work. The host can tell you how it handles them. Whether that suits your situation is a question for an accountant or lawyer who practices there.
Traps for new advisors
Choosing on the split alone
A headline percentage says nothing about fees, payment timing, supplier commission levels or what happens to your bookings when you leave. Two hosts with the same split can pay very different amounts on the same sale.
Paying before reading
A host that needs money before it will show you the agreement, the fee sheet or the supplier list has the order backwards. Wait until you have all three, or move on to the next name on your shortlist.
Joining for the perks
Discounted travel and hosted trips exist in parts of the trade, and they are tied to sales. If the pitch is mostly about traveling cheaply yourself, or about bringing in other advisors, you are the customer and not the business partner.
Assuming you can fix it later
Moving hosts means telling clients, moving or losing unpaid bookings and learning new systems. Advisors do change hosts, and it can be done. Asking these questions before the first signature is far less work than asking them before the second.