About Us

Plain and simple?   We educate, connect, and mentor travel agent entrepreneurs – both newbies and veterans – that are starting (or looking to grown) their own travel agency.  We’re passionate about reinvigorating the travel industry and bringing in new blood!

If you want in, we write some great articles…. sign up for our newsletter!

This is an independent site that contains the ever touchy matter of reviews.  We try to be as transparent as possible while making sure our site contains relevant and helpful reviews.  As a general rule, we don’t mess with reviews unless they violate our rules.

In keeping with the transparency theme, you may want to read our disclosure.  Normally disclosures aren’t exciting but… we spiced ours up with a picture of Ryan Gosling!  I daresay, our disclosure is the best looking one around.

Why We’re Here

I’m Steph, I own the site.

I spoke to thousands of prospective home based travel agents as a former host agency director.   Many people I worked with were confused about our industry, finding it difficult to find in-depth, reputable information.  They were bombarded with less-than-reputable looking sites, making some big claims on traveling the world and not working.  Many of the agents struggled with how to tell if a host agency was reputable.

I love the travel industry and I wanted to turn things around.  So, I created a website with information on starting and running a travel agency accompanied by agent reviews on the different host agencies.

And you’re reading it… right now!  Yay!  *high five*

You should know that it’s not actually me that runs the shots here.  It’s Rigel (Ry-gel), my 90 pound Collie mix.  Any spelling errors on this site can (and should) be attributed to the fact he has no opposable thumbs.  Same for grammatical errors; English is his second language, after all!

Why should you trust I know what I’m talking about?  I grew up in the heart of it, my family had a home based travel agency.  Later on, I was a director of a mid-size storefront agency/host agency for 5 years.   I was lucky enough to receive a few industry accolades including ASTA’s Young Professional of the Year award and Travel Agent magazine’s 30 under 30.  Awards in general are great but it’s an extra bonus when they make you feel young and spry!  ;)

I’ve spoken at  social media events such as Social Media Breakfast – Minneapolis as well as a fair share of travel industry events such as Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld and LeisureWorld,  The Home Based Travel Agent Show, and ASTA’s THE TRADESHOW.  On the media front, I have been a member of Travel Market Report’s Editorial Board and currently have columns with industry publications Travel Research Online and Travel Market Report, along with being a Professional Educator at The Travel Institute.

I don’t say all this to brag but rather, to assure you I do know my stuff.  Rest easy my friend, the site is legit.

So, I’m your host, Stephanie Lee.  Pleasure to meet your acquaintance.  Please introduce yourself and don’t be shy, ask me questions!   I know the world of host agencies can be confusing but do not despair.  It just so happens I know a little bit about these things called “host agencies” and am here to help you out!

Let’s Stay in Touch, Shall We?

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+.  Drop me a line anytime.  We’ve also got the good ol’ contact us form.  And, if you haven’t already, take a minute to sign up for Host Agency Reviews℠ newsletter.  We put together useful info on issues that affect home based travel agents and give lots of great marketing tips.

Warm Fuzzies.

I love that Google suggested you stop in for a visit!  But, I’m a little embarrassed… I left some ads out.  I apologize, I didn’t have a chance to clean them up before you swung by!

I know, ads are ugly.  Beyond the fact that they help spoil Rigel and feed my insatiable sweet tooth, there is another reason to feel good about them.  5% of net profits from our site are donated to a charity our readers choose.   Tell us your favorite charity!