About Us
Plain and simple? We provide the leading travel industry directory and connect travel pros to in-depth resources.
Our Story
Hey there! I’m Steph Lee. I founded Host Agency Reviews in 2012. As a former host agency director for a $50M agency, I had spoken with thousands of new and experienced travel agents—many of whom found it difficult to find in-depth, reputable information about the travel industry.
I’m an entrepreneur at heart, so I naturally set out to provide a solution to these problems! The result? You’re looking at it! Yay!
But why should you trust I know what I’m talking about? I grew up in the heart of the travel industry. My family owned a home based travel agency that grew into a storefront, and we went through the same growing pains you may be experiencing.
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Perhaps you’ve seen us mentioned around?
I’ve been entrenched in the travel community for years, receiving ASTA’s Young Professional of the Year award, Minnesota Business’ Young Entrepreneur 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 also presented at a number of marketing/travel events including: Social Media Breakfast, Minneapolis; Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld; ASTA’s Blue Sky Symposium, Travel Agent Forum; and ASTA’s Global Convention. On the media front, I’ve contributed to Travel Research Online and Travel Market Report and was a member of Travel Market Report’s Editorial Board. But mostly, you should trust me (and my crew) because we all love dogs!
Dogs of Host Agency Reviews
The Rigel-Tanner Team will be your go-to resource for all questions about branches.
HAR started as a one-woman shop way back in 2012, but we’ve evolved into a team dedicated to creating content that helps people understand the travel industry on a deeper level. We keep ourselves busy designing infographics, crunching data from our annual surveys, and working to create the best articles around. Who is this “we” I’m talking about? Well, meet the crew that helps turn my ambitious visions into a reality!
Mary Stein, Editor
Mary Stein has been working for HAR since 2015 and has contributed to other industry media sources such as Travel Research Online, Travel Market Report and Travel Institute. She’s inspired by the passion and tenacity of travel entrepreneurs and loves supporting them on their professional journey. Mary’s also a mom, dog lover, fiction writer, occasional crafter, and a Great British Bake Off superfan.
Bridget Lee, Advertising
Bridget understands that the travel bug is incurable once it’s bitten you! She’s been working in the travel industry since she could crawl and started working for HAR in 2016. Her favorite thing? Working with entrepreneurs and digging deep into data to help others get a clear picture of industry trends. Bridget’s a climber, an avid baker, and inspires her coworkers with her project boards.