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 Fennec-Orion Team will be your go-to resource for all questions about branches. Or squeaky toys.
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, Senior Editor
Mary freelanced one year for Host Agency Reviews before becoming Steph's inaugural employee in 2016. A travel industry transplant with a background in social services and creative writing, she prides herself as a creative pragmatist and loves the innovation and collaborative spirit of working with the small and energetic HAR crew. Mary helps develop and implement multi-media site resources, HAR communications, and other fun shenanigans the HAR team schemes up. She heads up HAR’s Industry Voices and has also contributed to other publications such as Travel Research Online, Travel Market Report, and The Travel Institute. Beyond life in the travel industry, Mary has received grants and awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Loft Literary Center for her fiction writing and is actively involved in the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.
April Oliveira, Digital Marketing
April may be new to the travel biz but she has a sense of adventure which lead her to HAR, for all things travel. Her passions are cooking, exploring, and trying new things. And what better industry to be in for all three than travel!? She loves that she gets to bring her big personality and creativity to HAR and looks forward to making new connections.
Maureen Bourcy, Community Growth
Maureen has been working in the travel industry for over 20 years. She lived in Alaska where she worked for Princess Cruises & Tours which ignited her love of travel. Her next opportunity came when she worked for one of the largest tour operators in the world. Her career has enabled her to work closely with travel industry associations, host agencies, consortia, travel agencies and helping new agents chart their course in this amazing industry. Her passion is to explore new destinations and her favorite places are Australia, Africa, Egypt, Greece and the coast of Oregon.