The Hosted Travel Advisor Research Report Summary, 2024
2024 marks the 8th year since we began running our Travel Advisor Survey, providing you all with in-depth travel advisor reports on the latest trends in income, fees, and more. And wow have these reports come a long way since! Every year, we say this is our best report ever, and every year I mean it! (Enter refrain . . .)
This is our best report ever! Why?
This year we've investigated new topics including travel advisor technology usage and media consumption. But don't take my word for it. Here's a preview of the table of contents for our 2024 Hosted Travel Advisor Report so you can witness the breadth and depth of our data in its full glory.
Another thing that makes this report the best one ever is that after years of a recovery slog, I am happy to say that our data indicate that you hard-working travel advisors have edged ahead of 2019 pre-pandemic income levels by 2% ($52,636 vs. $51,723). That's right, you can go ahead and consider yourself recovered and hopefully the C-word will never come up in an income report again.
In this summary, I'll give you the broad strokes of results for our 90+ page report. Here's what to expect.
The Hosted Travel Advisor, 2024: Report Summary
- A look at primary vs. supplemental income for hosted advisors
- Growth for new hosted advisors enjoys a steeper trajectory
- Full-time vs. part-time hosted advisors
How Travel Advisors Can Leverage HAR’s Data
How Travel Industry Pros Can Use HAR's Data
The Hosted Travel Advisor, 2024: Report Summary
This section is pulled from the Introduction & Executive Summary of HAR's full report! Enjoy!
About HAR's Survey
While the survey was conducted in 2024, the income and fee data reflect the full 2023 calendar year.
In addition to looking at income fees, demographics, operations, host relationships, and the new hosted advisors segment, this year HAR has expanded its survey to include a new section on advisors’ technology usage and media consumption.
The 2023 timeframe of the data tells a story of tempered growth for advisors' income, reflective of a travel market that has let off steam from pent-up demand for travel in 2021 and 2022. Hosted advisors (the focus of this report) recovered 2% beyond 2019 pre-COVID income.
Additionally, the pandemic shakeup left travel advisors with a larger piece of the pie in terms of travel market share. Phocuswright's recent “U.S. Travel Agency Landscape” projects that the "travel agency share of the total travel market will rise to 26% in 2026 from 21% in 2022."
How did the advisors who completed HAR’s survey factor into the market share? The 2063 advisors who completed HAR's survey reported producing over 1.1 billion in sales and generating 207,911 bookings for suppliers in 2023.
HAR offers reports on three different segments: hosted advisors, independent advisors, and employees (there wasn't sufficient data to compile a report on franchise owners in 2023). This report focuses on hosted advisors.
A note on how we look at income in our full report
HAR's reports focus on advisors who are active in the industry. When tallying income for experienced advisors (3+ years of experience), we survey those who earned a minimum of 5k in annual commissions. We use the same threshold adopted by organizations like IATA and CLIA which also require $5,000 for advisor identification cards in order to focus on active advisors
Where we have enough data (as we do with this report), reports include a section dedicated to new advisors. While we still remove outliers, we do not apply this income threshold for new advisor income sections as it takes time to gain a foothold in the industry.
Executive Summary
Of the 2063 travel advisors who completed HAR's 2024 Travel Advisor survey, 84% (1947) were hosted advisors.
The snapshot below offers an overview of sales and income for experienced hosted advisors.
An overwhelming majority, 80% of hosted advisors, reported a sales increase in 2023. (14% reported “no sales increase” and 6% were “N/A or unsure.”) This translated to a 12% increase in average annual individual sales, which landed at $517,797 for experienced hosted (3+ years of experience) advisors in 2023.
Full-time vs. part-time hosted advisors
Income experienced an equal 12% increase from $47,179 in 2022 to $52,636 in 2023. This indicates that hosted advisor income has recovered 2% beyond pre-pandemic 2019 income levels ($51,723).
The pattern of income increase across experience is similar to prior years with income significantly rising after two years of experience. The most experienced full-time hosted advisors enjoyed the steepest income increases.
Full-time advisors were rewarded with larger income gains compared to their part-time counterparts. Specifically, full-time advisors saw a 19% average increase, whereas their part-time peers experienced a 13% average increase as they gained experience.
This offers a benchmark for advisors interested in tracking personal income gains as they move up HAR's income range categories.
Purchase the full report for a complete look at the latest trends.
A look at primary vs. supplemental income for hosted advisors
The hosted advisor pathway was the most popular among advisors who sold travel to supplement their primary income. 46% of hosted advisors reported that selling travel was their primary income (compared to 71% of independent advisors and 79% of travel advisor employees). The lower percentage is unsurprising given the time it takes to build a book of business and that nearly all new advisors enter the industry through a host agency.
Among advisors who reported they did not sell travel as a primary income source, 52% reported they intended to sell travel as a primary source of personal income in the future.
When homing in on advisors who earned 5K+ in commission (the base income threshold for experienced hosted advisors), the percentage of advisors who sell travel as a primary source of income increases to 60%.
Growth for new hosted advisors enjoys a steeper trajectory
While income growth declined from 26% to 12% for experienced hosted advisors (3+ years’ experience), new hosted advisors departed from this slowdown trend, following a steep growth trajectory.
Average annual sales for new hosted advisors (<3 years’ experience) were $154,918, and the average income was $12,057 in 2023. This indicates considerable growth for the new segment, with average sales increasing 35% and average income more than 3x higher.
Why the steeper income increase? In part, it relates to an updated method for recording new hosted advisors (purchase the report for our full methodology). But even without this update, income for new hosted advisors more than doubled.
In 2023, new advisors earned higher income thresholds. Among active new advisors, 3% reported an average income of over $50,000+, and 10% earned $25,000+ in their first two years of business.
However, the leap in income gains between the 2nd-year full-time advisors and those with 3-5 years remains substantial. In 2023, full-time hosted advisors with 3-5 years of experience earned 87% more than those with two years of experience.
Because of this income divide between new and experienced hosted advisors, we look at each hosted segment individually in our report when we reference income.
Purchase the full report here for a complete look at new hosted advisor income, demographic, and operational trends.
How Travel Advisors Can Leverage HAR’s Data
HAR's 2024 Hosted Travel Advisor Report extends well beyond the purview of income, fees, and demographics. The Hosted Advisor Report, 2024 looks at the data behind issues specific to hosted advisors including host agency relationships (satisfaction with hosts and commission trends), startup trends, technology use, media consumption, and more.
Travel advisors can leverage the data for startup planning, benchmarking, business planning, fee strategies, and more.
But the data’s relevance extends beyond advisors. Across travel distribution channels such as hosts and consortia, tech companies, and travel suppliers, professionals can leverage the data for product development and offers, marketing Initiatives, research and development, pricing strategies, growth strategy, market research, and more.
Are you a supplier, DMO, DMC, host agency, or travel tech company? Go here to read up on how you can use HAR's data from the full report!
Gratitude
Every person here at HAR has their hands in the creation of our survey reports! I like to think of our reports as a geeky love letter to the travel advisor industry and their supporters!
The most critical part of our survey is the advisors who take the time out of their ridiculously busy schedules knee-deep in travel rebound bookings to take our survey. . . all 2063 of you! Our survey is in-depth and frankly, we don’t throw softballs. So thank you for busting out your P&Ls, 1099s, and/or digging into the recesses of your memories to contribute to the best industry data out there. You are the pillar of these reports (and keeper of our nerdy, nerdy hearts). And thank you to my fellow HAR-gonauts, Steph Lee, the brainchild of this data party and a major survey collaborator, and to Abbey vonGohren for editing this beast.
Want to participate in our survey next year? Heck yes, you do! You can sign up for our survey reminders here to make sure you know when our next one is live.
This report is not possible without the partners who promote the survey among their networks. We want to extend a colossal thank you to the industry partners who support our data shenanigans here at Host Agency Reviews: American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), Association of Black Travel Professionals (ABTP), BranchUp, Celebrity Cruises, Dugan's Travels LLC, Gifted Travel Network, KHM Travel, MAST Travel Network, Nexion Travel Group, Pickles Travel Network, Signature Travel Network, TaConnect, Travel Leaders Network, Travel Pulse, Uniglobe Travel Center, Virtuoso, and World Via-Travel Quest Network.
Want to add your name to this list of partners? Drop a line at Mary@HostAgencyReviews.com and we’ll chat!
Something for Everyone: How Travel Industry Professionals Can Use HAR's Data
There's a lot of data in our 70+ page research report. We have a few ideas on how you can leverage it to glean insights most relevant to your corner of the industry. Here's a few shortcuts with tips on how to use the report data depending on where you're positioned in the industry:
- Agency Owners
- Hosts & Consortia
- Suppliers, DMOs, and DMCs
- Travel Tech Companies
Agency Owners (SOLO & those with ICs and/or employees)
Agencies and their advisors are at the heart of HAR's Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024. Regardless of the size of your agency—whether you're a solo advisor or have dozens (or hundreds) of ICs and/or employees—the report is rife with data for advisors at all stages of the game, from starting up to scaling big.
All solo advisors can:
- Benchmark personal sales and income against current averages, taking into account niche, experience, hours worked, and more
- Use the data to project future sales and income goals
- Gain an understanding of income potential (or average income) by niche and product
- See where their average sales per booking falls compared to the industry at large
- Make data-backed decisions on fee amounts by comparing to industry averages
- Use demographic and regional data to see what can set an advisor apart in terms of client reach
- Compare their host agency commission split to the latest industry standards
- Find the travel tech that most advisors are using
- and more!
In addition to all things listed above, new advisors can also:
- Gain an understanding of what to expect in terms of startup costs
- Uncover the typical earnings for their first few years in business
- Use the data to inform their business plan
- Use the data to help narrow down niche options based on income potential and market saturation
- Discover why advisors leave their host agency, using the info to help choose a host
- Compare their startup commission rates to industry standards
- and more!
Additionally, agencies with ICs (or hoping to host or hire advisors) can:
- Benchmark personal income based on IC volume
- Benchmark sales per booking amounts based on product and niche trends
- Understand what technologies hosted advisors use, and when they use tools provided by their host agency versus supplying their own instead of (or in addition to) a host's tools
- See when advisors are most likely to switch hosts
- Learn when new advisors are most likely to start their business
- Compare their company's commission split against industry standards
- and more!
Hosts & Consortia
With a majority of hosted respondents (84%), our Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024 is a treasure trove of information for host agencies and consortia alike.
HAR's research report data can help host agencies and consortia in many ways:
- Competitive intelligence (e.g. using the data to help clarify your unique selling point as a host agency to inform your marketing initiatives)
- Educating and onboarding your ICs and agencies (e.g. using the data to help inform/manage expectations when starting out or using a tool to help your advisors and agencies develop a business plan or growth plan)
- Informing your resource development for your advisors (e.g. offering a concrete guide to standard fees)
- Researching the latest startup trends
- Discovering where the highest concentration of advisors resides to inform your outreach strategy
- Understanding how hosted advisors as a segment perceive host agency relationships to anticipate needs for new and experienced advisors alike
- Synthesizing data on why advisors switch hosts to avoid unnecessary churn
- and more!
For host agencies, the Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024 is a must-have. For consortia, we recommend the bundle which includes the Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024 and the Independent Travel Advisor Report, 2024.
Suppliers, DMOs, and DMCs
93% of new advisors chose the hosted route in 2024 making it the most popular pathway to starting a career as a travel advisor. In 2024, hosted advisors who took the survey generated 756M in sales and 15% of active experienced advisors netted 1M+ in average annual sales. Yet they are an elusive segment, difficult to track.
As a supplier, it's imperative to have a strong understanding of the fastest-growing segment of advisors: hosted advisors.
HAR's research report provides a rare opportunity for suppliers, DMOs, and DMCs to look at the latest trends in products and niches for this segment.
Here's how these organizations benefit from this report:
- Illustrates trends not only for hosted advisors overall but also for new advisors, offering suppliers insight into emerging trends distinct to those newest in the industry
- Offers concrete data on the hosted advisor's growth potential
- Help suppliers understand what technology hosted advisors use
Additionally, the research report looks at product trends in myriad ways including:
- Income generated by primary niche
- Average sales per booking for top products
- Most common niche and products for advisors overall compared to new advisors
- The areas where hosted advisors are most strongly concentrated
The data offer opportunities to engage in competitive analysis, inform product development and marketing initiatives, guide competitive pricing strategies, and tailor your product offerings.
For suppliers, we recommend the bundle which includes the Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024 and the Independent Travel Advisor Report, 2024.
Travel Tech companies
This year we took a closer look at travel tech. In our technology section, professionals can learn from advisors' use of CRM, websites, booking engines, and itinerary builders. In this section, you can:
- Learn about market share for the biggest travel tech play among a diverse cross-section of hosted advisors
- Learn what percentage of agents use booking engines, Websites, CRMS, and Itinerary Builders
- Learn the latest trends as to which products hosted advisors gravitated to in 2022
- Find in-depth data on the hosted advisor community: demographics, areas of growth/decline, experience level, niches and products most sold
With this information, you'll be able to track product growth over time among different sectors as we continue to track trends in future surveys. It provides opportunities for competitive analysis, market share among hosted advisors, and more.
For tech companies, we recommend the bundle which includes the Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024 and the Independent Travel Advisor Report, 2024.
Purchase the Full Hosted Travel Advisor Report, 2024
If you are a hosted advisor who took HAR's 2024 survey, check your email for your promo code. Not sure where it is or if you should get one? Email me at Mary@HostAgencyReviews.com (Independent advisors and employees, your reports are in the pipeline so hold tight!)
