There is a structural challenge unfolding in the travel industry, and it deserves an honest conversation. It is not a challenge of demand — travelers are spending more than ever. It is not a challenge of talent — the advisors on the front lines are among the most dedicated and knowledgeable professionals in any service industry. The challenge is how value flows through the system, and how often the people generating that value — the agents themselves — end up with less of it than they realize.

As a co-founder of LuxRally Travel, I have spent most of my time building tools for our agents, and enough time with other agency owners to believe the patterns I describe here are common rather than exceptional. I offer these observations not as accusations, but as an invitation to a clearer, more transparent way of doing business.

Here are six practices I think the industry should reexamine.

1. Referral-Heavy Business Models

Many agencies encourage agents to focus on building a network of other agents — referrals, recruitment, downlines — framed in the language of mentorship and community. Taken too far, this can start to resemble a multi-level structure, where growth depends more on recruiting agents than on helping existing agents serve clients and earn income.

There is a real cost that is easy to overlook. When an agent is asked to prioritize recruiting from their personal network, they may spend the relationships they would otherwise convert into clients. An agent's network is one of their most valuable assets, and models that lean heavily on recruitment can deplete it before the agent has a chance to build a sustainable book of business.

Referrals between agents can make sense — especially when networks don't overlap. But when the core of a model is recruitment rather than helping agents close bookings and earn, that is worth questioning. I'd encourage any leader who says their focus is "heart" over profit to make sure that heart also shows up in how well their advisors are actually doing financially.

2. The "100% Commission" Promise

Few phrases are as appealing — or as easily misunderstood — as "We give our agents 100% commission."

It helps to be precise about what that can mean in practice. Some agencies mark up supplier rates before presenting them to agents. Some retain override commissions — the volume-based bonuses suppliers pay the agency — without disclosing them. And some steer booking volume toward the suppliers that pay the agency the largest overrides, regardless of whether those are the best options for the client or the agent.

So an agent may receive "100%" of the commission on the rate they are shown — but that rate may already have been marked up, and the overrides carved out, before it reached them. This isn't always intentional deception, but it is often opacity, and it persists partly because the people who thrive in travel are relationship builders, not forensic accountants. A fair question to ask any host is simply: "100% of what?"

3. Layered Markups and Overrides

The "100% commission" framing is really a symptom of a broader pattern: multiple parties positioned to take a share of an agent's commission, often without the agent's full awareness and not always in proportion to the value they add.

I once watched an agent compare a flight in our system to what their own agency's platform showed. The commission nearly doubled. Their reaction wasn't anger — it was disappointment, the quiet kind that comes from realizing a partner you trusted was taking more off the top than you knew. This isn't a one-off; it comes up regularly when agents test real bookings. We encourage agents to bring their own itineraries to a live demo of our system, because these things are easier to believe when you see them in your own numbers.

4. DMC Pricing

The same pattern extends beyond flights and hotels. In one real example, an agent had a $37,000 quote from a destination management company (DMC). We ran the same itinerary through our FastBook AI system and returned $26,000 for the identical trip, in minutes — an $11,000 difference that could mean a larger commission for the agent, real savings for the client, or both.

I want to be clear: there are excellent, legitimate DMCs that earn every dollar they make, and there are absolutely times when using one is the right call. The issue is that agents are often defaulted toward DMCs — sometimes because they lack the training, tools, or confidence to book directly, or simply because "that's how it's always been done." When that becomes automatic, agents can't weigh the real cost against the value received.

Part of the solution is education. At a minimum, hosts and agencies should help their agents understand the booking landscape well enough to make informed choices. Taking a share of an agent's income should come with commensurate value in return.

5. Deference to Legacy Players

Perhaps the most entrenched dynamic in the industry isn't financial — it's cultural. There is a strong norm that established players are entitled to their position and shouldn't be questioned, and that comparing them to newer alternatives is somehow disloyal.

Many of these organizations have taken a share of agent income for a long time, and have had the resources to invest in better tools, training, and technology. In a lot of cases, that investment simply hasn't materialized. Meanwhile, agents may pay significant franchise and monthly fees while receiving limited training, poorly negotiated rates, and dated technology.

I understand the loyalty — but I think the industry does itself a disservice when it shields any player from honest comparison. We should be able to celebrate genuinely great operators and also ask hard questions about ones that aren't delivering. Real people's livelihoods depend on it, and having watched hopeful, hard-working people get let down by empty promises, I care a lot about getting this right.

6. How the Industry Responds to Innovation

When a host agency builds genuinely new tools, the reaction from some corners isn't curiosity or even skepticism — it's hostility. We've experienced this directly. At one event, a representative from a large, well-known agency came to our booth uninvited, asked to see our demo, and reacted with real anger, telling us she intended to put us out of business — without taking the time to understand what we'd built or why.

I have some empathy for that reaction; new technology can feel threatening, especially to those who've tried to build something similar. But I hope we can move toward an industry where innovation is met with questions rather than intimidation. Notably, other hosts can white-label our technology and still earn well while giving their agents better rates and tools — this doesn't have to be zero-sum.

The contrast with everyone else was striking. Independent agents and whole agencies wanted to switch. Established agency owners — the ones who understand that their people, relationships, and knowledge are their real value — welcomed us as builders of the tools they'd been waiting for. You can hear it in how they talk about their agents; they see themselves as protectors of the people who trust them. Some may not move right away, but they approached something new with curiosity and openness. Those leaders are a big part of why we're willing to share this technology at all.

An Invitation

Let me put it plainly. If you're an agency owner and your agents can't see the real rates, commissions, and math behind each booking, it's worth asking why. Transparency is a reasonable thing for the people generating your revenue to expect.

If you're an agent and this stirs up a defensiveness on behalf of your host, I understand — that loyalty speaks well of you. But loyalty should go both ways. Bring a real booking to a live demo and see what the numbers look like from the other side. When agents see a meaningful increase in their earnings, they at least deserve to make an informed choice about it. You're the one generating the profit.

Many agents value the community and mentorship of their host but want better technology. That's one of our favorite things to hear, because we'd rather power your existing host or agency — white-labeled, with our branding absent — so you get both. Agencies that offer real, hands-on support know their value isn't the tech it's the relationships. We've recently spoken with a couple of agencies like this — one an all-female team with genuinely great energy, another with a strong media and coaching operation — and we'd love to power operations like theirs. If your agency truly invests in its agents, we want to help them do it even better. We can build custom solutions quickly for partners who operate with integrity.

We now hold the patents behind this technology, and it's already live for our hosted agents and agency partners. We're being deliberate about who we work with — but if you're an agency owner who leads with transparency, we'd like to talk. We've built something new, and we're glad to share it. There's room for everyone who operates in good faith.

A Better Chapter Ahead

Travel agents have access to excellent rates, real industry relationships, and the best customer service in the travel ecosystem. Those are facts. What's held the industry back isn't the agents — it's an infrastructure that too often rewards extraction over excellence. If we work together thoughtfully, we can grow not just individual agencies but the whole industry. There's plenty to go around; scarcity thinking is the thing we most need to leave behind.

I think we're heading into a genuinely better era for travel agencies — one that's more transparent, more profitable for the people doing the work, and more sustainable for everyone.

The tools are built. The numbers are there for anyone who wants to look. The invitation is open — and I hope you'll take a look.