I was with Avoya for a several years and I really thought it would work. The leads were key to my decision to join them. But the problem is that the leads that I received were low end cruise lines.

The agents who got the qualified leads/high end ones were the agents that played the game Avoya wanted you too. Some of these agents are listed here on this website that have written about how wonderful Avoya is. They are like the pyramid schemes that used to be around.

The pros: The forum board used for expressing/asking questions. It was good until you expressed displeasure in something. Then it was removed! Their quote options for cruises was good.

The cons: The leads are misleading. Anyone who goes thier site and enters their email address and clicks on ANYTHING is considered a lead. I found a majority were just shoppers who wanted the absolute rock bottom price and wanted me to price match sites like Travelocity, Costco, etc. They also hand fed the high end leads to a certain group of agents. Thier annual confernece was a game show of sorts. If you did not go, you did not win a prize, even if you were the top producer. All overides, etc. are given to the back office and all these employees took the free cruise/tour conducter berth earned.

All in all, I would stay away from them. The are one of the most unethical companies out there.

My decision to join Avoya Travel was one of the best I have ever made. I have been with Avoya Travel for over 7 years. I've also been in the travel industry for more than 15 years.

Avoya Travel provides the tools to be a success. How you choose to use those tools is entirely up to you.

Working as an Independent Agent can be lonely and isolating. However, I have found the support from Avoya Travel to be exemplary. We are a "family" and thus we all help one another. There is a lot of truth to the saying; "There is no "i" in team".

The very thought of being associated with any other travel agency is out of the question for me. Avoya has provided me an invaluable opportunity. I will not look a gift horse in the mouth.

I looked around before reaching out to Avoya. I even checked with my cruise reps where I previously worked. They indicated that Avoya is a huge player in the big scheme of things already, but they felt it would be a great place to grow my personal business. I did so and have been overly impressed. One of the main ideas they truly belive and preach is " you grow your business as long as it is done with integrity and professionalism ".. Wow !! That speaks volumes. The support we recieve from the advetising, the management team, the online sales support webinars, the fabulous Mastermind Program, and the ownership is second to none. As well as the ongoing training and updates we receive from our vendors is top notch. And Avoya allows you to choose your specialties. Therefore, I am able to give better service to our current, repeat and future clients. And I do have to mention the commission structure. It is more than fare. Hope this peeks your interest for you to persue and consider becoming a family member of Avoya. Next to my own personal and church family, there is none better. They, the Anderson's and Scott Koepf, truly do care about me as a person and me as an agent.

I have been with Avoya for almost 5 years, and have learned a lot and been helped a lot to get up and running. The first year is a little slow, as it would be anywhere. After that I was allowed to specialize in whatever areas and lines that I wanted. I have been able to be quite successful, and now I am enjoying repeat customers and referrals. The vendors really treat Avoya as a VIP and that feels good to have them appreciate what Avoya does for them as far as business.

If you have the experience of being in travel, but do not have clients of your own, this is a great place. You can start your base of clientele by working with their lead program. There is nothing out there like it. They also have a mentoring program that you can get started in -- definitely another boost up.

I was hesitant to write a review for Avoya because I know they read everyone's reviews online. However, my contract with them will be over this month and I wanted to share my very honest opinion of them.

Their program looks and seems great, and it probably is if you are an established agent with a large, consistent following. I was not. I worked for a huge travel agency where I did not get to keep my leads, and so when my mom died I went looking for a new agency to continue my travel career with. They promised "live leads" and that was the selling point. However, their "live leads" are not, for the most part, "live." You get leads usually from browsers, many of whom give fake contact info. If you don't sell them a vacation, your stats go down.

Next, when I did actually reach someone from a lead, they were in the VERY early stages of booking a cruise, and they never returned calls or emails. Also, many of the leads I was given were two-three weeks old, hardly "live" in my book.

Last summer I had knee surgery and was unable to work for a few weeks, and when I signed on I saw that I was allowed "0" leads. This was because I had not sold any cruises for several months. I believed, and was told, that this agency allowed you to work as you wanted to, but in reality, if you don't meet their criteria, they will not provide any leads...at all. It's very hard to earn money if you have no leads, and it's very hard to be given leads if you don't sell any cruises.

Again, if you had your own clientele it might work, but for a new agent, forget it.

My second complain is that I also felt nickel and dimed. I was assigned a toll-free number by Avoya, which had an 800 prefix. Unfortunately there was an insurance company in Canada with an 888 prefix, and I got hundreds of wrong number calls because of the similarities. When I asked about getting the number changed I was told there was a charge to do so. I also had a new landline number put in and I was charged $25 to change. I know it isn't difficult to do, but the company charges you for everything. The monthly fee is $49 and they will take the fee from your commission earnings without asking you. It would be nice to know that that is happening. It's little things like that that I found annoying.

My final straw was this year. I was contacted via email by the VP of sales and told that my sales and lead closes were too low (I have to work full-time as a teacher because I don't make enough to live on as a travel agent)and that Avoya felt I was not right for their company.

Again, I had missed time for knee surgery, and in August had spine surgery and was unable to do much of anything for a few weeks. still, they held strong to their plans and told me I would not be renewed. I pay them $49 every month whether or not I make a sale, so I have no idea how I was somehow hurting their reputation. I have sold cruises to my friends and family and earned commissions, but for some reason I just didn't fit the Avoya mold.

I have two bookings that don't need to be paid in full until February and I have absolutely no idea if I will even get my commission because they told me I will have to pay them if I go to another agency. Right now, I have no interest in working for a host agency again. I just want my commission, and I have a funny feeling I will never get it.

I think Avoya is good for someone who has a big following and who doesn't mind giving up some of their commissions to pay a host agency, but if you are new, this is not the place for you. You won't get good leads, you won't get paid right away, and they keep tabs on your closing stats and will let you go even though you pay their monthly and initial fee to join.

I sold over $1.5 million in bookings my first year with my previous company because I got active leads on the phone from people who were calling to book. This number is simply not do-able for the average agent going to Avoya. Maybe other people have had great experiences with them, but I would not recommend them.

UPDATE: 10/15/2012

I wanted to update my post. As of today I am no longer with Avoya so I can be a bit more frank. They very quickly blocked my access to my company email but fortunately I kept all of my bookings and info. They are holding my commission on my paid booking until 30 days after the cruise which is May 2013. I think it is wrong since policy is to pay an agent when they receive the check from the cruiseline. My other two bookings are going to be transferred to my new agency, Outside Agents. I had planned to leave the industry but because of the behavior of Avoya, I decided simply to go in another direction. I personally felt like they don't go out of their way with new agents even though they get paid monthly from their service charges, and it was a poor decision for me in 2010.

I have been in the travel industry for over 30 years and the best, most fulfilling years have been the last 4 with Avoya Travel.

As with all things it takes time to build your book of business and Avoya Travel gives you all of the tools to do so SUCCESSFULLY!

From their Live leads program, state of the art technology, and excellent relationship with our travel partners you are set on the path to success.

Yes, I work hard but I am the one reaping the rewards of my labor.
The rewards of a great income, selecting which vendors I want to sell, working when I want to, where I want to. I can work while sailing down the Rhine (if I choose to).

If you are looking for a Host agency that values YOU and your experience then go to joinavc.com for more details about this extraordinary opportuity to build YOUR OWN business with a great supportive company.

I was with Avoya for a year and I really wanted to love it. The leads were key to my decision to join them. But the problem is that the leads that I received were not in my area of specialty even though I was led to believe there would be many Disney leads. The majority of the leads I received were low end cruise lines.

The pros: The education opportunities and the technology is great! I did love their quote options for cruises. The format of the quote emails/invoices is very nice. Their support system is very good too. I always received timely replies when I had questions. Also it is a huge bonus to be able to book clients with American Express reward points. Finally, if you need cruise bookings to get your CLIA ACC, MCC, etc. Avoya is a great way to do that. But the commission split on these cruises that come from their leads is too low.

The cons: First the definition of lead is misleading. Anyone who goes to an Avoya site and enters their email address and clicks on ANY cruise/tour is considered a lead. There are a lot of folks just exploring who aren't really ready to book a trip out there! It was too much like "Big Brother" watching on the web for me. After I signed on I was told that if you closed 1 out of every 20 leads you were doing well. Personally that kind of return on my time investment was not worth my continuing with them.

For the few leads that were really interested in booking something, I found that the majority were just shoppers who wanted the absolute rock bottom price and then they wanted me to price match sites like Costco who offer huge OBC's.

Also, there are no opportunities to book air through Avoya except through the suppliers that offer it. But I also needed a host to ticket group air that I sell from time to time.

I've been affiliated with Avoya Travel for 2yrs and have really enjoyed it. I have no clients of my own so I rely 100% on the live lead program. The best advantage of the program is that you can sell the specific tour company, river cruise line or ocean cruise line that you really like to sell--you pick the vendors you work with. If you have experience in travel, I would strongly urge you to consider joining Avoya Travel American Express.

I have been in the travel industry for over 17 years.
I work for one company for 3 years and then I made the move to Avoya Travel.Best decision I have ever made.
Technology at best,leads ,costumer service and a great team of people that make you feel that you are really part of a big family.
Have made many good friends ,Travel at least ones a year on our national conference and other funtions.
In my opinion from A to Z Avoya is the best Host Agency

UPDATE 7/18/2015:

I have been in the travel industry for over 22 years.
since 2007 I affiliated my agency to Avoya Travel.
with my experience I was able to learn the system in no time and started selling travel right away.
Avoya is a great hot agency and it runs with integrity and professionalism at it best.
In only a year I was able to accomplish the award of Best of the Best and year after year up until 2014 I have been awarded the Best of the Best award which is at least a million dollars in gross sales in a year.For 2015 month of July my agency have sold a million plus therefore my gold is 2 million to be President club.
The live leads are amazing and easy to close if you know the products and have experience .I don’t understand how someone with 20 plus years of experience can’t close these leads and not be successful at Avoya travel.
All it takes is integrity,honesty, professionalism and knowledge
If you have these virtues there is no reason why anyone can be very successful affiliating your business with the best host agency in the industry Avoya travel.

I've been in the travel industry for 13 years. I've worked at a cruise line and for two previous American Express brick and mortar agencies. Since joining Avoya my sales have soared and I have complete control and autonomy over how and when I work. Avoya is supportive and innovative in their approach. They are always thinking outside the box to insure we are ahead of the curve, by miles. Joining the Avoya team truly changed my life, for the better and I've never had any regrets. There are so many host agencies to choose from but there really is only one choice if you want to be successful, work with professionals and have the backing of a company with integrity, Avoya.