I have been with Outside Agents for many years, and this host agency has been a solid choice for me! Lots of education (online and in-person), a lot of preferred suppliers to choose from, and if I need help, I can call in to the home office, go into the Facebook group, or even text the VPs and president! And I love that they treat you like a business owner (I'm not one for hand holding.). Over the years, I have gotten to know many of the staff at the home office, and I love that they are friendly, knowledgeable, and I can kid around with many of them. If I could give my host more stars I would, but as I am limited by the platform, OA is a true 5-star host agency!!!

I love this host agency. They truly care. They have awesome service. They pick up their phone, reply to emails promptly, and really care about your success. The software works fine, and it would only be a minor thing to say sometimes all software can feel awkward when new, but you get the hang of it. Love their SOS feature and AI driven assistance model. They are a professional organization and have a very fair tier model structure for commissions that is refreshing so that you can set goals and achieve more for your business. 5 stars isn’t enough. Love OA.

I started my journey on December 23rd, 2023 when I signed up with my old host agency for a one fee of $99. They took 30% of my commission and offered no training, no support and no technology. They may be great for some but I need guidance, training, structure, and most of all support.
I analyzed my business at the end of last year and realized I was paying $439 a year for my website, and $39 a month for Travel Joy... I was putting out a lot with a little in return because I needed training and guidance to know where to even start.

I found hostagencyreviews.com and started my research. AND ...

At the beginning of this year I switched over and it was the very BEST decision I made for my business. I LOVE the training, I LOVE that I have a mentor, I LOVE that if I have a question there is probably a video in the training section. I love that I cancelled my yearly website for $439 a yr and I also cancelled travel joy because I like the CRM provided. Not only did I save money, I found a host agency that has my back.
I went from booking a few friends to actually having a business.
I would recommend this host agency to anyone looking for what I was looking for. They provide the resources.. we just have to use them.

Having been a travel since before computers and fax machines a solid host company where I was going to move my established clientele and business to was a huge step.
A company that had the back office automation to handle my groups as well as the caring staff who would answer the phone if I needed them was golden. Outside Agents ticked all my boxes and then some. I have nothing but good things to say about them as a host agency and I will finish out my career as a travel advisor here with OA.

Outside Agents has proven to be a great host agency. The online training for new agents is thorough and well organized. It gave me the confidence to take the leap and get started right away. When questions come up, the response from the head office is always quick and personal. The Outside Agents organization as a whole (all agents and OA staff) feels like a close and supportive community. Although I am a home-based agent, I do not feel alone. There are many in-person opportunities which give both training and an opportunity to connect with vendors and fellow agents. I have been with Outside Agents for three years now and am so glad I chose this host agency!

I started my PT travel agency about 7 years ago and looked a dozen of host companies to join. I landed here and have thought about leaving a few times, I've been tempted by other host agencies to leave and try them out over the years. Mostly those that may provide leads, as I think this would grow my business faster. But this is my second business and commiting to full-time leads seems daunting. I like the idea of keeping this business on the smaller side, as I have really started to hone into my niche in the industry. I've enjoyed the zero pressure and full support OutsideAgents has offered. Literally anytime I email or submit a question, I get a timely response and it's always been friendly. I've been able to learn so much without getting overwhelmed. I've had success with find the right kind of clients, learning about dangerous fraud clients to keep away from, and how to set things up properly. I know that are many full time agents and agents with subagents that use this host company and know that if and when I ready to push into a more full-time market, I can easily scale. It's a great place for agents at all levels, you can honestly make your business as big or as small as you need to, while having a great team and support network of other like minded travel professionals. As for leads, they are not that hard to build, it takes effort and it's probably better for you learn if you are a vernal agent, or a niche agent and then find your own market. The training with Outsideagents is great, you will learn just how to build that market and not rely on leads list given to you.

Currently an agent with them, and the affordability is amazing, the training is very helpful, and there is TONS of support! It is a large network of travel advisors; however, it does not even feel like it is as big as it is. We can literally call up the owner almost anytime and speak with him, the whole staff at OA is fantastic! They are also very beginner-friendly for advisors with no experience.

I still love Outside Agents. The value proposition is tremendous. They have created more staff positions and created more value with a Groups program and a Luxury program. There is a reason they have grown so much. many of the advisors I talk to came from other host agencies and are so much happier with OA.

My husband joined Outside Agents in 2016, and I followed his lead in 2023. The amount of growth we have had in two years is unbelievable and much of our success can be attributed to the sales tools offered by OA. Because of our success, we qualified to join their luxury division, Opulence, which has given us access to higher valued promotions and sales tools for our clients.

OA has ongoing training available and the live events are particularly helpful especially for anyone starting out in the industry. Even for seasoned TA's, the breadth of knowledge you have access to is remarkable. The community of TA's is also supportive - it's been a really good fit for us which has, ultimately, benefitted our clients.

Let me start this off by saying that I think Outside Agents is a great company for someone breaking into the industry. They provide a good path to get you started, basic business training, etc. They are a family run business which is extremely important, but may also be to their detriment which I will get into later. Most people at Outside Agents genuinely care about you and your success and you can tell that in the pride that they have for the company. Obviously in giving a three star review, you can assume there may have been some negatives, which I will get into now.

Firstly, there is a gentleman that works for Outside Agents who while is extremely knowledgeable about the industry and the company, and has a good relationship with SOME agents, his demeanor and interaction with others is extremely unprofessional. I notice it almost daily on the Facebook group and within the message boards where he will lambaste agents for asking the wrong thing and the answer for mostly everything is refer to the LMS or why didn't you take the training. In one interaction, he explicitly called my advice wrong and said I should not be posting. As a representative of a company that both takes a monthly fee and part of your commission, he should be a steward for the agents and act in a professional and customer service-oriented manner. I can tell you without hesitation that he is the main reason I am moving away from Outside Agents this year.

Secondly, while the one owner focuses a lot in AI and innovation, the technology behind the company is sorely lacking. The CRM looks like something from the mid to late 2000's. It works for some and others it does not. If you bring up it doesn't work for you the answer is to do the training. The provided websites are basic at best and lack any advanced feature sets. They also all are the same Wordpress template which can be detrimental to SEO rankings. Their in person trainings have no virtual option for those that work for a living. When asked the answer was "we tried it once and it didn't work". Fair enough, but every company on the planet has some sort of virtual piece to them. Every training that I pay for for my day job is virtual and it works extremely well. I'm not saying go all virtual, but have the option at least for those that cannot spend the money to go. For a company that is centered around innovation, the lack of any sort of input from their IC's is troublesome. They are family owned, which gives them the latitude to do as they please without input, which as I mentioned may be to their detriment.

In conclusion, Outside Agents will work for many and will not be the right fit for some. I am part of the "some" and will be moving away this year. I wrote this review to be open and honest, and to show that while a company can be 5 stars in certain areas, it could use improvement for others.