Outside Agents

I can not say enough great things about Outside Agents. The support they give the Travel Advisors, from the training they provide to the support we need, I can always count on them to have my back. The fact that the owners will pick up the phone to call me says a lot.
They always make sure we have the tools we need to make us successful. Providing us with opportunities to better know our suppliers and BDMs, FAM trips to better understand a destination and products we sell, in person and on demand training.
Outside Agents has an attitude of service and giving back. These shows in my fellow OA Travel Advisors. The other Travel Advisors are always willing to share and help other agents when needed.
Joining OA in 2015 is one of the BEST Career choices I have ever made! They are more than a Host Agency, they are FAMILY! I am very thankful for them!

I have been with Outside Agents since 2017, and signing up with them was the luckiest stroke of luck I've ever had in my life. There are lots of agencies to choose from, and it was overwhelming researching them all, but I ultimately went with OA, due to their very low cost of entry of $21/month, and I have been given the entire world in return...literally!? From building my business to traveling the world, they've been a truly amazing support system, and they sincerely care about their agents. I solely use their provided CRM system and website in my business, and their huge list of suppliers and BDMs are immediately responsive to OA agents. Their library of online trainings is thoughtful, thorough, and high production, and their Seminars and Sea and on-site trainings in Jacksonville are the highlights of my year. You get to make friends and build a support system of other agents, as well as meet and get to know the actual owners and staff, and see the incredible passion and care they put into supporting their agents and their business. Also, their Facebook group is worth the $21/mo alone!? So much good travel, business, and destination information and incredible support from fellow OA agents. I’ve been able to grow my business slowly and thoughtfully over the past 6 years, and am now doing this full-time, and am in the highest commission bracket. Your success is their success! This is a company that feels like family, and I adore this host agency! I cannot recommend them enough. You have nothing to lose except business and dreams. Make it happen with OA!!

I decided on a post-retirement career of travel advisor in September 2021. I looked at Host Agency Reviews and decided to go with Outside Agents. I am extremely happy with my choice. I've been to the in person training sessions three times in Jacksonville, FL and it is awesome. There is also a lot of online training available as well. I was assigned a mentor and took off. I love the commission split, the low monthly fee, no fee to get started, the website and blog, the CRM, the preferred suppliers and BDMs, their Facebook pages, and on and on. I am on target to get to $500,000 in sales this year!

I moved to Outside Agents at the front of the Pandemic, April 2020, from a home grown agency and I could not be happier. OA is extremely professional and has all of the resources to help you be successful in your business. I cannot imagine a better partnership and I am so glad that I made the move. Thank you OA!

I moved over to OA after being in the industry for over 6 years and am so glad I did. I have been with OA for 3 years now and have watched my business grow in many ways. They provide amazing training opportunities, help you develop relationships with industry partners, and provide many valuable tools to aid in your success. OA is a family and is built on mutual respect and passion for the travel industry. They care about their agents and each member of the team is supportive and encouraging so you can be a successful business owner.

I have tried other host agencies and none of them compared to OA. I can talk to Chad or Steve on the phone and if I email them I get an answer back. The staff are super helpful and always there to help you. You get a CRM that is really good plus a separate support staff that is always helpful. The innovations they are coming out with like AI is amazing. I think they are the best.

Despite the constant barrage of emails promoting other Host Agencies, I never consider leaving Outside Agents. For the years I have been with OA, my sales have increased while the number of hours I work have decreased! From technology to customer service, this company offers the best in back office support. They take the adage "work smarter, not harder" to heart. I've never been associated with a company that offers so much training that is practical and easy to use. As a home-based agent, you can't go wrong with Outside Agents!

I love being a part of Outside Agents! They have great education & support! They also have great resources to help you succeed in your travel business! I would recommend them to new travel agents or anyone needing extra resources or support! Plus they offer website and an easy to use website builder.

I have been a home based agent since 2008. For the first 10 years,I was with another agency and eventually knew it wasn't the right fit for me. I did some serious researching and decided on Outside Agents. I am so glad I did. They are so supportive and helpful with any and all questions I may have. Never have to wait very long for help.
They offer live workshops and training.Their website is amazing .I have learned so much more in the past year and half with them,then I had in my 10 years with the other host.
My only regret?? I wish I joined on with them many years sooner.

I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a host agency.

I don't even really know where to start in describing how inept, rude, pointless and ultimately self-serving this operation is... But if you read the direct responses from the comically sensitive, and defensive Co-Owner, he says more in his replies than any negative review ever could.
I laughed out loud when reading his comments to the poor fellow that was not able to make it to a workshop! The smugness and audacity of his denial of the refund is just next level!
Remember folks. Florida. The scam capital of the US.

Now on to my personal experience.
Travel agent host sites are a joke in general and if you are considering signing with any of them, don't. It is utterly unecessary and you are only adding a middle man who wants a cut of the money. Just book things for people and charge them a fee for doing the work for them. Simple.
I signed up and decided to book a trip to Puerto Rico with my girfriend and mother. I first wanted to see how things worked before I embarrassed myself with a paying customer.
We booked tickets in September for a trip in April.
The flight booking software was beyond lame and ended up only getting me an email saying that I am not supposed to book a trip for myself until I have sold "X" amount of bookings or whatever. They made it sound like I was using them for some kind of discount, when in reality, I would have saved around $300 dollars just booking the damn tickets from Kayak or some other sensible place! I paid more for the stupid things, but thought it would be good a experience.
Now for the worst part! They sent the wrong d@*n itinerary after trying to insult me with discount nonsense!
I saw, in another review, that he accused another agent of using it as a discount club... LOL, What discount Chad!?!
So, now I've booked rental car arrangements and hotel arrangments with the wrong itinerary. The only way we were able to get the correct flight schedule, was from my mothers credit card statement!
It ended up costing us several hundred dollars to make alternative arrangements in order to not be screwed on arrival/departure.
This BS is exactly why I wanted to try it out myself first, but these people wanted to try and shame me for doing that!
Bedsonline was also a waste and saved nothing. The price on Booking.com or Hotels.com/Expedia whatever, is the same except maybe you get your $12 pittance for booking it. Pffttt.
The tickets to the Bioluminescent bay are the same as booking directly throught Viator or any other legit and direct to customer site. Absolutely no need for a host site.
I would have dumped them as host agency months ago, but now I'd bought the tickets and didn't dare stir the pot; knowing I'd likely get screwed over entirely.
Horrible experience.
I feel really bad for the decent and perhaps naive other folks out there who just have a passion for travel and want to try and make an honest buck doing it as a profession.
This is not how you do it.
Sell your talents and experience in booking travel yourself. You don't need these people.

I look forward to an absolutely hilarious reply from the muppet Chad, in regards to whatever the devil it is I must have done, blah blah blah, that makes it all my fault, or any other poor saps fault. Bring it on little fella. I need a laugh after all this stupid waste of my time.

Sincerely,
Brian Glaze
(PS Puerto Rico was amazing!)