It has been a year since I signed up with OA. Now is a great time to share my experience with you if you looking for a new host ( like I was) or are a new agent looking to join the tourism trade.
OA is a GREAT host. No doubt. Before joining them, I simply picked up the phone and called them to speak with the owner. I had zero expectation of this actually happening but was pleasantly surprised when Chad Burt came on the line and spent a good half an hour speaking with me and answering all my questions. I signed up the same day. It didn't take me much time to understand their systems and if I had a question, the OA staff was very quick with their email replies. Best way to communicate with them. They have brilliant internal systems set up for just this purpose. Agency staff and higher-ups are almost always available for insight and help as and when needed. They are highly professional ( yet super funny on socials). I had a chance to meet most of the staff at one of their TA conferences and the vibe is that of one big family. For new agents, they have mentors for initial support. Though I have industry experience, I still set up a call with a mentor just to test the new waters. It was a lovely call.
They have great contracts with vendors, resorts, and consolidators across the world. Their payment system is top-notch with very little room for confusion. Payments have been on time on expected dates. The split is also one of the best ( that I know of) ( Ex host had a terrible split and I wish I had known of OA before).
All in all, I highly recommend Outside Agents. It has been a great year with them.
Happy Travel!
I've been an affiliate of Outside Agents for over 2 years now, and I've been consistently impressed with the level of service they provide. The people I've dealt with have always been quick to respond to my questions, and they're always super friendly and helpful. Even the owners of the company are always accessible, and they're always willing to go the extra mile to help me succeed. Another thing I appreciate about Outside Agents is their commission structure. To my knowledge they offer some of the highest commissions splitting in the industry. They're a great company with a great team of people, and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a host agency.
I am very new to this, and it is something I honesty have been wanting to do for my entire life, but somehow life got in the way and I wasn't able until now. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out, because it all led me here. I am so happy with outside agents, there's so much I could say... They don't only give you all the necessary tools to get your business started, but they provide unparalleled support, there is an incredibly personal touch to every interaction and an incredible amount of resources provided to you, from having the ability to speak to the owners directly to amazing mentors, everyone I have had the pleasure of speaking to has been incredibly, kind, helpful, patient and knowledgeable, OA also encourages a sense of community that you cannot find many places nowadays, I could speak amazing things too about all the other agents with OA, OA has nurtured a community where everyone is helping each other, everyone is always happy to help and share their knowledge and resources, I can confidently say that this is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.
I have been with Outside Agents since 2018. They provide everything that a home-based agent would need and they provide so much support for any agent. The commission split is very fair. The training is great. The support you receive from other agents is amazing. If you need any help with clients, or bookings all you have to do is ask.
I have been with Outside Agents for over 10 years (an agent for 25 years) and I would not be anywhere else. The assistance and training is top notch as well as being an independent business owner has never been easier. I really appreciate the owners and the other agents truly are like family. I love my host agency and would recommend it to anyone!
I have been with OA for 8 years. I was with another host agency previously. OA is by far superior! This host agency has so much training and you can go at your own pace. They also have physical trainings in their office in Jacksonville where you can really dive deep into the travel industry, meet with preferred suppliers and bdm's, and create a path to success. I was a little bit apprehensive at first, but I am extremely happy that I chose OA. Also they are very supportive, they always respond quickly to any type of issues that I have and the agency itself holds a lot of cloud with suppliers. I highly recommend OA as a host agency!
Top notch organization. They make you feel like family. The training and support is amazing. It's good to know that there are people that care covering your back.
Considering how Outsideagents has grown, the individual attention is prompt and spot on. Cutting edge technology, including AI,
You don't know what you don't know,
But Outsideagents does!
I've been with OA for about 6 months now and have really learned a lot. I've been getting as much training as possible and decided to make my specialty NCL cruises and faith-based travel. In this short time, I have already scheduled an NCL Haven cruise and I have a group trip to the Holy-Land in September of 2024. When ever I have a question the FB group or SoS is always happy to help, and I appreciate that. Being new to this I didn't know what to expect, but I am beyond pleased. Thank you for helping me grow in a passion that I enjoy! Top-notch company for sure!
Outside Agents has been a great host agency to start my career in the travel industry. They provide an endless amount of training, an amazing network of supportive and experienced agents, and many great suppliers to work with. Outside Agents is very attentive to it's agents and shows that they want us all to succeed. They are always prompt in responding to inquiries and paying commissions.
I have been with OA since January 2013. The co-owners Chad and Steve will take your call at any time and even give you their personal cell number. The commission with the suppliers are great and your commission split with them is between 80-95% depending on your sales. Love how they don't have any start up costs and a very low monthly cost that gives you so much such as website, CRM, online training, mentorship, marketing, email marketing, AI, E & O insurance and much more. I have had to call OA for help with a supplier and they stepped right in and was able to help me. Glad to know they have our back when it is needed. I highly recommend them to others looking for a host.
Good commission split. Lots of training available. The "support" is a farce and the lack of professionalism from the team running the place is ridiculous. I left the host specifically due to the lack of professionalism. It became too much to just "ignore". Also, they were never supportive of data provided by HAR or even ASTA when it came to charging fees. They claim they were ok with it but constantly talking bad about the practice in their FB group. This was a drama-filled host like I didn't expect at all. I left for another host and have been SO MUCH happier!
Hi, We're terribly sorry to see you go.
I wish I had the opportunity to address your concerns regarding our executive leadership. Since this review is anonymous, I am unable to address any of your specific concerns beyond charging fees.
We support charging service fees but aren't fond of plan-to-go fees because the later isn't connected to a booking and are disputed 60% of the time. As an IC, it's best that fees are charged for value received, not to be received. I'm happy to discuss this with anyone.
At the end of the day, we value each and everyone of our agent partners and each has the personal cell phone numbers of the owners, Chad and Steve. If there's ever a situation we can help with, just let us know.
Thanks,
Chad