Travel Planners International

I have been with Travel Planners for just over a year. I am very happy with the support and sales tools. The help desk staff are superb and they go above and beyond to help out in any way they can. I have no desire to look elsewhere, Travel Planners International is the best host agency there is!

I have been with TPI for about 1 yr now and I am very pleased. There systems are streamlined and easy to use. I always receive my commissions on time and the direct deposit system is wonderful. They have always been attentive and prompt to answer all questions. A wonderful host agency!

I have been extremely pleased with Travel Planners International after moving to them from another host agency. Their support for new agents and all agents, is outstanding. They have updated their agent website to make it very easy to submit sales, view accounting reports, etc. I earn VERY generous commissions--both the percentage I earn through TPI and the percentage paid by vendors because I am part of such a large agency. I attended their TPI Extravaganza in 2013 for the first time. Now that I have experienced it, I won't miss it! The knowledge I gained and new vendors I met were valuable tools for my business.

I have been with TPI for 2 years and am a very satisfied customer. The staff is very accessible with live chat, phone, and email. I appreciate the many opportunites for learning and growth that are offered to me and my subagents. I am very grateful for the nice looking website that is included with my memebership. It makes a difference in how clients percieve us. I also love the reduced price 800 number and the quick and easy reports. As a platinum member I feel rewarded for my hard work with weekly pay and extra perks. I will continue to recommend TPI to other travel agents.

I've been with TPI about 5 years now and was a very part-time agent starting out. Now travel is my main job. I love the customer service, I hate calling but they have online chat windows for all departments and you can get everything done that way in a few seconds. I am able to add sub-agents under me and run my own mini-host agency and have 13 now and I train them and TPI tracks all the commissions and manages the split for me. TPI also gets top commissions with all the best suppliers and allows you to create your own groups something that wasn't allowed with Nexion who I tried for a year.

This is a well run organization. Each time I contact them with questions they respond immediately. Their array of services from accounting and marketing to education is the best. We switched several years ago from another host agency and it was one of the best moves we made.

Travel Planners International (TPI)is our Host Agency for 8 months. Previously we were with another host--that did not meet its promises and charged us more in dues than TPI by a long shot.

If you are looking for a host that truly has your back, has highest integrity, is growing and getting better daily, then look no further than TPI.

As one example we recently attended the TPI Insight training in Maitland (outside Orlando). The Insight training was OUTSTANDING! The TPI total team and preferred suppliers made several presentations, stayed after the normal day to answer questions, give us tips, help and genuine FRIENDSHIP.

The training was unmatched in quality, subject matter, and enthusiasm. We met not only the TPI staff, and some suppliers, but also fellow Agents that we established friendships and good times that will last forever.

We cannot wait for the TPI Extravaganza in Oct 2013. That will have over 85 suppliers, more than 40 training, orientation, ship inspections, and most of all an opportunity to meet more suppliers, fellow agents, and further cement that relationship with all.

Best of Luck and Great Success in your Travel Business,

Ralph and Aya Celento
Aya's Travel Agency LLC
San Antonio, TX

I’ve been with TPI just over 1 year. I am overjoyed with our relationship to-date. They provide excellent assistance; great training opportunities and excellent commission opportunities.

I had an opportunity to meet the senior owners at last year’s TPI Extravaganza. They are lovely people and “old school” like I. They believe in team work, integrity and loyalty. You don’t find that much in today’s business.

I considered another host agency, but once I read the fine print in the contract, it was obvious they were more interested in their profit and success then mine. TPI makes me feel like they are helping me to succeed and be profitable. Thank you for all that you do!

UPDATE: 2/11/2014
I love Travel Planners International because they have great relationships with vendors that provide multiple opportunities for me to earn more commissions. In addition, I am supported, their agent services are like having your own back office staff to keep you on top of bookings, advertising, payments, etc.

TPI provides abundant training,and mentoring opportunities ranging from classes, videos, webinars FAM opportunities. I am also thrilled with membership/contract rates which are much lower than a lot of host agencies. I get a bigger return on my investment.

Lastly I cannot say enough about TPI’s values. The founders established good old fashion honest and integrity in their business dealings and people. I look forward to seeing them when I attend TPI events. What you see is what you get; no hidden fees, misleading contracts or tricks. I am grateful for my association with TPI and can’t imagine myself looking for another host agency again.

Hello,

If you've reached this site I imagine that you're looking for a new host agency. You're going to find a wide array of opinions here just as you would with your client reviews on the same hotel. The most important thing is to identify the kind of relation and amenities necessary and imperative to your business and find the best host fit. The featured agencies listed here are all good agencies but you'll find small degrees of differences. If those differences matter to you, then you've found your measuring stick!

ASK before you leap! Most things are incredibly transparent for the asking but it's up to you to vocalize your needs and questions.

TPI is very accessible. There is no reason not to know details on what they provide unless you simply do not poise the question.

For me I've been with TPI over six years now. I love them = they work for me.

I started with two other agencies, neither of whom are in business today.

In my tenure with TPI, I have seen their company grow for the better.

They have attentive, polite, on the ball staff that are available by phone, email or message. If you need help, that's what they are there for.

They offer a variety of commission programs so you can choose which program and monthly fee best suits your business.

None of their programs are expensive and in return for what they provide, I'd say the agent gets a heck of a lot of bang for a very small amount of buck.

Their staff is stable. They've had core staff members in place for as long as I have been with TPI and that speaks to the quality of their inner sanctum and the Gagliano brothers.

Look at their stats:

Years in Business: 24
Sales Volume: $150 Million
Number of Independents: 1,500
Consortia Memberships: Ensemble Travel Group
Association Memberships: CLIA, IATA, IATAN, NACTA OSSN, TPOC
Preferred Cruise Lines: Avalon, Carnival, Celebrity, Crystal, Cunard, Disney, Holland America, Hurtigruten, MSC, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess, Regent, Royal Caribbean, Silverseas, Uniworld, Viking & Windstar.
Preferred Tour Operators: Adventure by Disney, Apple Vacations, Brendan Tours, Brian Moore Tours, Classic Vacations, Collette Vacations, Cosmos, Globus, Educational Travel Services, Inc. Funjet, GOGO WWV, Insight Vacations, Pleasant Vacations, Sandals, SITA, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Trafalgar Tours, Travel Bound, Travel Impressions, Vacation Express, Walt Disney Travel Co.
Air Ticketing Available?: Yes
What GDS Do You Offer?: Amadeus, Sabre and Apollo & Worldspan by Travelport
What Accounting / CRM?: TRAMS, Client Base
Consumer Website?: www.agenthub.com
Program for New Agents?: Yes
New Agent Training?: Yes
Mentoring Program (s)?: Yes, by in house business development staff

Their commission rate at the preferred level is excellent. Comm is auto deposited and I've never had an issue with payment being made.

I love that over the years I have come to know the employee in marketing or accounting and we've become 'friends'. It's not a massive call center impersonal response. They do reach out for you and try to help and support you.

They don't bug you or micromanage you. They let me be me!

They offer tons of webinar and training options. All you need do is sign up.

Have a sticky situation and need the help of a supplier bdm ? They can help bridge that connection if you don't know your bdm.

They have an annual TPI extravaganza each fall that is a combination training, ship inspection and socialization event for all their agents.

If you're considering a change to a different host I suggest you identify your key points of need and then contact the host agencies directly and have a little heart to heart. It's the only way to find the best source of investment for your travel business.

Best of luck.

I changed host agency's primarily because I wanted more marketing assistance, including a customer facing website and primarily, some guidance as I'm starting with no existing client database. Everything with TPI has been good so far except for the following:

-- Marketing Assistance --

Despite having had mentioned this need prior to joining and being assured I would have a coach/mentor who could help me, I haven't located this resource, yet. That certainly doesn't mean I won't.

-- Consumer Website --

The consumer website is a big disappointment mainly because having your own domain name means you have to forward your users to a subdomain of "agenthub.net" and while you can do it in a frame so that your agency domain shows in the address bar, as soon as they click on any link at all, the address bar changes to their sub domain which looks very unprofessional to me. This also means you make a huge sacrifice with regard to SEO (search engine optimization). Google, for example, doesn't crawl anything inside of a frame so you can forget about getting your website high in search results for targeted keywords. Also, there is no blog functionality and TPI even advertises on your portal for their benefit. One example is their link for travel videos which is clearly an affiliate/partner url.

-- Fees --

After a quick stroll through their agent intranet, it doesn't take long to see that TPI makes money in every way you can imagine. Rather than the majority of the resources being included as an independent agent, they instead cost extra. Just about everything has an additional price to it and they make it convenient too, having your credit card on file means anything you click on and authorize will be billed to you. Most of these resources I was already aware of and honestly, I haven't seen any real value with regard to pricing or discounts for the various services.

Finding a host agency is tiring work. My advice is to do your due diligence and look beyond the free webinars offered to potential independent agents. Instead, I would talk with folks 1x1, ask to see live versions of their intranet and resources and make sure you're getting what you think.

TPI has delivered on most things so far! Good luck to you!