To qualify for the 2026 Power List, a company had to record a minimum of $125 million in travel sales in 2025.
For
purposes of this survey, sales are defined as gross sales of travel
products worldwide, whether to consumers or to corporate travelers; the
company must be the agent of record on the transactions from a
supplier's perspective. At least 15% of the sales volume must have been
generated in the U.S.
The questionnaire was sent in February to
companies that had appeared on the list in previous years, had contacted
Travel Weekly believing they qualified, had been in the news because of
acquisitions or had grown for other reasons.
As has been the case
for years, Travel Weekly requested that gross sales volume be certified
by a company's owner, CEO or CFO. In a small number of cases,
certification was made by an executive at the vice president level who
was granted financial oversight.
Some companies chose not to return
our questionnaire. For Expedia Group, we obtained sales data from public
filings. In the case of companies like American Express Travel, Hopper
and Vacations To Go, Travel Weekly editors estimated sales and position
based on previous rankings and performance of similar companies.
While
all cooperating listees did certify sales (or made them public), it
must be kept in mind that even those numbers are difficult to verify
because the great majority of travel sellers are privately held and
under no obligation to disclose financial data. Also, there is no
commonly accepted standard for calculating sales volume, and there is no
clearinghouse in the U.S. that tracks nonairline transactions, as ARC
does for airline sales.
The survey on which these rankings is based
included questions involving travel-related subsidiaries, percentage of
sales from business and leisure, corporate structure and more.
There
were several open-ended questions about recent and planned developments
to which companies could reply in any way they felt appropriate.
Responses, in part, determine the length of the profiles that accompany
each agency.
There might be companies that should be on the list but
escaped our attention. Representatives of such companies should email
[email protected] so we can send them a questionnaire for next
year's Power List.