Advisor income

The pandemic triggered a sharp uptick in consumer awareness of travel advisors and the value they offer clients. With that increased awareness came demand and a flood of new travel advisors stepping in to make a career of selling travel. That trend doesn’t seem to be at an end. In this year’s survey, 35% of respondents said they have been selling travel for five years or less — more than one-third of the travel agency community.

 While that is down one percentage point from last year, when 36% had been selling travel for five years or less, the number of even newer advisors saw a slight uptick. This year, 20% said they’ve been advisors for two years or less, a figure that stood at 19% last year and 9% in 2022.

This year’s survey also indicates that 50% of home-based agents have worked from home for five years or less. While that number undoubtedly accounts for a shift to home-based models forced by the pandemic, it also likely accounts for the number of new advisors still entering the industry as home-based advisors.

—Jamie Biesiada

Since the pandemic, the percentage of travel advisors who identify as home-based has grown significantly from the 61% number in 2019. It’s jumped around since then: Last year’s survey saw the highest level, 84%, since we began tracking it in 2008 (when it was 31%). This year it dropped eight points, to 76%, in line with 2021 and 2022. While much of the American workforce is returning to offices — and that’s true for many advisors, as well — they became home-based before it was a global trend and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

—Johanna Jainchill 

A travel advisor’s income is strongly tied to how long they’ve been in the business and how much they work in any given week. Of the advisors surveyed, those in business longer tend to make more money. For instance, 74% of advisors in business two years or less earn less than $25,000 from selling travel. But 69% of advisors in business more than 30 years make at least $50,000. And 14% of advisors with 21 or more years of experience reported income of $250,000-plus.

The term “hobbyist” can draw strong reactions from the travel agency community. But the reality is, many travel sellers get their start by doing it on the side. Others never make the step to full-time advisor, choosing to maybe hold a host agency affiliation and book a few trips for friends and family throughout the year. But those who do opt to go full time appear to reap the benefits: This year’s survey indicates that advisors who earn $100,000 or more in personal annual income work an average of 46 hours per week. On the flip side, advisors earning less than $25,000 work an average of 24 hours per week on selling travel.

—J.B.

The share of traditional agencies that say they charge service fees jumped 10 percentage points this year, to 64%, while the number of home-based independents charging fees dropped from 44% to 36%. Traditional agencies have long been more comfortable levying the fees, perhaps because they tend to be more established agencies doing larger volume. Why fewer home-based agencies are charging fees may be due to there being so many new agencies out there, who have not yet gained the confidence to command a fee.

—J.J.