Why Travel Advisors Matter More Than Ever with Host Agency Reviews

Travel advisors are experiencing a resurgence, but the story goes far beyond increased bookings. As travel becomes more complex and consumers seek expert guidance, advisors are proving their value as trusted partners who can navigate disruptions, personalize experiences, and provide support when it matters most.

In this Company Spotlight, Dan sits down with Shayna Zand, Managing Director of Host Agency Reviews, for an inside look at how the advisor industry really works and what it takes to build a successful travel business today.

The conversation breaks down the host agency model in simple terms, including the benefits advisors gain through accreditation, supplier relationships, training, community, and higher commission opportunities, as well as the trade-offs involved. Shayna also shares the story behind Host Agency Reviews and how it has grown into one of the industry's most trusted resources, helping advisors compare host agencies, access educational content, and make more informed business decisions.

For those considering a career in travel, the discussion gets practical. Shayna explains why finding a niche is often more important than trying to be everything to everyone, how advisors can market themselves effectively, and what warning signs to watch for when evaluating host agencies.

The episode also explores the growing role of technology and AI, from CRM systems and workflow automation to tools that reduce administrative work and free advisors to focus on relationship-building, service, and expertise. Along the way, Shayna offers candid insights on profitability, burnout, and the mindset required to turn a passion for travel into a sustainable business.

Learn more at hostagencyreviews.com.

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Transcript

Welcome And Why This Spotlight

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Travel Trends Podcast. This is your host, Dan Christian. And today we have a special spotlight episode on host agency reviews, which was founded by Steph Lee back in 2012. It's an amazing organization that he has built to now 60,000 subscribers. They run events over the course of the year. I've had the privilege to speak at a few of them and to know Steph over the last few years. But one of the uh exciting developments is they appointed a new managing director that Steph Lee specifically went out and recruited, and that is Shayna Zand. Now, Shayna Zand is a great friend and industry colleague of mine. She worked at Intrepid for more than a decade, spent the next few years at WeTravel, and for the last two years, has been working closely with Steph and taking the lead with host agency reviews. And I thought this business deserves a spotlight episode to showcase how much positive impact they have on the travel community, especially travel advisors across the US and Canada and globally that participate in their webinars, their conferences, and benefit from their newsletters. I'm a huge fan of host agency reviews and everything that they do. And so I thought, what better way to show that appreciation than to bring Shayna onto the podcast and do this special spotlight episode. So on that note, I'd like to welcome my good friend and industry colleague, Shayna Zand, to the podcast. Shayna, welcome to Travel Trends. Thanks so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. Just yeah, thank you. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

As you know, and you everyone heard for that introduction, I'm a huge fan of yours personally and professionally, and obviously I always look forward to seeing you at industry conferences. You've kindly spoken at a number of our events. You've also kindly invited me to speak at a number of the host agency review events, which I really appreciate. But I really wanted to bring this spotlight episode together to shine a light both on host agency reviews, but on yourself specifically, since you are such a key part of the whole travel industry. And I think people will get that sense over the course of our conversation. All the things you've done, all the things you're involved in.

Shayna Zand’s Path Into Travel

SPEAKER_01 2:05

And so let's let's let's let's start there. Tell us a little bit about your background in travel, Shana, and how you got into this industry in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Wow, no pressure at all. Honestly, it's so funny. Like I've been so I've been in the industry for about 15 years now. Um, but I actually, believe it or not, kind of started as like a like an accountant, like tax specialist. That's where my background is, which I honestly now is a fantastic thing. I'm so glad that I have that background of understanding um, you know, PLs, accounting, taxes, and how everything works. But I think anyone who knows me knows that's clearly not for me. And I just always loved traveling, you know, my summers through university, I would backpack for months on end and just loved it. And so I applied. Um, I was just like, I want to work in travel, adventure in particular, and just kind of applied for anything I could find and found it with Intrepid Travel. And I was there for just over 10 years. So kind of got to grow up in the tour operator space, you know, with the DMC network, the tour operators. And I essentially managed all the contracts with all of the host agencies and consortium, and then went on to the tech side of travel, which really interesting, especially as that's becoming incredibly popular and also incredibly important for efficiently running your business. And then about a year and a half ago, Steph reached out and said, Hey, what do you think about coming over to host agency reviews? And that was the easiest yes I think I've ever said in my career. So it was it's very exciting to be back working with the hosts in the consortium that I did when I was working with Intrepid. So yeah, that's it's been a lot of fun. But yeah, that's kind of my background accounting into adventure travel, obviously, right? Obvious transition.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Yeah. And there's one important part you left out. I'm just gonna add it here for all of our listeners, too. Is so uh Shayna also happens to be Canadian. It's always great to have fellow Canadians that are globally successful. So Shayna happens to be based in Toronto. You went to school at McGill in Montreal. You uh not only worked with Intrepid and We Travel, as you mentioned, and now the managing director of host agency reviews, but you're also the chair and board member of Tourism Cares.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Uh yeah, been on the board for five and a half years. Uh been the chair for the last year and a half. Uh, it's been absolutely incredible. I sit on some committees for some other associations as well on the responsible travel committees. So that's a big piece. Honestly, Intrepid Travel really brought that drive and that love and the importance of responsible travel to me and how I got involved with tourism cares. And yeah, it's been five and a half years on the board now. So it's been incredible.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

And this is where I wanted to highlight the fact that you know you have a key role in the industry because people gravitate to you. And I also, you know, I saw it at the Adventure Travel World Summit when we were in Panama last year, and you had had you had a birthday celebration, which is cool. You kindly invited me, and it was at this amazing rooftop. And I just saw all the people that came together for your birthday. And you the the thing that always stands out to me is the you know, you are we are all products of our environments, the people you choose to surround yourself with or the people that choose to you know to to be by your side, and you have such a loyal group of friends and a lot of people in the industry that just love working with you, and I think that transcends companies and roles. And so the fact that and I I when I discovered because uh when I interviewed Greg uh Takomara from Tourism Cares, and we joked about the fact that you're actually his boss now because you're the chair of the board. It's okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

Him and I joke about that too.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Yeah. But the fact that you know that yeah, he has that respect for you, got the respect for him, you obviously and there's there's uh and there's certain people that their commitment to the industry goes beyond any uh organization they're a part of, and especially when you make a commitment to being involved with an initiative like Tourism Cares.

Tourism Cares And Responsible Travel

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Like it is such a so tell everyone actually that might be helpful too. Tell everyone a little bit about tourism cares, Shane. For those people who may not be familiar with that organization.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Yeah, no, absolutely. I yeah, Tourism Cares is near and dear to my heart. And actually, I mean, a lot of we have so many incredible suppliers that work with Tourism Cares. It was actually one of the things I loved when I came over to host agency reviews was that Steph was already a member. I didn't even have to talk to her about, okay, this is, you know, something that I'm a part of. It's incredibly important to me. Um, but tourism cares is a nonprofit in the industry that is really dedicated to advancing sustainability and meaningful travel within the travel and tourism industry. So providing resources, education, programming, uh so that we can create a positive social, environmental, and economic impact for communities around the globe, which is why we were in Panama. We were in Panama as well for tourism cares, and we work a lot with ATTA as well. But uh that's that's what tourism cares is, and and it's an incredible, incredible board of 23 members from all around the industry. And Greg is a fantastic leader, and the team is just, yeah, outstanding. But that's what we focus on and work with so many others in the industry to continue that.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Well, and this is so being involved in tourism cares, I know, is like personally very important to you and obviously professionally very rewarding and to be a part of that community, which then extends to a lot of people who work in the travel industry that have a genuine interest in giving back and have the right, I would say, mission alignment with the travel industry and the focus on long-term sustainability and and uh a lot of the things that that connect us around making sure that the local communities are benefiting from tourism. And uh so there's there's so much that goes along with that. And obviously, you know that we we talk about sustainability uh throughout our podcast, and I always ask every executive on it, but you certainly walk the walk in that regard, and your involvement there is you know, as you said, like it's been over five years and you've taken on a more active role. And that also shows the to me the fact that you're not only really engaged, but you're also clearly doing great work because your role has been elevated. And and and then the other thing I just wanted to highlight too for our listeners. I think most people know Intrepid Now is nearly a billion-dollar global adventure travel company. It's gone from success to success, and certainly your time there, you know, having a decade at Intrepid, shaped your career and obviously a big part of their success. And WeTravel, we actually just did a spotlight episode about WeTravel that I definitely encourage our listeners to check out because I know you had an important role there. And we collaborated when you're at WeTravel, and they've just raised, you know, $100 million to help scale AI and multi-day touring, which was two words I would never thought I would see put together.

SPEAKER_00 8:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

So let's let's bring everyone. So this is where when we think about your role today of managing director of host agency reviews, you've had all these significant accomplishments, and absolutely Steph chose the right person to come in and lead the business. And we'll we'll talk about Steph too, because obviously we both adore Steph. But tell everyone a bit about host agency reviews, because I think that brand is well known to people in the travel advisor and host agency community, but definitely probably not more broadly. When I mention host agency reviews, I usually get the what is that? Oh, what's can you say that again? What is that? And I'm like, host agency reviews? Oh, you don't know about you don't know host, you've never been to a horror event. You don't know about the so tell everybody, Shana,

What Host Agency Reviews Does

SPEAKER_01 9:05

what host agency reviews actually is and give everyone the background on on the business, please.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Yeah, absolutely. So about so for those of you who don't know Steph Lee, which I think most of you do know Stef Lee, uh, she founded uh host agency reviews about 12 years ago. Out of this idea, this this idea of host agencies was becoming all the rage. And there are host agencies that have definitely been out there for longer than the 12 years, but something that was becoming increasingly popular in the North American market was this idea of host agencies. There are, you know, 120, 130,000 travel advisors plus or travel agencies in North America. And a lot of them are independent. So meaning that they own and operate their own businesses. And so the idea of a host agency became incredibly popular for a multitude of reasons. I kind of look at a host agency the best way, if you don't know what it is, is to think of it like a club that you can become a member of. And with that, if you are a member, you get all the benefits of being a member of this club or of this host agency, right? One of the biggest benefits that you get is that you actually have the accreditation to legally sell travel as your own travel agency. Um, you get increased commission levels, a community of other entrepreneurs and business owners and travel agency owners, the supplier relationships and relationships are a beautiful thing in this industry, one of my favorite things. When Steph started this business, it was travel agencies did not know what a host agency was or how they fit into kind of the space in the travel space. And the idea was to educate travel advisors. It was all about educating travel advisors on what are host agencies, what's the franchise model, what is going independent look like, and what's being an employee look like. Kind of like the four different choices you have in terms of becoming a travel advisor and educating them on what that looks like. And then it became kind of a directory, a database of host agencies. So all the host agencies have directories with us where they fill them out and they fill out all their details, you know, what kind of tech they use, who they are, why you would want to be a member, everything like that. So it started out like that, and then it just continued to grow with more and more content, right? So we have, I think, over 500 blog articles now that answer any and every question that has ever come from travel advisor. We work with so many of the hosts, they're so wonderful in supporting the content, supporting all the advisors that come to the site, courses on how to just get started and run your business. And then now it's grown into directories for travel agency software and technology and for travel insurance and for consortium. And so for us, it's kind of this one-stop shop for travel advisors. It is completely complimentary for travel advisors, especially as they're starting their careers, to learn what's out there and to understand the space because it is complex and there's a lot to know. And so we wanted to provide um a safe, kind of unbiased space for them to come and learn and also figure out, you know, 85% of travel advisors are members of a host. So that's significant. And we want them to feel like they can compare and contrast them to see which one's the best fit for them, but also understand what they are, what's important, green flags, red flags, all the things that you should be looking for as well when choosing one.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Yeah, well, and host agency reviews certainly has become the central resource for travel advisors in this space. I think people now have a better understanding of how you got involved. You mentioned Stephanie, and I just wanted to highlight her again for a moment here because she obviously was so uniquely positioned to start this business, given her, you know, she grew up in the travel agency world with her both her parents in this space. And she has such a compelling story, and she's very open about uh her health challenges that she has had in the last several years, which is why she's had to take a step back. And again, that's why you know the fact that you were able to step in and take this business forward, and she obviously's still involved. Just share a little bit more about uh Steph and her role and her continued involvement, because obviously we all adore Steph and uh and just clarify a little bit more as far as what's appropriate to share about her condition, just so that people are aware, because again, she does share that quite openly, and so I don't want to say something and people you know just start reaching out like if they don't know or don't understand what's going on. But yeah, if you wouldn't mind sharing that, I think that would be helpful for our listeners too.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, so I mean, Steph is probably one of the most special people that I know, and what she's built, the honestly, the the honor that I have to come in and just continue to elevate what she has built for this industry is so beautiful, and I thank her so much for that because honestly, in my career, I've never been happier. It's just the team I get to work with, but you know, working alongside Steph and learning from her every day is incredible. She is probably the nicest human you could ever hope to meet. But I think what people forget sometimes, and you shouldn't forget, and I'm gonna say this loud and proud is she's one of the smartest people that I've ever met. And she has. She's been going through quite a few health struggles in the last few years. She is incredibly open about it. What I will share is that some days she has some good days, she has some bad days, uh, but she she's still involved. Um, her and I still catch up regularly every week. So she is definitely still involved from that aspect. But what I love is that myself and our team have been able to let her step back, take care of herself, use the energy that she has with her friends and with her family, and know that her business is in good hands. And so that she can do that and we can run her business for her. So yeah, and her parents are, you know, we're owners of Travel Quest, it's now World V. And I got to spend some time with them last week. They have a Family Slack channel, which is very cute. That's how they all communicate with each other. And apparently, photos of me with her parents were taking over the Family Slack channel. So uh that was a lot of fun. Her, if anyone knows knows her parents, uh they're just they're also a Bonnie and Walt. They're a ton of fun. And they've been a huge support of me as well, right? This is their daughter's business and someone that they love and cherish so heavily. So it's really nice to have that relationship with her parents as well.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

That's great. Thank you, Shana. I appreciate sharing that that context uh for all of our listeners because I think that for those people that already don't know uh Steph, obviously that's all the more endearing to anyone that would come quickly come to understand those things about her and just the importance of host agency reviews, the what she's built and uh the incredible legacy that continues and what you're now continuing to scale. Because the part that stood out to me as I got to know Steph over the years is what she's built is quite meaningful and and has a huge impact on the industry. And when you look at the events that you guys run and the sponsor engagement and the number of travel advisors that participate, so many people that uh especially this host agencies, and host agencies, of course, where you have a lot of home home-based agents that belong to a host agency, you know, this is this is their world, this is their community, this is how they connect with each other, this is uh who they how they know who to partner with. And so and I know when companies partner with host agency reviews, ourselves included, you see an outsized benefit and so much wonderful engagement throughout the travel advisor community. So these are all the things I'm I'm keen to get into on our conversation today because you know, when we talk about the state of the travel advisors in 2026 and beyond, host agencies, marketing, technology, some of the challenges in the industry, and what the future is. These are all the things I'm keen to unpack with you. And the the last thing as we segue into that is with your background being you know, having a solid understanding of the trade and the importance of the trade, what drew what drew you into this space specifically? Obviously, you it seems like the stars aligned personally and professionally for you to take up this opportunity, but you seem to genuinely have a passion around travel advisors and this side of the industry, which you absolutely have to have. And so tell I've I've never had a chance to ask you that before, and here we are having this moment. So, yeah, what drew you into this space? What is it you enjoy so much about it?

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Well, I think so. When I initially had started in the industry with Intrepid Travel, uh, one of the things I wanted to do is I like working in different areas of the business. So I'd started on the operational side. I was a tour leader, did run the multi-day tours out in Western Canada, and then I went onto the sales team, and then I joined the BDM team. So I was seeing the business from different departments and different aspects, and I loved that part of it. So I could understand the operational side of things, the sales side of things, and then kind of the B2B industry side of things as well. And so I enjoyed that. And then when I got onto the B2B side, when I started as a BDM many moons ago and working with travel advisors and just my love of people in general, because I love, I love getting to know people. I think that's what drew me into travel in general was just when I would travel and I'd backpack or I'd go on trips

Hosts, Consortia, And How They Fit

SPEAKER_00 17:40

with family growing up. I just loved meeting new people, right? Whether they were other travelers, whether they were locals who lived in the countries that I was visiting, I just enjoyed that. And then that I that kind of community I found within the travel agency space, right? Where travel advisors just love getting to know each other, love sharing their stories, love sharing their wins, their mistakes, their everything. And they're just such open people. And that's just kind of my personality as well. So I think I was just drawn in initially with that. And then because I had especially the operational background of having been on the ground as a tour leader, building out like product and trips and that, that I found really helped me in terms of helping the industry understand how trips run, how they operate. You know, when they would ask questions, I would be able to easily kind of express, well, this is why it happens this way. This is why it can't happen this way, or why it doesn't. And so then it just kind of kept growing. And I kept growing within that kind of industry B2B space and just fell in love with it. And even at We Travel, worked a lot with travel advisors over there as well using the platform. And so this just felt like such a fun and natural progression. And I now I know things from the agency side, but I also understand things from the supplier side as well. So it can kind of bring it all together.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Well, and as you know better than anybody, I mean, this space has it it's evolved considerably, but it is having a renaissance. I mean, the travel advisors post-pandemic have had a major resurgence in travelers embracing working with partners, and I have I have some views on that, and I'm sure we'll we'll get into that as as we go through the conversation, but why that's the case, because I'll just say, you know, people love people and people trust people, and it's like that's you know, uh over technology, and we're we're already seeing that right now with the fact that yes, you can plan a trip using Chat GPT or any other uh generative AI tool, but you won't book it using those tools. You will then speak to somebody. So it's great for research, but the thing that agentic AI has to overcome is trust, and that's what agents have, and that is so incredibly valuable. And so you know, you've seen this space say it's it's evolved considerably. And and as I want as we segue into talking about the role of travel advisors today and get your your perspective on the industry and how it's changing and where it's going, I want to make sure that everyone follows along with the nomenclature because anytime I'm speaking about this space to someone that is not familiar with the trade or with travel advisors or what used to be known as travel agents, that's obviously one of the one of the title has evolved. And I know Virtuoso and Matthew Upchurch has been a key part of that with elevating the roles of a travel agent to a travel advisor, that they're not an order taker, they're not just an agent that is just they are actually advising like a bank advisor, like a like a and so the the elevation of this industry has actually been one of the things that's contributed to its renaissance. But when you think of a travel advisor, they may belong to a consortia, a host agency, and those are the terms that I want to break down. So I think most people know what a travel advisor is, but would you mind giving everyone a bit of an overview of consortia's host agencies and essentially what enables a travel advisor to do what they do?

SPEAKER_00 20:48

So a travel advisor is or travel agency is, you know, someone who starts their own travel agency to sell travel to their clients. Like I said, 85% of travel advisors are members of a host agency in North America. Probably a little bit more. We use kind of this data that we gather from our annual report and survey that we do every year, which actually our survey is currently out right now. And last year I think we had 3,500 travel advisors complete it, which is pretty incredible. The host agency to me is the operational support for the travel advisor. So a travel advisor becomes a member of a host, right? Typically, that means there's an annual fee and there's a commission split, which means that the host is taking a portion, a small portion of their commission, and the advisor is keeping the predominant amount of their commission anywhere, typically from a 70-30 split to some hosts do 90, 10, or even 100%, depending on how many sales you bring in and so forth. But with that, with a host, the travel advisors get a multitude of things. One, they get a community of other entrepreneurs and travel agencies, right? So while you still run and own your own business, you're an independent contractor or an IC, as we would say in the industry, you still run and Operate your own business, right? The big thing you get is you get the iatta credentials. So essentially the legal ability to sell travel, and that iatta is the host agency's iatta that you operate under, right? So that's a big thing. You don't need to go out and get your own, right? You also get because it's not just you as an independent travel advisor, you know, have a community of anywhere from 50 other advisors to 5,000 plus other advisors, depending on the host that you work with. Every host is a little bit different in size and just also in what they specialize in. You also get their contracts with suppliers, right? So suppliers like tour operators, cruise lines, hotels, et cetera. And the commission levels that they negotiate on your behalf are significantly higher than those that you would get if you were just independent on your own. Plus, the relationships, because hosts host, hosts host their own events. So you get to meet a lot of the suppliers. And we've always, I mean, you've talked about it a lot, I have as well, that relationships are everything in this industry, right? You get to know everybody, the support that you get. You also get that personalized support from the BDMs, so the business development managers or the national account managers from that supplier because they support your host. So you get things, you get things like that. There's also operational support, marketing support. Some hosts have lead programs, so are sending leads your way. Speaking of Virtuoso, I know I interviewed this wonderful travel advisor not long ago on our travel agent chatter podcast, who majority of her leads come from the review system that Virtuoso has. And that's where she gets a ton of her leads from. So hosts really support the day-to-day operational kind of life of the travel advisor.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

That's great. That's an excellent overview. Yes. Yeah. No, that's terrific. I think that, and one thing I'll just quickly add to it that's come up in conversations as well is that difference between consortia and hosts, which obviously Shayna did a great job providing the overview. I'll just give a few exact examples from, you know, on the consortia side, you've got Virtuoso signature, travel network, travel leaders ensemble. Virtuoso, the interesting, you know, you can listen to the Matthew Upchurch episode, which has been one of our most downloaded ever. We did an episode with him uh live in person, and we actually did one with their uh team from an event in Calgary, and you'll get a great sense of the Virtuoso Network, which is essentially, as they would describe, a country club, and it connects both the travel advisors and the suppliers. And their Virtuoso travel week in Las Vegas each year is called the Fashion Week of Travel because essentially it's the runway where you know all these brands come together and showcase their offerings, and travel advisors get to pick and choose who they want to work with. But once they're part of that community, they get access to Virtuoso rates and all the benefits that come from being part of that consortia, that kind of country club. But the host agency is ultimately the core of their existence and uh in terms of what they're able to sell how and how they're and what technology they have access to. And the one I just wanted to call out there too, when we think about host agencies is uh fora. So you have comp host agencies like Avoya that we worked with for many years, you know Avoya very well. It was started by a family, it's now been bought by a private equity firm, but uh as this space continues to scale. Global travel collection, gifted travel network. There are some exceptional host agencies out there. Um but fora is a good example of the modern day travel advisor that are taking advantage of the fact that technology exists now to become a travel advisor with fora and be able to sell their sell trips, cruises to many of their friends and become an advisor. And so a lot of people have discovered this industry by virtue of fora in particular. I know Turn is another, and uh but I would just highlight too, we have an episode about fora travel that I recorded with Jake that I would encourage for those of you who want to understand more about this space to have a look at that. But yeah, anything else, Shana, you wanted to add about the the landscape before we segue into the role of a travel advisor today?

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Sure. I think I think what we've seen a lot of is the hosts really leaning into the technology and technology that's being uh developed and AI tools that are being developed specifically for the travel advisor, not just, oh yeah, here's a CRM that anyone and everyone can use, but rather something that's focused on you're building this specifically for travel agencies and advisors. So it's really incredible to kind of see that taking place. In terms of like the travel consortium, I mean 99% of hosts are members of a consortium. So they are an incredibly important cog in this entire travel agency ecosystem because every, pretty much every host is a member. And then travel consortium also have independent travel advisors, but they really help the hosts, the advisors grow their businesses by giving them access to things as well that they may not get on their own. But there are, you know, most all the hosts are members of the consortium. So there's always with the consortium, if you're looking at them, higher commission opportunities, marketing programs as well, additional training and educational programs, which is great. And the technology tools granted, a lot of the hosts have really been leaning into their leaning into their own. If everyone's kind of been seeing the trade media and some great announcements, you know, TPI and vacation planners. So a host and a franchise leaning into working with Turn and Travify. Travel Leaders Network just announced their integrations with, I believe it was Turn, Travify, Planet Easy, and I think Vacation CRM. So really embracing the technology and kind of seeing everybody play a part in that. Um, and a lot of things too. I know Virtuoso does, you know, exclusive perks or amenities for clients that all the host members get, you know, to take advantage of. So it's it's a great uh it's great relationships throughout and all valuable pieces of that ecosystem. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

And I'm as you're running through those, for those people who work in the industry, they're saying, yep, yep, yep. And then other people are like, oh my God, their minds are being blown right now as they're trying to process all these different elements of how this industry works and how it's all stitch together. And and so to to kind of broaden out a little bit and kind of just give an overall state of the travel advisor industry, one of the things I'd love to uh have you share with all of our listeners is how people are entering the industry, where the growth is coming from, some of the misconceptions that people have about being a travel advisor. And you're already talking about some of the big shifts you're you're seeing. And I'll just add one thing, Shana, for context too, for our listeners, having just been at these three Virtuoso conferences doing a keynote on AI, the number of people that came up to me afterwards that obviously they were keen to understand more about AI, but I was keen to understand who they are, their background. Most of the people that spoke to me were retired, and it was their second career. And so they're retired teachers, they're retired from even software companies. People come to I used to work for IBM or like, and these are people in their 60s and 70s that have decided that they're going to make a late-stage career transition. They love always love travel. They love talking travel all day. And so this is you know, and that amazed me, just the number of people that fit that category because they they have a community of people that trust them with their travel recommendations, and they're absolutely loving this industry. There was one gentleman that was just in North Vancouver, he lives in North Vancouver, he'd come across the event, and he just turned 70 and he started six months before, and he had a 10-year plan for how he was going to grow his business. And I was, I was it if anything, it just like it it uh it gave me such great enthusiasm for our industry that actually so there's the second career, and then also uh we're seeing younger

Who Becomes A Travel Advisor Now

SPEAKER_01 29:25

uh people using like millennials that are working with travel advisors, and many millennials coming into the industry and serving high net worth clients and and doing luxury travel. Like you're seeing growth in so many different areas. So I'd love for you, Shana, to walk us through how you see the state of the industry and what people are coming into the industry and where you're seeing the growth.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Yeah, of course. So we're like you said, still seeing incredibly strong interest in the industry and new advisors kind of coming into the industry daily, especially for people that are looking for more flexibility, enjoy entrepreneurship, or quite frankly, are just ready for a career pivot. And I think that that is happening more and more, especially kind of coming out of 2020 and kind of everything that we've experienced in the last five to six years. The host agency model for me has made the industry a lot more accessible because people can start their career with a whole aspect of support already in place. With the host agency model, it really helps to you to feel like you've got that support from the beginning. And at the same time, I think we've kind of talked about this where travelers are really understanding the value of using an advisor and speaking to a person. I even had, I'm heading to Malta in a few weeks, and my flight from Munich to Malta got canceled. But Shane, it's okay, we're gonna get you to Munich. You're fine to get to Munich, but we're gonna cancel your Munich to Malta. And I was like, well, great. I don't get me wrong, love Germany, but I want to get to Malta. And I called someone and spoke on the phone with them for 10 minutes versus trying to figure it all out online. And I mean, my advisor, to be honest, spoke and I just felt so much more at ease, right? That it just got sorted and everything was, you know, and that's, you know, for me what's so important. And I'm a millennial. So, you know, if there's anyone that's gonna be using technology and booking things directly, it would be me or a Gen Z. Um, and that's just not what goes through my head. So also, I think some of the shifts that we're seeing is that advisors are operating much more like serious business owners than ever before, right? They're thinking about systems, about marketing, about profitability, branding, scaling, as opposed to kind of like a side hustle, if you will. And we've seen a huge shift as well towards kind of specialization. So niche positioning instead of trying to sell everything to everyone because this industry is so large and there are so many different kinds of lanes that you can go down. They are feeling far more comfortable with technology and AI. And I think that is because technology is being built for what they do on a daily basis versus trying to use technology that was never built for them, but that sure you can use this CRM, but it's not built for what the travel advisor needs. And a lot of that has been built and is being used pretty consistently now, which is exciting. And clients I find too are also like for me, I value advisors very differently now, not just for booking the travel that I'm gonna do, but for expertise, their support, their problem solving. Problem solving, I think, is the big one, right? I have had more cancellations, reroutings in the last year than I have ever had in my 15 years of traveling the world. And I've been to almost 90 countries at this point. So the problem solving that I get to go to someone and they get to solve it for me and I can relax is such a beautiful thing and worth every single penny, in my opinion. So, yeah, those are some kind of shifts that I find we're seeing.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

That's great. And when someone comes, and I want to position this for our listeners as someone coming into the industry so that with this episode, we can reach as many people. You know, with our podcast, you know, our mission is to try and help people advance their careers or grow their companies and also welcome people into the travel industry. That was sort of our key theme post-pandemic was that as people came back to the industry, we wanted to make sure they were armed with the information they needed to be successful in their careers. And we've certainly seen a lot of people thankfully benefit from the podcast that way. Jacqueline Grossman, who works at Kensington is a good example. I still need to do a podcast on people our our listeners, and to kind of I'm keen to do that. But so just but I wanted to frame it up that way so that our listeners know the intention with our conversation and some of the additional questions I'm keen to ask you since you're so knowledgeable in this space. And one of them is when you become a travel advisor, one of the things you need to do is start marketing yourself. And so I want to talk about that first, and then I want to talk about what host agencies you should be a part of and talk a bit about technology and and just people aware of some of the challenges. But for marketing, this is one of the things that I see, you know, typically, especially older generation still using Facebook quite heavily, you know, they're using social media. That's one of the things that's been that's allowed

Marketing That Starts With Clarity

SPEAKER_01 33:55

the growth of this category is mobile and social media. You can work from anywhere, um, you can be accessible on your phone, and you can use social media to market yourself. But you work closely with advisors on marketing. What if someone's starting from scratch today? What should they focus on first? What do you think provides the biggest opportunity for them to market their market themselves as a travel advisor?

SPEAKER_00 34:16

Yeah, so here's my thing. And I I think you have to start with clarity before visibility. I think who you need to figure out who you want to serve, what types of clients you're looking for, what you plan to sell, um, and how you want to build your business. I think sometimes, you know, advisors go out there just to get out there and just to be allowed on social without any kind of focus. So, you know, a niche, um, and a lot of advisors go down that route of kind of choosing a niche or a niche or an area of focus to me makes marketing infinitely easier for you as an advisor. So especially early on. But even if you're not starting out with a niche, there's always reasons why you got into the industry, whether it is that you love river cruising or adventure travel or whatever kind of niche or style. It doesn't mean that that's all you sell, but that's what you want people to be drawn into wanting to work with you based on that. So make sure for me that you have some clarity on that. Relationship building for me is still huge in this industry. So when we're talking about kind of partnerships, the local networking, community involvement. I think that, you know, something I used to do as a BDM all the time with travel advisors, actually, specifically in Ottawa of all places, was we used to go to the running room and their local running room, and we would have an event with their run club where we would talk about, you know, trekking Everest or Killimanjaro. And that was how they would start to also market themselves within their local communities. Local businesses want to come together, a local travel agency, a local run club, why not? Right. And build a group out of that. So I think some advisors forget that that is such a smart tool and tactic and how you kind of start to gain more clients within your own community as well. I do think that social media matters. I am not a social media guru at all. But like I said, I think it works best when there's already a clear message and positioning behind it. Facebook is still huge in the travel agency space, whether it's you being in different groups with suppliers or where clients are coming from, especially kind of in that boomer era. And you still, for me, I mean Instagram and LinkedIn are great for other purposes, you know. Uh, but Facebook is still quite big in the advisor community for a multitude of reasons. But that would be kind of focus, focus, clarity, and focus. Don't just splash everything and anything and storytelling. I can't express that enough. Talk about who you are, what you're doing, and share, share what your travels are like as well. People love that.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

And I know that you guys run webinars, and the reality is in our conversations today, we're just only going to be able to scratch the surface. So those those are some great initial suggestions, but I definitely want to encourage all of our listeners to not only engage with hostagencyreviews.com, but also sign up for the webinars. They've got a blog, your social channels. Like this is, you know, it well within your wheelhouse of expertise, can share on this. But to touch on all the topics that will be of interest to our listeners, just to go back to host agencies. And uh the reason I I bring this up again, I think we've explained it and you've you've done a great job of giving an overview of what host agencies are and who they are. But in terms of deciding who to partner with, that obviously is such a, and I know you have to be mindful of who you recommend, because you obviously just need to recommend all the different options that are out there. But in terms of deciding

Choosing A Host And Spotting Red Flags

SPEAKER_01 37:35

on a platform you want to use, it can be overwhelming. What are the most important factors that they should be considering? What are some maybe some red flags or what what should they look out for with who they should partner with to effectively run their business?

SPEAKER_00 37:48

Yeah, absolutely. So I think something to note for any travel advisor who's listening is that not every host is built for every advisor. And that's okay. That's what you want, right? New advisors for me should look closely at support systems. So the onboarding and education that you'll receive, accessibility to the host agency staff team, the community that they have. I know mentorship is a huge one. A lot of some of the hosts are wonderful about pairing you or partnering you up with an advisor who's been around for seven or 10 plus years to learn from them. I do, I also say you should understand their business model clearly, what the fees are, commission splits, the con your contract with the host, the technology that they use, and what expectations they have of you and what expectations you have of them. Have these conversations right from the beginning. I also always tell advisors to think about where where they want their business to go in two to three years, not just what you need today. As much as you can, you know, sometimes that is easier said than done. Red flags that I would look out for. Lack of transparency for me is a big one. I mean, you will not find that with many hosts. Many hosts are incredibly transparent, right? If you see unclear contracts, right? I always recommend going to get a contract reviewed by a lawyer. We actually have a blog with a list of, I think, 20 plus travel lawyers. So you can always go to one of them if you're getting vague answers around commissions or fees specifically, because commissions and fees are how you make your money or overpromising on results, right? If I love hosts that are very, very real and understanding that, you know, commissions do not get paid until time of travel. That is not a host agency decision. That is the supplier side, right? So you don't, you know, you don't get paid at time of booking unless the client's traveling right away. So I, you know, you want to make sure that hosts are being very transparent with that information. If everything sounds like recruiting language and there's very little operational details, I would say red flag to start digging in further or to start speaking with somebody else. I would say also, you know, being host agency reviews, one of the biggest things we talk about with all the hosts that we work with, and we work with majority of them, is reviews are everything. So if you go on our website and reviews are completely outdated or non-existent, I would say that's something to consider, right? You want to hear from other advisors, other people that are in your shoes, and that's incredibly important. And honestly, if a host is trying to be everything to everyone, advisors should be asking harder questions about what they actually do best. And know that there are hosts that are really small and really focused on a niche, and then there are some really large hosts that have a huge amount of members and advisors and a huge community, right? What type of support do you need, right? Not every host is built for everyone. And I think that that's the main message that I want to get across for sure.

SPEAKER_01 40:36

Yeah, that's great. That's super valuable advice. And one of the things that obviously comes with a host agency is the technology that they offer you. And so I want to just talk about technology for a moment in general terms, because that's obviously something that people need to weigh up for themselves when they're looking at these different organizations. And it's certainly one of the advantages that companies like Forra has, because they're really a technology company that has entered this space that knows travel. And there's a lot of great travel companies that have become more technology companies. And there's lots of, as you mentioned, a list of technology companies that have created really powerful solutions to serve travel advisors. Most of the investment has gone to B2B. So it's it's literally the investment is there to create technology to better serve travel advisors. But Ben travelers travel advisors are trying to figure out what platforms they should use. What would you say, from a technology point of view, that travel advisors should be taking into consideration to make sure that they're really competitive? What is what is the tech that's really empowering travel

Tech Stack Basics Plus AI Support

SPEAKER_01 41:30

advisors today?

SPEAKER_00 41:30

Yeah, absolutely. I think so. CRM systems and workflow tools are becoming non-negotiable at this point because advisors need ways to stay organized and also need ways to scale efficiently, right? At the end of the day, a lot of advisors are independent on their own. They do not have a team. Don't get me wrong, you have the support of your host, but this is your business that you run at the end of the day. So anything that can be automated for you, supportive, and CRM and workflow tools for me are a complete non-negotiable. And there's great ones out there that you can choose from. So there's not just one option. Um, I think advisors are also paying more attention to marketing tools as well. So email platforms, social scheduling, forms, automations, and things like that. So that's those are things to kind of keep in mind. I always say, especially for those of you that are starting your own business, is that you do not need everything from day one. Take a look at what you absolutely need. I have I have a list. I use click up as my project management tool. I have a backlog list of when things come to mind, ideas of different tools or something that I can do. And I put it on the backlog list and I look at it once a month and I see that, okay, is it is this time to bring this forward? So you don't need everything all at once. And I think that is important to know. AI tools, I know you've brought this up, are becoming a part of everyday workflows, especially for brainstorming, content support research, admin tasks. Do not be scared of AI, right? They are here. It is here to help support you as an advisor. It is not a replacement of you, right? So it really can help me, it really not me, it can help you save time on repetitive tasks, like any content that you're drafting, itineraries that you're prepping. I mean, you'll notice a lot of the tech tools that you're using have AI integrated and built in. So you still bring the emotional intelligence, the relationship management, the personalization, right? Let AI take on the other side of things for you, is the way that I like to think about it. But technology for me has lowered those barriers and really made it easier for advisors to run more sophisticated businesses without huge teams, especially at the beginning when income is slower to come in because your income is based off of bookings and commissions and all of that. So I think that right now the advantage now goes to advisors who combine strong relationships and expertise with smart systems and efficient workflows. And that can all be achieved with what's out there today.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

Yeah, that's great. And so that's uh and there's so much more to cover on this topic. One of the things that Shane Shane is very involved in our travel trends community. She She's been very active in our AI summits last two years. She'll be back as a speaker again this year. So we'll we'll definitely dive further into this with her in those conversations. But also, as I already alluded to, there's lots of other resources that they have available on this. Yes. And so one of the things I wanted to make sure we do cover in our conversation today is some of the challenges that people should be aware of entering into this space. And then also I want to kind of finish with talking about the future. And the reason that I want to cover some of the challenges is that the reality is that yes, this sector is growing. There's lots of great opportunity. And you're, you know, you can see some amazing examples of people that have moved into this space. And I'll give an excellent example of Ellie Wagner, who runs Wagner Bespoke Travel based in Los Angeles, in Santa Monica. I met her at the Forbes Travel Guide. She was on an episode of our show. And she's, you know, gone from doing like a million dollars a month to two million dollars a month. And those are numbers that Matthew Upchurch has shared on our podcast. And that, you know, she's like, Oh, yeah, my business is growing. But like it's staggering how and she's a former lawyer, a corporate lawyer that loved travel, decided to transition. She's uh a mom with two young kids, and uh and she's and she's now I think she has a team of six, and like it's so there's these uh really inspiring success stories like Ellie. But the one thing about our industry, and I say this as someone that was raised by a single mom, there's a reason why it's a female-dominated profession, and the same with many real estate professions as well, is because of the way the cash flow works in this business, is that you know, when you know you need a salary and you get commissions, a lot of these models are based on getting more substantial commissions, which can be very lucrative, but you need someone to travel and then have and to before you actually get your commissions. So it can be lean up front, which is why I also mentioned that some of the people in this industry are retired. And my aunt is a retired teacher and she works in Expedia Cruise Center, she absolutely loves it, but she, you know, she she's in a strong enough financial position. So you either have people that are entering later that are able to, you know, not rely on a monthly salary, or you have people that have started this industry earlier

Burnout, Profitability, And Growing Pains

SPEAKER_01 45:55

that have a salary position and then have and and actually make great salaries with a combination of their income plus the commissions that they make. And so I just wanted to highlight that as one of the challenges of getting into this space, depending on your financial position and how the runway you need before you can start earning a more substantial income. So that's one thing I would just call out from the onset. But Shana, anything you'd add to that specifically, but also what other challenges should advisors be aware of that are not talked about enough when people get excited about getting into this space?

SPEAKER_00 46:26

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I love this space, but I think it's always important to understand where those challenges lie. I think burnout and sustainability are bigger issues than people realize. A lot of advisors are running businesses that are very dependent on them personally being on the time all the time, being available to their clients. And it's why I put emphasis on the right technology platforms to help support when, you know, when maybe you need to sleep a little bit. But those are that's something to consider. There is also that pressure to constantly market, create content, learn about new technology that's available, respond instantly, and deliver high-touch service to every client that you have. So those are things to consider when you're thinking about is it quantity over quality, right? Do you need to have 200 clients or do you have 50 really strong clients that, you know, travel consistently? You know, what does that look like? Another challenge is that, and this is a great problem to have, is that many advisors are growing faster than their systems and workflows can handle, right? They're growing so quickly and they haven't implemented a different workflow or brought in a CRM yet, and they just haven't been able to stop growing. And so when do you stop, pull back, and be like, okay, I need to set this up and then I can continue. Um and I also don't think we talk about enough about profitability versus sales volume. Revenue doesn't always equal a healthy business because the way they make their money is commissions and charging fees. So I do talk about kind of like, you know, right now there's, you know, different shifts or downturns sometimes within the industry, things that are completely out of our control, you know, like some situations that are going on right now. And, you know, I talk a lot about diversifying your revenue streams. Uh so charging fees, having specific niches, different types of clients. So when there is a downturn in one spot, you still have clients traveling kind of to another area of the world or a different style of travel. I do think that advisors that continue learning and adapting, whether that's with tech, marketing, or consumer behavior, are usually the ones that will stay competitive long term. No career path is stagnant. No, you know, everything changes and evolves. Be open to it, learn about it. You don't have to love it, but make sure that you continue to be a part of that conversation and continue to learn. And that's to be honest, that's for host agency reviews, that's what we continue to provide is all that education that all of these incredible hosts and franchises and consortium help us with so that we can help our advisors continue to evolve and feel comfortable with the evolution of this industry.

SPEAKER_01 49:01

Yeah. Well, let's let's talk about that and kind of finish on that topic, which is how it is going to evolve in the next few years. I mean, it's crazy that we're, you know, midway through 2026 and people will be listening, and you know, the 2030 is not that far away. So, you know, even talking about the next three years of how things are going to change. I know. And we've only just, you know, we touched on AI, and obviously that is a uh a very important factor that's changing every three months. But let's you let's talk about the future of the advisor model and and go back to where our conversation started too, Shana, with the fact that people trust people. And one of I always say, and you've I know you've heard me in my keynotes talk about the fact that with travel advisors, the moat is the moat, we uh use that term in the startup and investment world where you know what is your

The Next Five Years For Advisors

SPEAKER_01 49:45

competitive advantage? And one of the things that I always call out for travel advisors is the personal relationship, is their moat. Is that if their tra if their customers rely almost solely on their recommendation for where they go on their next holiday, that's their absolute competitive advantage. They need to maintain that relationship. And so, yeah, when you think about the future of travel advisors, I think we're both we see a bright future for them. But I'd I'd love to hear your take on this because I'm sure you get asked that all the time when you're on other podcasts and speaking at industry conferences.

SPEAKER_00 50:14

Right. Where do we see this kind of going in the next three, maybe five-ish years? I can't believe 2030. Did you really have to call that out? Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_01 50:22

Um we supposed to have flying cars like 10 years ago, and you know, like we have robots cleaning our houses, like, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 50:30

I mean, I guess we do have the robot cleaning our houses, but yeah. Cleaning is like my my happy place. I don't want to give that up to a robot. I used to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Right now it's a right now, it's a Roomba that it can't even get past a sock. So I mean, we're still like at that at that point. I know.

SPEAKER_00 50:46

I was at the I was at the airport in Asheville, North Carolina, and they had like a cleaning, like a little cleaning robot going around the airport, and my bag was just sitting in front of me, and it I I felt like the robot would like try like going up to my bag, and then I felt like it was like staring at me, like, excuse you. And then we would just stand there for a minute and it would be like a good 60 seconds before we'd go around. I had to test the theory, like, how long was it gonna take to just go around my bag? And then I nicely moved my bag out of the way. But anyways, I digress. So yeah, no, so for the travel advisors, I think that we will continue to see the gap between, I think we had a lot of part-time and more hobbyists versus six, like, you know, those that made this their, you know, entire full-time job and highly successful advisors. And I think that will become a lot more visible. I think they will continue to position themselves as experts and business owners, hence the word advisor and why we no longer call them booking agents. I think that has really evolved over the last five to 10 years and will continue to evolve kind of into 2030 and beyond. I think we'll see this industry become even more professionalized as we have, again, over the last kind of five to 10 years, more specialized and more technology enabled. So things like AI and automation is going to handle a lot more administrative work because the sheer amount of administrative work that advisors do that is necessary for their business, but it's not them selling or bringing in new clients is incredibly high. And this will give advisors a lot more space to focus on those relationships and the strategy and clients that are best for them versus just being in that administrative task work that needs to get done, but a lot more of that will get automated. So those are some things that I see kind of coming up in the next few years.

SPEAKER_01 52:34

All right, Shana. Now I have two last questions for you. One that I'm really keen to ask you since you've got so much great knowledge and advice for those listening to this that want to advance their career, especially in the trade side of this business. So, from this conversation today, what would be one tip you would like to leave with our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 52:52

So, for any travel advisor listening, one piece of advice that I wish you all knew before starting was I really want you to know to treat it like a business from the beginning, that it's not just a passion project.

Final Advice And How To Connect

SPEAKER_00 53:05

Don't get me wrong, I am very passionate about this industry. But building trust, referrals, consistent income takes time. So patience and consistency really matters. And honestly, uh, I think, and I think I've mentioned this already, Dan, is focus less on trying to do everything and more on building strong relationships and a reputation that people remember. So that would be my advice to you.

SPEAKER_01 53:28

All right. And now the final question, Shana, I want to make sure that everyone listening to this can connect with you and follow up for more information about host agency reviews. What would be the best way for our listeners to connect with you and to follow up after this episode?

SPEAKER_00 53:42

In terms of how to get in touch with us, please feel free to reach out. We love hearing from advisors from others in the industry. We work with the entire industry. You can visit us at hostagencyreviews.com. You can email us at hello at hostagencireviews.com. And please go play around on the website, check out, you know, our podcasts, our content. If you're looking for a host agency, if you're looking to understand more of the travel technology software, we do have our big event coming up in a few weeks called Harwired, because we're cute like that. So our travel agency technology week. So many of the hosts are joining us to speak and give their insights into what not only their host is doing, but also just general insights for the advisor industry in general. We've got 15 back-to-back demos. Uh, we've got a launch pad, which is new this year, which are brand new, brand new technology coming into the space so that you can see them, what some tour operators are doing for you in the back end in the technology space. So come and check that out. But everything is at hostagencyreviews.com. And we would love to hear from you. Thank you so, so much, Dan, for having me. This has just been an absolute pleasure. And yeah, thanks again.

SPEAKER_01 54:58

That's fantastic. Thanks so much, Shayna,

Closing Thanks And What To Do Next

SPEAKER_01 55:00

for joining us for this special spotlight episode of Travel Trends. I hope everyone's enjoyed today's episode featuring Shayna Zand, the managing director of Host Agency Reviews. Thank you to you, Shayna, and to Steph Lee for our continued collaborations. I really enjoy being a part of your recent conference, and I want to make sure that everyone signs up for future conferences. So make sure you check out HostagencyRiews.com, follow them on LinkedIn and their social channels, and make sure that you register for their conferences. And don't forget, Shayna will actually be joining us for our summit this October. So make sure you are registered while we have free subscriptions. Thanks again to all of our sponsors for that. And if you're interested in more spotlight episodes, make sure you check out traveltrendspodcast.com slash spotlights. And make sure you're subscribed, of course, on the streaming platform of your choice. And we do post clips and highlights on all our social channels, which you can find on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube at Travel Trends Podcast. Thanks again for joining us, and until next week, safe travels.