Jamie Biesiada
Among hosted travel advisors, those who work full-time saw the biggest income increases in 2023, according to Host Agency Reviews’ annual travel advisor survey.
Each year, Host Agency Reviews (HAR) publishes studies of the agency community, and preliminary data from this year’s survey suggests an overall slowdown in growth from 2022 to 2023. However, the largest income gains have been among full-time consultants, not part-time consultants, who saw “little to no increase in income” over the past year.
HAR surveyed more than 2,300 travel advisors from April 15 to June 9. The data comes from participants who earned at least $5,000 in commission in 2023.
According to the HAR survey, hosted advisor revenue increased a whopping 126% from 2020 to 2021. This makes sense: While 2020 was a bleak year for many, travel began to recover from the pandemic in 2021.
From 2021 to 2022, hosted advisor revenue increased by a more modest 26%.
According to the latest survey, hosted advisor revenue grew only slightly by 2% from 2022 to 2023. Although the explosive growth has slowed, it indicates some stabilization, HAR said.
“The advisor community has long waited to recoup the losses from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said HAR founder Steph Lee. “We are excited about the continued growth of the agency distribution channel. The trends we are observing underscore the important role agencies will play in the U.S. travel ecosystem in the years to come.”
According to HAR, Host Advisors revenue increased 8% in 2023. A large majority, 81%, said revenue actually increased in 2023.
And 90% of respondents said sales had recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Revenue still below 2019 figures
However, total income is still just below 2019 numbers. HAR found that the average income of hosted consultants was $48,124, down 7% from 2019, according to HAR.
The stabilisation of revenues is a good thing. It also comes at a time when many industries, including the travel agency sector, are experiencing some normalisation after years of uncertainty and rising sales.
Here are some more statistics from HAR.
Consultants with three or more years of full-time experience earned an average income of $60,583 on average revenue of $650,032 in 2023.
Eight percent of participants reported sales of one million dollars or more.
