The days of most travel advisors being storefront employees are long gone. Today, a growing number are independent contractors affiliated with host agencies.
Yet the way advisors get paid has never evolved.
"The path of least resistance was to take the current infrastructure and do our best to shove a square peg in a round hole," said Jeremy Sulek, CEO and president of Jetset World Travel and founder of Brava.
Sulek says that if you had to build the industry from the ground up today, you would never build it back this same way.
In today's world, independent travel advisors do all the work and provide all the value, but are forced to run their business and get paid through an agency.
“In today's world, independent travel advisors do all the work and provide all the value, but are forced to run their business and get paid through an agency,” he said. “A lot of host agencies are now abusing this by amassing as many advisors as they can to grow aggregate sales. But they provide no real value to the advisor.”
Sulek says Brava is a software solution to this problem, and there are currently no comparable platforms. It allows independent advisors the freedom and control to run their business, get paid and not be at the mercy of an agency, starting at $99/month. Brava is currently in beta and plans to open to advisors by mid-September — advisors can join the waitlist here.
The Problems With Most Host Travel Agencies
The idea for Brava began forming about a year ago. Closely analyzing the host agency landscape for years, Sulek noticed a troubling trend: Many were growing exponentially larger yet providing no additional benefit to the advisor.
Agencies are guilty of all kinds of behavior that only benefits the agency owner, and a lot of agencies monetize their advisors in many different ways, he says.
One example Sulek gave has to do with override payments: Suppliers pay secret bonuses to agencies when they hit high sales targets, but agency owners keep all the bonus money for themselves instead of sharing it with the advisors who made those sales.
Host agencies also charge suppliers to be preferred partners, give webinars or be displayed in marketing.
"An advisor might think their agency is promoting a supplier that is best for their travelers, but the reality is that the agency might be pushing the supplier that pays them the most,” Sulek said. “In these scenarios, the independent advisors are the product, not the client.”
Sulek says that host agency owners get royal treatment, receive all the accolades, get all the suppliers’ attention and “are put on a pedestal for fame they have no right to claim.”
“Unique travel experiences, top invitations to events, individual PR access and so much more should be given to those doing the work — the advisors,” he said.
Host Agencies Also Get in the Way of Payments
Sulek says that some host agencies are notorious for slow payouts and nontransparent reconciliation processes that make it difficult for advisors to get their commission. He also says that the third-party payment processors sitting between suppliers and agencies are a major issue.
“It's all connected,” he says. “Brava can solve for both of those pain points by bringing the industry's payment infrastructure to the 21st century.”
Host agencies also own the advisor’s booking, he says, which gives the host all the leverage in the contract.
Brava can solve for both of those pain points by bringing the industry's payment infrastructure to the 21st century.
This is most evident when an independent travel advisor wants to switch agencies, he says, explaining that the advisor is at risk of losing even more of their commission and sometimes their bookings completely.
"The way I believe this industry should work is that independent advisors should truly be independent and be able to seamlessly switch agencies the same way someone can go from driving with Uber to driving with Lyft,” he said.
What About The Good Hosts?
In 2021, Jetset World Travel merged with Epperly Travel, the company Sulek's wife, Lindsey, founded in 2014. At the time of merger, the goal was to combine the boutique agencies and maintain a culture that treats the advisor as the client. Sulek says he is committed to running Jetset as is — and that it solves a different problem than Brava.
But for the other 75% of the market that provides little to no value other than paying out commissions, I believe they are taking advantage of the current structure to benefit the agency owner rather than the advisor
He says that Jetset is part of the quarter of host agencies — including SmartFlyer,Brownell and Embark Beyond — that “have clearly identified the value they provide their advisors year in and year out.”
"But for the other 75% of the market that provides little to no value other than paying out commissions, I believe they are taking advantage of the current structure to benefit the agency owner rather than the advisor,” he said.
Sulek says that Brava will appeal to professional advisors who understand that the value they receive from community, mentorship and education can be separated from how (and how much) they get paid.
“I don't think advisors who book once a year or only book their personal travel will get as much out of the software,” he said.
The Reality and The Long-Term Vision
Sulek admits that leaving a host agency can be a big deal. He says that advisors can book through Brava while remaining a member of their host agency if they are not interested in leaving their host.
The company is currently working on creating a community board for advisors to connect, collaborate and problem-solve together. Eventually, Sulek will consider offering education as part of Brava’s offerings.
He says that platform users will have access to hotel preferred partnerships and consortia benefits, and Brava will take care of all sales agreements and payment facilitation on behalf of all users.
Sulek hopes Brava becomes the industry standard for how all advisors can get compensated from suppliers. In making the platform transparent, fast and affordable, it unlocks so much more potential for this to be a viable career, he says.
For now, advisors will use the company’s IATA number to book travel, since that is the model suppliers are used to and built for. But the goal is for this model to change. Sulek wants to see an industry where advisors receive 100% of their commission and all the credit, too.
Or, as he puts it, “for there to be preferred advisors, not preferred agencies.”
