For new travel advisors, Fora is the host agency designed to get you to your first booking fast. Fora Advisors have booked more than $2.5 billion in travel—and 97% of them had no professional travel advising experience before joining. Most book their first client trip within 30 days. Fora gives new advisors the things they actually need to start a business: training that explains the basics, a clear path to your first booking, and a community of experts who are eager to help.
What makes a host agency good for beginners?
A great host agency for new travel advisors will have in-depth training that starts from the basics, guidance to get you to your first booking, and a community of experts to answer early questions.
Advisors of every experience level should consider commission splits, travel partners, trip management technology, and ongoing business support. Beginners need all of that, plus a host agency that understands the new advisor experience. A great host for beginners will have extensive, detailed training on business practices, industry terms, and booking, and live support that takes new advisor questions seriously.
Even Fora Advisors who switched from other host agencies note that training and support from Fora is more in-depth and beginner-friendly than at their original agency. “There were basics in the trainings that I was like, ‘Nobody explained it to me like that,’” Fora Advisor Seasen Acevedo-Zullo says. “Nobody had walked me through it like that.”
Read our full guide to what to look for in a host agency
New advisors at Fora get started fast
Fora provides the education and tools to get new advisors booking quickly. While many new advisors have transferable skills or travel experience, 97% of advisors report having no professional travel advising experience before coming to Fora.
Fora’s self-guided Essentials training takes about three hours to complete and covers everything from the booking technology to how to engage with suppliers. Paired with live help sessions and a community forum for peer advice, most Fora Advisors make their first booking within 30 days of joining.
Learn from these advisors who had a strong first year:
Lee Newell: Booked $100,000 in her first year
Stephanie Bloom: Booked $500,000 in her first year
Ryan Ali: Booked $1.3 million in his first year
Stephanie Holcombe: Booked $1.8 million in her first year
Fora Advisors come from every background
Successful Fora Advisors come from every walk of life. What unites the most successful are an eagerness to learn, the motivation to build a business long-term, and professional skills that apply to travel advising.
Working professionals
These advisors come from corporate roles where they already plan travel, or where they’ve developed transferable skills like marketing and sales, operations, or client management. Professionals who can bring travel bookings over from their day job or who have experience attracting leads have a base to help them grow quickly.
This often includes people who work in real estate, marketing and communications, event planning, executive assistance, media, or account management, like Mindy Bockewitz, who advises on top of a full-time executive assistant role.
Career changers
Some advisors join as career switchers or transition into a career change after starting with Fora part-time. These advisors often have transferable skills from their previous career, or have an entrepreneurial background.
Successful career changers often build their business and transition strategy methodically, setting clear timelines and goals for training and income targets. For example, Fora X Advisor Stephanie Bloom transitioned to full-time advising over six months, and gave herself a year to build the skills she needed for long-term success.
“What you put in is what you’ll get out of it,” Stephanie says. “Fora will support you, and give you all the tools. But at the end of the day, you’re not working for Fora. You own a business.”
Parents
Fora Advisors who are stay-at-home parents or parents re-entering the workforce are eager to get back to work, but need a flexible career that fits around school pickup and family responsibilities. Many advisors in this category start part-time and scale to a larger business over time.
For example, Megan Smith became a travel advisor after her children started full-time school and became a Fora Centum honoree—a top-100 producer at Fora—in less than three years.
“When I started, I didn’t want this to be a full-time job,” Megan says. “Which is funny now, because I probably work more than full time. It took off very quickly.”
When I started, I didn’t want this to be a full-time job, which is funny now because I probably work more than full time. It took off very quickly.
Megan Smith
joined June 2023Retirees
Fora doesn’t have booking minimums or quotas, which allows advisors coming out of high-pressure careers to set their pace—while applying their years of professional skills and travel experience. Personal networks are often a strong source of clients for these advisors.
Like parents who become Fora Advisors, advisors who are late in their careers or exploring post-retirement options plan to start part-time and find their businesses growing faster than anticipated.
“Getting started in terms of the mechanics, I felt it was all pretty intuitive,” retired executive Stu Dressler says. “I just kept seeing this table full of resources that I could come sit at and feast on.”
How Fora gets new advisors to their first booking
Every Fora Advisor gets access to technology, a training library, and hands-on guidance to get to their first booking and keep growing from there. After applying and being accepted to Fora, advisors:
Become a Certified Fora Advisor through training that teaches how to book, interact with suppliers, and get their first clients
Create a public advisor profile to establish an online presence
Quote and secure their first booking, with commission and booking handled by Fora
Continue to grow their business with advanced training, client referrals, and familiarization (Fam) trips
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certification or license to become a travel advisor?
No certification is required to be a travel advisor in the United States. Host agencies, like Fora, have the industry credentials and connections you need to book travel professionally. However, some U.S. states have Seller of Travel requirements. Fora can walk you through your specific situation.
Do I need clients before I join Fora?
No. Most new Fora Advisors start with no clients beyond friends and family who already ask them for travel advice. Fora’s training teaches you how to build a client base through your network, marketing, supplier introductions, and referrals from early bookings. Most advisors book their first trip within 30 days of joining.
How much does it cost to join Fora?
Fora has a flat $299 annual or $99 quarterly membership fee that covers training, technology, community, and commission handling with no booking minimums, no quotas, and no hidden charges. Your commission earnings typically offset the membership cost within the first few bookings.
How do travel advisors make money?
Travel advisors earn money primarily through supplier commissions on the bookings they make for clients, like hotels, cruises, tours, and travel insurance. Many advisors also charge planning or service fees for the time spent designing trips. The mix of commission and fee income varies by advisor, commission split, and business model.
When do travel advisors get paid?
Commission timing depends on the supplier and the trip. Most hotels and tour operators pay commission to your host agency 30 to 60 days after your client completes their travel. Cruise lines and some packaged-travel suppliers pay sooner. At Fora, commission collection and tracking happen automatically, and you get an estimate of when your payment will arrive.
How many hours per week do travel advisors work?
This depends on the advisor and how many clients they choose to take on. Part-time Fora Advisors might work 20 hours a week while building a business around their day job, but others work 30 hours or more as their business grows. Full-time advisors work 40 hours or more per week, especially during peak travel season.
How do new travel advisors get clients?
New advisors get their first clients through two main channels: friends and family who already know them and referrals from early bookings. Fora provides training on making the most of your network, plus marketing templates and a public Fora Advisor profile that helps potential clients find you.
Can I switch to Fora from another host agency?
Yes. Many successful Fora Advisors come from other host agencies. Before joining, check your current contract for exit terms and any commission policies for open bookings. Switchers have access to the same training and onboarding as new advisors, but can be brought on at a commission split that matches their existing sales volume.
