Become a Travel Advisor
Starting from scratch? Pick the route that fits your life — a part-time second income or a full-time travel career. You’ll be placed with one of our host agency partners, and once you’re a verified Specialist our travel websites can send you leads.
See both paths »Few careers let you earn by sharing something you already enjoy the way travel advising does — whether it becomes your livelihood or a welcome second paycheck. Starting out alone, though, raises three big questions: which host agency, which training, and where clients will come from. We help with all three. We find the host agency partner that fits your goals, steer you to the Specialist training that opens our leads program, and bring 54 years of selling travel to your corner.
Pick Your Path Into Travel
Neither path requires any travel background. Choose the one that fits your goals today; you can switch later.
Additional Income
Built for people who want a second income from selling travel, alongside work, family or retirement.
- Placement with one of our host agency partners, chosen for your goals
- Your host handles bookings, pays commissions and provides training
- Leads from our websites after you become a Specialist
- Free listing on our consumer travel directories
Career Fast Track
Built for people ready to turn travel into a full-time career, without the slow start.
- Personalized domain plus an established website that already gets visitors
- Host agency placement with first-year host fees paid
- Access to our leads program once you are a Specialist
- Showcase listing on each of our consumer travel directories — direct inquiries at full commission
- Twelve months of one-on-one help from Peter Coloyan
Eight Steps From Beginner to Booked
There’s a well-worn route to success as a travel advisor. Below are the eight stages — what you’ll need to accomplish at each one, and the specific ways we support you.
Specialist training we recommend — we’ll steer you to the programs that match the travel you plan to sell:
- The Travel InstituteTRIPKIT, CTA® and Destination Specialist programs
- CLIACruise Counsellor certifications plus online classes
- Supplier programsAcademies from cruise lines, tour operators and tourism boards
We verify these designations for our leads program. We have no affiliation with either organization.
You won’t be our employee. You’ll be placed with one of our host agency partners — an established host that handles your bookings, pays your commissions and trains you. Our part: finding the right partner for you, opening our leads program to you once you qualify, and staying in your corner as you grow.
Why Work Under a Host — and Why Let Us Choose It
Your host carries the back office
Bookings are serviced, commissions are paid and training is provided by your host, which frees you to concentrate on travelers.
Hosts are not interchangeable
Each host has its own strengths, training style and way of supporting newcomers. Which one is right depends on what you want.
Experience on our side
From 2001 to 2007 Peter Coloyan owned a host agency that grew to 87 advisors. We know what makes a good match, so the comparison shopping is done for you.
Where Your Clients Come From
The hardest question for most newcomers is simple: who will my clients be? We answer it with a network of travel websites that brings in traveler inquiries every day.
Over a single year, our websites produced more than 68,000 cruise leads plus more than 30,000 additional travel leads for all-inclusive resorts, for tours and escorted tours, and for business- and first-class flights.
Our leads go to advisors who have earned “Specialist” status by completing the training and certification of at least one major travel supplier or destination. We verify every designation. Specialists know what they sell — our experience is that they close as much as six to seven times as often — and our travelers deserve that expertise.
Your own bookings earn you 80% of the commission, and bookings from our leads earn you 50%. Every advisor who comes through our program earns 80% on business they bring in themselves. When a booking comes from one of our leads, 50% of that commission is theirs. See commission details »
Get Found in Our Consumer Directories
Leads aren’t the only way travelers will reach you. Advisors in our program are listed where people go looking for a specialist: the Official Travel Directory, the Official Cruise Directory and the Official River Cruise Directory — with the Official Vacation Directory and Official Tour Directory joining as they launch.
Additional Income
Your own free listing across our consumer travel directories.
Career Fast Track
Showcase placement on each of our consumer directories, valued at over $3,000 on the live directories alone. Learn more »
Your inquiries, your commission
A traveler who reaches you through your own listing is your client outright: no lead share applies, and the full commission is yours.
The Whole Toolkit, Right at the Start
New advisors often spend years piecing together a website, a host, a pipeline of clients and a mentor. On the Career Fast Track you get every one of them up front, which leaves your time free for selling.
After 54 years selling travel, Peter Coloyan believes no other program offers a better route to a successful career as a travel advisor.
Your price depends on the website you select and is shared after a consultation.Installment plans may be available.
Would you rather begin part-time? Explore Additional Income »
Meet Your Mentor, Peter “Mr. Cruise” Coloyan
Peter Coloyan — “Mr. Cruise” — leads Be a Travel Advisor. He began selling travel in 1972, sold his first cruise in 1974 at age 14, and has been a full-time travel professional since 1977. Over that career he has sold or originated over $500 million in cruise sales and trained upward of 500 travel advisors. From 2001 to 2007 he ran his own host agency, building it to 87 advisors and $17 million a year in sales before selling it to Expedia CruiseShipCenters.
Why does that matter to a newcomer? Because Peter has seen host agencies from the owner’s chair. He understands what separates one host from another, and which kind of new advisor flourishes where. His focus today is simple: helping the travel community get ready for what comes next.
Experience You Can Measure
Part of a Larger Network
Be a Travel Advisor belongs to the Smart Traveler network and its Official directories — one serving the travel trade, and a family of consumer directories where our advisors appear:
For the Travel Trade
For Travelers
Becoming a Travel Advisor — Your Questions Answered
Am I going to be your employee?
No. You’ll be placed with one of our host agency partners, an established host that handles your bookings, pays your commissions and gives you your training. Our part is finding you the right host, opening our leads program to you once you qualify, and guiding you as you build your business.
What exactly does a host agency do?
Think of a host as the home base for independent travel advisors. It takes care of the business side of each booking, pays out your commissions and teaches you its systems, leaving you free to look after your clients. Most newcomers to independent travel selling begin under a host.
Couldn’t I find a host agency on my own?
Certainly, but hosts vary widely, and judging them takes time and insider experience. Peter Coloyan ran his own host agency from 2001 to 2007 and had 87 advisors when he sold it to Expedia CruiseShipCenters, so he knows what to look for on your behalf. You get the benefit of that comparison without doing it yourself.
How do the two paths differ?
Additional Income suits people who want to sell travel part-time: you’re placed with one of our host agency partners, and after you become a Specialist you can receive leads from our websites. The Career Fast Track is for people aiming at a full-time travel career, and it layers on a personalized domain with an established, already-visited website, coverage of your host’s first-year fees, and twelve months of one-on-one help from Peter.
How do I get leads from your network?
Leads open up once you hold Specialist status, which you earn by finishing the training and certification of at least one major travel supplier or destination. Over a single year, our websites produced more than 68,000 cruise leads plus more than 30,000 additional travel leads for all-inclusive resorts, for tours and escorted tours, and for business- and first-class flights.
Do your travel directories list advisors?
They do. Advisors on the Additional Income path get a free listing on our consumer travel directories. Career Fast Track advisors get a Showcase listing on each of our consumer directories (the Official Travel, Official Cruise and Official River Cruise Directories, with the Official Vacation and Official Tour Directories to follow at launch), worth over $3,000 on the directories already live. When a traveler contacts you through your own listing, that inquiry is yours alone: no lead share, full commission.
How much is the Career Fast Track?
It’s a paid program, and the price depends on which website you take on. We share pricing after a consultation, once we know your goals and the site that suits you. Installment plans may be available.
Is prior travel experience required?
Not at all. Both paths were designed with newcomers in mind. Your host agency trains you, and Specialist courses from suppliers and destinations deepen your product knowledge.
Who runs Be a Travel Advisor?
Peter Coloyan, “Mr. Cruise.” He started selling travel in 1972 and has been in the industry full-time since 1977. His record includes over $500 million in cruises sold or originated and upward of 500 travel advisors trained. He also owned a host agency from 2001 to 2007, which reached 87 advisors and $17 million in annual sales before its sale to Expedia CruiseShipCenters.
Take the first step
Pick a path and share your goals. We’ll find the host agency partner that fits and show you how to qualify for our leads.
Start the Career Fast Track application »