Not that long ago in Canada, if you wanted to sell travel, you had to work either in a travel agency or a call centre. And in Ontario, that was the law. You could not operate from home. Today, a whopping 35% of all Canadian travel agents are home based and that number is growing quickly.

In the 2008 recession in the U.S., many travel agencies closed and this left a lot of agents out of work. But these agents had a book of business and many of them decided to become home based agents. Today, over 50% of all travel agents in the U.S. work from home.

The same is true in the UK, with about 50% of agents being hosted agents working from home.

This has all taken place within the past 15 years or so! Host agencies are expanding rapidly in Canada and it is expected that Canada’s home based agents will grow to 50% within 10 years.

The home based phenomenon represents many opportunities for travel agents –but also some challenges. It is not for everyone.

Home based agents are essentially running their own business. Yes they rely on host agencies for a lot of their support and services, but they are working for themselves. Finding the right host agency is key to their success. But so is finding the motivation and drive to succeed. Some agents are happier going to an office and having a manager.

The majority of home based agents all cite work/life balance as a major factor for choosing to work from home. They like the control it gives them over everything from what hours they work, to what to sell and how to service their customers. They like selecting their own marketing strategies from a menu provided by the host agency. They love not having to commute to work! They usually earn more than they did when they were an employee and they keep a greater share of their commissions.

*This is the first in a series of articles by travel industry veteran Jill Wykes about the home based agent and host agency trend that is changing how travel is sold in Canada. The articles are sponsored by The Travel Agent Next Door.