At Fora, we’re passionate about the travel advisor industry. We’re the biggest cheerleaders for hotels & industry partners, and we’re firm believers that the best way to book travel is through an actual person, who can provide a personalized, thoughtful & professional recommendation.
Our approach is different from industry standard. We empower anyone with a passion for travel to become a travel advisor. Newbies in the industry? You bet. Side-hustlers and part-timers are also welcome. We’re focused on building a platform that supports all travel advisors, providing them with ongoing training & mentorship, faster commission payments and tech that makes their job easier & more fulfilling. In fact, we were just featured in Condé Nast’s Bright Ideas in Travel list as one of 56 companies ushering in bold new concepts to move the industry into the future.
We have a deep love and respect for the travel advisor industry – solidified over decades of experiences as travel advisors ourselves –and everything we do is rooted in helping our travel advisors & industry partners succeed. We strongly believe in community over competition, and that we all rise together.
Read on for some FAQs about Fora’s travel agency approach, our training program for advisors and our vision for a brighter future in the travel advisory industry – for all.
What type of person can become a Fora Advisor?
Fora Advisors are the go-to people for travel tips. They’re the moonlighting tastemaker of the group, the do-it-all mom with the best hotel recs, the globetrotting co-worker with epic taste in restaurants… We help them transform their passion for travel into a meaningful career by providing them with training, mentorship and support.
We have both newbies and seasoned travel pros in our community of Fora Advisors. We’re here to support our travel advisors from their first booking to their 1,000th (and beyond).
Why does the team at Fora hate the word “hobbyist”?
To be frank, we’re a little offended by the term ‘hobbyist.’ Our Fora Advisors are dedicated travel entrepreneurs who are committed to scaling their businesses, whether as a new career or as a side hustle. They are passionate & professional, and we know this because each advisor undergoes a traditional interview & training process, just like ‘traditional’ travel advisors always have.
However, unlike traditional agencies, our training and selection criteria is geared toward meeting advisors where they are in their lives. It’s not realistic for most people to quit their day jobs and invest upfront in expensive training programs until they’ve built enough of a book of business to support themselves.
Why does Fora invest in introducing newbies to the industry?
First off, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that newcomers are entering the industry. The travel advisor industry is an exciting space, and newcomers should always be welcome to build their careers as a travel advisor.
By empowering anyone to enter the industry in a way that’s more accessible, we’re diversifying the space, plus introducing a lot of new demand to the industry. Many of the travelers who are working with Fora Advisors have never worked with an advisor before, and many are OTA converts who are now just as advisor-obsessed as we are.
Despite our differences in approach, at Fora, we believe all agencies are on the same team, including with the consortia and the suppliers: we all want to bring more business into the industry (and plan awesome vacations for our clients at that!).
What is the process like to become a Fora Advisor?
We provide our community with ongoing training, resources, mentorship and tech tools to help them kickstart & continue their career in travel.
To become a Fora Advisor today, the process is to sign up for our waitlist, and you’ll be sent a qualification survey via email. Candidates share more about their experience and background, and our team reviews and onboards advisors following a screening process (more on that below).
In the meantime, check out our guide on how to turn your passion for travel into $$$
What training do Fora Advisors receive?
Once they join, Fora Advisors are part of a training cohort with extensive live and asynchronous training, including hundreds of hours of training resources within our portal, all created by our in-house team and in partnership with suppliers.
Our co-founder Henley Vazquez, a seasoned industry pro & travel advisor, also personally does mentoring calls with our most promising advisors.
Do Fora Advisors get free stays at hotels?
We explicitly do not allow brand new advisors to request free or discounted stays at hotels, or to participate in fams (familiarization trips). Suppliers run all invites of this nature by our HQ team, so we can assign the advisors we know are a good fit for the properties and have shown excellence in sales. We limit the amount of logins to Virtuoso, Four Seasons, Dorchester, Rosewood and our other preferred partners to those who have met sales and training goals.
What resources & support do Fora Advisors receive?
Our Fora Advisors gain access to our library of resources & training materials to go from zero to pro. They attend weekly live training sessions, and get hands-on mentorship from industry leaders. When Fora Advisors are onboarded, they join a month-long certification program with weekly training sessions, and continue their education with further training as they grow their careers.
All of our advisors are invited to our community app, which is an active and supportive forum for advisors of all levels, and we have a full-time community manager who moderates the forum, as well as a team of community support to assist with training and bookings.
We have business tools that make a travel advisor’s job easier, like marketing assets and tools, as well as commission tracking & fast payments (within five days of a clients’ checkout - the fastest in the biz, might we add).
What is Fora’s mission?
Booking travel through a travel advisor is the best way to book travel, hands down.
We’re working to build a travel advisor industry that’s a win/win/win for everyone:
For advisors & entrepreneurs, you deserve a modern, fully-integrated platform with business tools that enable you to grow your business and operate in an efficient and rewarding way.
For travel providers, you deserve to rise above a travel meritocracy wherein your business is being undercut by direct-to-consumer marketing or the OTA game. You deserve high-quality customers & insightful data at scale. You deserve cheerleaders for your business.
For consumers, you deserve better trips and better value than what would be possible from a DIY approach – a truly personalized trip, curated by a professional who gets you.
Read more about our mission in our co-founder’s article on A Better Equation in Travel.
