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There’s a big difference between a travel agency employee and an affiliated independent contractor (IC). Even before the pandemic, an increasing number of travel advisors were choosing to affiliate as ICs, but the pandemic has spurred even more agents to make the leap.
In this episode of Trade Secrets, get into the topic of switching from an employee to an IC in depth with Amanda Klimak, president and co-owner of Largay Travel, along with co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada.
This episode is sponsored by Windstar Cruises.
Inside This Episode
- 1:13 Meet our guest: Amanda Klimak, president and co-owner of Largay Travel in Waterbury, Conn.
- 2:00 Starting with the basics, what’s the difference between a travel agency employee and an IC?
- 2:56 What was it like when Largay transitioned its employees to IC status?
- 6:30 Health insurance is a big factor for someone considering making the jump to IC; what are some of the options available?
- 7:47 Amanda’s advice to agencies transitioning employees to ICs
- 12:23 An IRS red flag to watch out for
- 15:22 Some ICs use their own business name, and others use their host affiliation, and many use both. Why?
- 17:02 Don’t rush the leap! Do your due diligence first.
- 17:33 Before the pandemic, agencies with employees and ICs were very common. Is the pendulum swinging more toward the pure host?
- 21:00 It’s not easy to find talent today. Where are Largay’s coming from?
- 23:06 Travel advisor Tara shares some of her top tips about switching to an IC.
- 25:53 Amanda adds her top tips.
- 27:20 Travel advisor Katy asks about host agency commission splits.
- 29:31 Amanda talks about vetting hosts and their commission splits (spoiler: don’t just look at the split!).
Amanda Klimak, president and co-owner of Largay Travel
Credit: 2022 Jenn MartinsResources Mentioned in This Episode and Related Reading
Largay Travel
HostAgencyReviews.com
FindaHostTravelAgency.com
From Travel Weekly
Legal Briefs: Making Staff ICs Could Prove Costly
Legal Briefs: A Host Can Impose Some Rules on Independent Contractors
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About Your Hosts
Emma Weissmann is the Digital Managing Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the co-host of Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.
Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine.
About the Show
Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel industry insider to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts/trade-secrets.
