If you’re weighing TravelManagers against Niftrip, you probably want to know whether its training, famils and big-brand backing are worth what they cost you. At a 10% average commission, Niftrip leaves you $3,252 a year more than TravelManagers’ Business Pro plan whatever you sell, and the gap to Lifestyle Plus is bigger again. TravelManagers is the better choice if you want its training and famils program and its client financial protections, and you’re willing to pay for them.
I run Niftrip, so I have an interest here. Where TravelManagers doesn’t publish a number, I say so.
Who is each one for?
TravelManagers is part of House of Travel and has been building its home-based network since 2005. To join you need at least three years of travel industry experience, a sales track record and strong product knowledge.
It suits experienced consultants who want a big, established brand behind them, serious training, a famil program it says took over 200 PTMs travelling last year, and client protections that include the TravelManagers Customer Fund, credit card chargeback insurance and a quarterly-audited client account.
Niftrip suits experienced, tech-forward consultants who want to keep 100% of their at-source commission and run their business on their own brand. It also takes forward-thinking newcomers, which TravelManagers doesn’t.
How do the fees compare?
| Niftrip | TravelManagers | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $99 + GST | Business Pro $370 + GST; Lifestyle Plus $170 + GST |
| Split | You keep 100% of at-source commission | You keep 90% (Business Pro) or 80% (Lifestyle Plus) of at-source commission and service fees |
| Turnover fee | 1% + GST of turnover (the total you invoice) | None |
| Joining or induction | None | Induction required, fee not published |
| Ticketing fees | No GDS or ticketing fees | Apply on international fares, vary by airline; none on domestic or trans-Tasman |
| Dividend | None | Annual dividend award, up to 5% more, criteria not published |
| What the fee covers | Platform, your own email address and support; a website is an optional add-on, priced on request | Induction, mentoring from a state-based Business Partnership Manager, accounts and ticketing support, IT help, marketing team, famils and the conference |
| Technology | Reads supplier confirmations sent to your inbox or pasted in, including Sabre | Tramada back and mid office, multi-GDS support, Quikticket on its BSP |
| Contract and leaving | First 3 months up front, then monthly with 30 days’ notice, no restraint of trade | Contract term, notice period and bookings in progress not published |
| Your clients | Clients, contacts and domain stay yours, with a full export | Client database stays yours; you take it with you |
In year one, also add TravelManagers’ induction fee, which isn’t published. Niftrip has no joining fee.
What do you take home on each?
Say you sell $500,000 a year at a 12% average commission. On Niftrip you’d keep $53,812. On Business Pro you’d keep $49,560, which is $4,252 less, and on Lifestyle Plus $45,960, or $7,852 less.
At 10% the two models cost exactly the same per dollar you sell, because TravelManagers keeps 10% of a 10% commission, which is 1% of sales, the same as our turnover fee. That leaves only the monthly fees, $4,440 a year against $1,188, so the gap never closes. Above 10% our fee is the cheaper of the two, and the gap widens as you sell more.
A year’s at-source commission after the split and monthly fees, ex GST. Joining and induction fees, dividends and professional indemnity cover left out.
At a 10% average commission, Niftrip keeps more than TravelManagers Business Pro 90% at any level of sales, by $3,252 a year.
At a 10% average commission, Niftrip keeps more than TravelManagers Lifestyle Plus 80% at any level of sales.
The same figures as tables, at a 10% and 12% average commission
At a 10% average commission:
| Sales a year | Niftrip | TM Business Pro (90%, $370/mo) | Against Niftrip | TM Lifestyle Plus (80%, $170/mo) | Against Niftrip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $21,312 | $18,060 | −$3,252 | $17,960 | −$3,352 |
| $500,000 | $43,812 | $40,560 | −$3,252 | $37,960 | −$5,852 |
| $1,000,000 | $88,812 | $85,560 | −$3,252 | $77,960 | −$10,852 |
At a 12% average commission:
| Sales a year | Niftrip | TM Business Pro | Against Niftrip | TM Lifestyle Plus | Against Niftrip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $26,312 | $22,560 | −$3,752 | $21,960 | −$4,352 |
| $500,000 | $53,812 | $49,560 | −$4,252 | $45,960 | −$7,852 |
| $1,000,000 | $108,812 | $103,560 | −$5,252 | $93,960 | −$14,852 |
TravelManagers’ split also applies to “all at-source commission and service fees charged”. On $10,000 of service fees you’d keep $9,000 on Business Pro and $8,000 on Lifestyle Plus. On Niftrip you keep $9,900.
When does TravelManagers come out ahead?
If you earned the full annual dividend of up to 5% every year on Business Pro, it would overtake Niftrip above about $650,000 in sales at 10% commission. The criteria aren’t published, so treat that as a best case.
The other case is a low average commission. If you sell a lot of air and average 8%, Business Pro overtakes Niftrip at about $1.63 million in sales without any dividend.
What do you get for the fee?
TravelManagers’ monthly administration fee covers an induction, mentoring from a state-based Business Partnership Manager, accounts and ticketing support including BSP, IT help, a marketing team, famils and the conference, with Tramada as its back and mid office. There are no targets or KPIs.
Niftrip’s $99 + GST a month covers the platform, your own email address and support, with a website as an optional add-on priced on request. We don’t run famils, a conference or a 50-person support office. We run a program for advisors new to travel. We’ll talk you through it when we meet.
What happens when you leave?
TravelManagers is clear that your client database stays yours and goes with you if you leave. It doesn’t publish its contract term, notice period or what happens to bookings in progress, so ask for the agreement before you commit.
At Niftrip you go monthly on 30 days’ notice after the first 3 months, with no restraint of trade, and your clients, contacts and domain stay yours with a full export.
Which should you choose?
In my view, TravelManagers is the better choice if you want scale and structure. That’s consultants who value in-person training, famils and a strong peer community, corporate specialists who want TravelManagers’ corporate support, and anyone whose average commission is below 10% or who expects to earn the full dividend at high volume. Its PTMs speak warmly about the community, and its financial protections are a strong selling point with clients.
Niftrip is the better choice if you’re comfortable on modern tools, you want your own brand front and centre, and you sell at 10% or above. On published numbers you keep at least $3,252 a year more than Business Pro, and you keep 99% of any service fees, against 80% or 90%.
I bought into a travel agency in 2009 and have run it purely as a host agency since 2013. I priced Niftrip at 1% of turnover so that advisors who sell at 15% or more, or build their own packages, keep what that extra effort earns.
The full numbers
Where the TravelManagers figures come from
Every TravelManagers figure on this page comes from TravelManagers’ own website, checked on 20 October 2026. All figures are ex GST.
About TravelManagers
TravelManagers calls itself Australia’s largest mobile travel advisor business. Its About page lists over 450 personal travel managers (PTMs) and its join page says 500+, backed by more than 50 people in its National Partnership Office.
How the take-home is worked out
Niftrip is sales × rate − 1% of sales − $1,188, and TravelManagers is split × sales × rate − 12 monthly fees. The Against Niftrip columns show each plan minus Niftrip, so −$3,252 means Niftrip leaves you $3,252 more.
The dividend in detail
TravelManagers says an annual dividend award can top up your commission by up to 5%, which is how it gets to “up to 95%”. If you earned the full 5% every year on Business Pro, it would overtake Niftrip above about $650,000 in sales at 10% commission, and above about $813,000 at 12%. At $1 million and 10%, you’d keep about $1,748 more with TravelManagers.
Costs outside the tables
If you don’t have your own professional indemnity cover, TravelManagers’ FAQ says it can arrange it for $260 + GST a year, charged in two instalments.
TravelManagers’ own pages differ on the induction length: the cost blog says three days and the FAQ says four. Neither gives a price, so ask.
What the induction and technology include
The induction kits you out with headshots, supplier lists and logins, procedures manuals, ATAS, IATA and ATIA coverage, a customisable marketing program, a modular website and a newsletter system.
Alongside Tramada and multi-GDS support, TravelManagers offers payment integrations, Axus and Fastbook Cruise for itineraries, and reporting on your commission. You can pay suppliers through MintEFT or a virtual credit card from within Tramada.
TravelManagers describes its client protections as among the most comprehensive in the Australian travel industry.
More on TravelManagers
TravelManagers’ training includes a multi-day induction, recorded supplier webinars and an annual conference. You can issue tickets via Quikticket on its BSP. A split gets cheaper relative to a turnover fee when your average commission is below 10%. If you charge air or planning fees, the service fee treatment can matter more than the monthly fee.
TravelManagers on clients, in its own words
“Your client database will always remain yours, and should you decide to leave TravelManagers for any reason, you take your client database with you.”
How Niftrip works
Niftrip reads supplier confirmations sent to your Niftrip inbox or pasted in, in any text format, Sabre included, and turns them into a booking and invoice with no typing: 1 minute 19 seconds for a cruise, about 2 minutes for a flight and hotel. It handles costings with GST, invoices and receipts, and shows expected earnings on every booking. Clients get a branded itinerary with quote options and a compare-trips view, a client portal, and documents behind a 6-digit email code, all carrying your business name and your own email address.
At Niftrip you pay the first 3 months ($297 + GST) up front, then go monthly on 30 days’ notice with no restraint of trade. Your clients, contacts and domain stay yours, with a full export. Bookings in progress stay with the agency until travelled, and you keep servicing them for the commission, with no monthly fee during that run-off. If you go on to open your own agency, you can keep using the Niftrip platform on a subscription.
Next step
Check the numbers for your own sales with the calculator on our home page, or see how switching works if you’re with a network now.
