Best host agencies in Australia (2026): home-based travel networks compared

Which network suits you comes down to what you sell and how much help you want from head office. If you’re experienced, sell above a 10% average commission and are comfortable with modern tools, my pick is Niftrip. If you want head office to carry most of the work, it’s MTA. For training, scale and community, it’s TravelManagers.

I run Niftrip, so read this list knowing that. I’ve been in travel since 2004 and have run a host agency since 2013. Every competitor fee, split and term below comes from that network’s own website, and where a network doesn’t publish something, I say so.

How did I put this list together?

I read the join, fees and FAQ pages of every Australian home-based network I could find that recruits independent advisors, then grouped them by who they suit. A cruise specialist with 15 years and a full client book needs something very different from someone who has just finished a Certificate III. If the model itself is new to you, start with what is a host agency?

Which Australian host agencies publish their fees?

Fewer than you’d hope. “Not published” means I couldn’t find it anywhere on the network’s own public pages.

Co-ops for agency owners work differently, so they’re further down.

How much do you keep with each network?

This is what you’d keep in a year from at-source commission after the split and monthly fees, ex GST.

Say you sell $500,000 a year at a 10% average commission. On Niftrip you’d keep $43,812. The closest is Global Travel Network’s 90% package at $42,600, and TravelManagers Business Pro would leave you $40,560. At 10%, 1% of turnover costs the same as giving away 10% of your commission, so against a 90% split the monthly fee decides it, and Niftrip’s $99 is lower than the 90% plans’ fees.

If your book is air-heavy and averages 8%, that changes. Global Travel Network’s 90% package overtakes Niftrip above about $606,000 of sales. The full maths is in 100% commission vs a commission split.

Best for experienced, tech-forward advisors: Niftrip (my pick)

Niftrip is the network I run, and I built it for experienced consultants who are comfortable with modern technology and want to keep more of what they earn. It also takes forward-thinking newcomers, and it suits any niche.

What does Niftrip cost?

$99 + GST a month covers the platform, your own email address and support. On top of that you pay 1% + GST of turnover, which is the total you invoice your client, and you keep 100% of your at-source commission. There’s no joining fee and no GDS or ticketing fees. A website is an optional add-on, priced on request.

The agency keeps supplier overrides and incentives as its margin. You always see your commission rate, and you can charge your client whatever you like above it.

Why 1% of turnover instead of a split?

A split takes a share of everything you earn, while the 1% is charged on what you sell, whatever commission you make on it. If you sell at 15% to 20%, or put together your own packages at 20% to 30%, the extra stays with you. I want advisors to earn what they’re worth.

What does the platform do?

It reads supplier confirmations sent to your Niftrip inbox, or pasted in as any text, including Sabre. A cruise confirmation becomes a booking and an invoice in 1 minute 19 seconds with no typing. It also does costings with GST, invoices and receipts, a branded client itinerary and client portal, and shows your expected earnings on every booking.

What happens if you leave?

The first 3 months ($297 + GST) are paid up front, then it’s monthly with 30 days’ notice and no restraint of trade. Your clients, contacts and domain stay yours, with a full export when you go. Bookings in progress stay with the agency until they’ve travelled. You keep servicing them and still get the commission, and there’s no monthly fee during that run-off.

Who should think twice?

If you want a traditional agency setup with a head-office team doing much of the work, MTA or TravelManagers will suit you better. If your sales are mostly low-commission air, 1% of turnover is a bigger slice of a thin margin, a fifth of what you earn at a 5% average commission, and a low-fee 90% split network such as Global Travel Network’s can be cheaper. Niftrip is also a new brand, so you won’t find years of advisor reviews to read yet.

If you’re new to travel, there’s more on the new-to-travel page. We run a program for advisors new to travel. We’ll talk you through it when we meet.

Best for all-inclusive support: MTA

MTA (Mobile Travel Agents) was founded in 2000, is now fully owned by Helloworld and says it has 450+ advisors. Its inclusions are the strongest of any network I checked. There are no ticketing fees, even after hours. Professional indemnity insurance and a personal website are included, you can use Amadeus, Galileo or Sabre, and when you’re away its Assistance Team looks after your clients while you keep all your commission. The monthly fee is waived once you gross over $61,000 in commission in a financial year, and MTA doesn’t publish its split.

It suits an experienced consultant who wants head office to carry the admin, ticketing and IT, and who is likely to clear the fee waiver. Think twice if you want to know your split before you call, or if you want a short commitment. MTA’s FAQ says its franchise agreement runs five years, with one month’s notice allowed after the first twelve months.

More detail in MTA vs TravelManagers and Niftrip vs MTA.

Best for training, scale and community: TravelManagers

TravelManagers is owned by House of Travel, has been running since 2005 and says it has 500+ personal travel managers, or PTMs. If you want a big network with a strong culture and structured support, this is the one. You start with a four-day induction in Sydney, there’s a support team of 50 and state-based Business Partnership Managers behind you, and there are no targets or KPIs. It also goes further than most on protecting client money.

It suits an experienced consultant who values training, peer support and a well-known brand, and who is happy with a split. Think twice if you charge a lot in service fees, because on both plans the split applies to “all at-source commission and service fees charged”, or if you have less than three years’ experience. The contract term isn’t published. Niftrip vs TravelManagers puts the numbers side by side.

Best for your own brand on a month-to-month deal: Your Travel Centre

Your Travel Centre, in Brisbane, is one of the most open networks in Australia about how it works, with its plans, joining fees and a clear path for newcomers all published. On both plans you keep 80% of at-source commission and service fees, with professional indemnity insurance, choice of GDS, up to four weeks’ holiday leave support a year and the network’s accreditation included. The agreement is month to month with one month’s notice.

It suits someone who wants their own name on the website and invoices, a low monthly fee and a month-to-month agreement. Think twice if you’re a high seller. At 80%, a $1 million year leaves you about $10,000 behind Niftrip at a 10% average, and the 90% top-achiever rate has unpublished criteria.

Best low-fee 90% split for experienced consultants: Global Travel Network

Global Travel Network is a Perth network run by its owner, Kate McIvor. It publishes everything on one page and ends the list with “That’s it!”, which I appreciate. Its packages include professional indemnity insurance, your own PCC, choice of GDS and a back-up consultant when you’re away. On published numbers it’s the closest rival to Niftrip at a 10% average, about $1,212 a year behind at every level, and it pulls ahead above about $606,000 if your average is 8%.

It suits an experienced consultant with an air-heavy or lower-margin book who wants a simple, cheap 90% deal. Think twice if you need a big support team or a training program, and note that contract and notice terms aren’t published.

Travel Crafters in Sydney is the other network publishing a simple 90% offer, with “NO hidden fees”, though it doesn’t publish a joining fee, GST treatment or contract terms.

Best for beginners: Connected Travel, Your Travel Centre and Travelglobe

Most Australian networks want two or three years’ experience. Three publish a real way in for people without it. Connected Travel sells “Connect to Business”, a three-month program for $4,990 + GST. It’s the most structured beginner route in the country and the most expensive. Your Travel Centre takes newcomers once they’ve finished a Certificate III in Travel, and Travelglobe in Melbourne takes people with industry experience or a Certificate III that includes GDS use or training.

I cover all of these, plus what to do first, in host agencies for beginners in Australia.

Best for luxury and high-volume advisors

These networks are built around Virtuoso and similar programs, and their best terms only open up at large turnover.

Savenio

Savenio is a luxury, Virtuoso-focused network founded by David Brandon. You keep 85% with 3+ years’ experience and $500,000 turnover, 95% at $1.75 million, and 100% (its Elite model) at $2.25 million. Its fees aren’t published.

At $2.25 million of sales, keeping 100% beats Niftrip by up to $23,688 a year before Savenio’s own fees. At 85% it doesn’t beat Niftrip at a 10% average even if its fees were zero.

Frontier Travel

Frontier is a North Sydney luxury agency founded by Roland Howlett. Its contractor offer says you keep “up to 100% for established, high-volume agencies” and your own brand on client documents. It doesn’t publish thresholds or fees.

SmartFlyer Australia, FBI Travel and 1000 Mile Travel Group

SmartFlyer Australia recruits experienced luxury advisors. FBI Travel in Caulfield North has hosted contractors for over 25 years and offers office access, in-house accounting and ticketing, and the option to build your own brand. 1000 Mile Travel Group, part of Corporate Travel Management, is strong in corporate and luxury. None of the three publishes its fees.

Best for agency owners who want a co-op

Co-ops are built for people who already own, or want to own, an accredited agency business, so they work differently from a host.

Travellers Choice is a member-owned co-op based in East Perth. Members get “100% preferred supplier at-source commissions”, override rebates and dividends, and must be approved by the board, buy shares and hold their own accreditation. ATAC (the Australian Travel Agents Co-operative) and Express Travel Group’s ITA (Independent Travel Advisors) are the other two. None of the three publishes its fees on its site.

Which other networks should you know about?

itravel (Sydney, independently owned) publishes “Supplier net rates. 90% commission. No onboarding fees.” Its monthly fee isn’t published, and if it’s under $99, itravel would beat Niftrip at a 10% average. Go Tours on the Gold Coast, a Pacific specialist, has the lowest published split here at 72% and no monthly budget targets.

Flight Centre’s two independent channels, Envoyage and Travel Associates at Home, publish no split or fees for advisors in Australia. Australian Escapes in Brisbane is a different model, where contractors serve members of a holiday club, so you don’t bring your own clients.

What about Fora and other overseas hosts?

Fora quotes in US dollars and pays 70%, then 80% from $300,000 and 90% from $2 million a year in commissionable travel. InteleTravel is a multi-level marketing model, which I explain in how to choose a host agency.

My view is that an Australian advisor is better served by an Australian network with Australian supplier agreements, an Australian client account and Australian Consumer Law obligations it understands.

How do you choose between them?

Work out your average commission rate and your likely sales, then run the numbers for your top three. Any network worth joining will answer these on one page, so ask each one in writing for:

The how to choose a host agency guide has the full list of questions.

The details

How I checked

Every competitor fee, split and term on this page comes from that network’s own website, checked on 20 October 2026. Fees change, so check the network’s page again before you sign anything. I didn’t use review sites, AI answers or old trade press for fees, because too many of those figures are years out of date.

A network earned its place by publishing its split, monthly fee and joining fee up front, by what you’d keep (I worked out take-home pay at $250,000, $500,000 and $1 million of sales on each network’s published terms), and by what you get in training, support, technology, leave cover and contract terms, as each network describes them.

The take-home maths

For Niftrip it’s sales × commission rate, less 1% of sales, less $1,188 a year. For split networks it’s split × sales × commission rate, less twelve months of fees. Your Travel Centre quotes its fees including GST, so I’ve taken the GST out. Joining fees are left out because they only hit in year one, and so are overrides and service fees.

At a 10% average Niftrip comes out ahead of the 90% plans by a fixed amount at every level. At an 8% average, Global Travel Network’s 90% package overtakes Niftrip above about $606,000 of sales, Travel Crafters’ 90% plan above about $1.51 million, and TravelManagers Business Pro above about $1.63 million.

Two networks pay more on criteria they don’t publish, so I haven’t modelled them. TravelManagers’ annual dividend can “top up your commission by up to 5% more”. If you earned all of it on Business Pro you’d be at 95%, which would beat Niftrip above about $650,000 of sales at a 10% average. Your Travel Centre offers a 90% split to “top achieving agents”.

In split terms, Niftrip’s 1% fee works out like this:

Average commission	The 1% fee is like keeping
10%	About 90%, plus $99 a month
15%	93.3%
20%	95%
25%	96%

Niftrip

Commission comes in to the agency and is released to you less the 1% fee. The agency keeps supplier overrides and incentives as part of its margin, as every network does in some form.

A flight and hotel takes about 2 minutes to turn into a booking. Your clients’ itinerary has quote options and a compare-trips view, and in the client portal documents sit behind a 6-digit email code. You get your own email address now, and your own portal web address is coming.

If you grow big enough to open your own agency, you can keep using the Niftrip platform on a subscription.

MTA

MTA calls itself the original mobile travel business in Australia. Its FAQ puts the fee waiver at $58,000 rather than $61,000. Beyond ticketing, there are no fees for reissues, revalidations or the IT helpdesk. Public liability cover for expos, a personalised email newsletter, a 1300 number and an in-house graphic designer are included. The Assistance Team covers your clients for at least 10 days and up to unlimited. Training runs monthly at its Gold Coast head office, alongside an 11-pathway program called MTA Professional Plus.

The franchise agreement is under the Franchising Code of Conduct, and while the FAQ says five years, its benefits page says “12 months”. It asks for 3+ years’ experience on one page and a minimum of 2 on its enquiry form.

TravelManagers

The 500+ figure is from its join page. The induction is at its National Partnership Office in Sydney (its cost blog says three days), where the support team of 50 sits, and there are seven state-based Business Partnership Managers. Over 200 PTMs went on its famil program last year, and its annual conference is a big part of the culture. You can ticket yourself through Quikticket on its BSP with after-hours emergency help, though ticketing fees apply and vary by airline and fare. The finance team handles receipting, supplier payments and reconciliations. On client money it has a customer fund for supplier failure, chargeback insurance, fidelity insurance on client funds and a quarterly audit of its client account.

There’s an annual dividend of up to 5% more on unpublished criteria, the induction cost isn’t published, and if you don’t have your own professional indemnity insurance it can arrange it for $260 + GST a year.

Your Travel Centre

Premium adds a website maintained for you, a live booking engine and email marketing to your database. Your Travel Centre is Your Travel & Cruise Pty Ltd, a member of Helloworld’s Magellan group. The $695 joining fee is for people with at least a year’s experience within the last three years. If you’re new and have finished a Certificate III, it’s $1,495 (both including GST).

Global Travel Network and Travel Crafters

Global Travel Network says plainly that “your client base is yours, always was, always will be”. Its back-up consultant comes with ”% fees apply”. It’s pitched at experienced consultants.

Travel Crafters uses Tramada and its own IATA accreditation. Its FAQ page was placeholder text when I checked.

Beginner routes

Connected Travel’s program has 12+ modules covering compliance, GDS and airfares, quoting and sales, and graduates then work as independent advisors with Connected Travel’s support. Travelglobe runs a two-week “Intro to being a Travel Agent” course and gives its commission structure and fees on enquiry.

Luxury and high-volume networks

Another Savenio page puts the Elite threshold at $2 million. Savenio describes the 100% as “100% of 100% of the at source commissions you write” and says it doesn’t “clip or cut any commissions from any suppliers”. Professional indemnity is listed on all three models.

Frontier handles Tramada, GDS, client account and reconciliations, also has a Hobart office, and says “your clients remain yours, always”.

SmartFlyer Australia is a joint venture with Goldman Travel since 2015 and publishes no fees. FBI Travel also offers marketing, and says it has “some of the highest baseline commissions in the industry” without publishing them. Its contractor FAQ is one of the better-written ones in Australia. 1000 Mile Travel Group has 500+ advisors across Australia, the UK and the US. Its earnings guide sits behind a form, and it publishes no split or fees.

Co-ops

ATAC is a member-owned co-op for independent agencies. ITA says its advisors “retain ownership of their clients”. Travellers Choice’s Activate tier is pitched at home-based operators and start-ups. ETG publishes full membership terms for agency members, with a fixed 12-month membership year and a weekly ticketing requirement. It doesn’t publish ITA’s split or fees, and it doesn’t say whether ITA advisors sign the same terms.

Other networks

itravel has 170 to 180+ advisors and is aimed at experienced professionals. Go Tours is a Helloworld affiliate, offers optional phone training at $150 and promises to “never cross-promote” to your clients. Envoyage’s Australian site describes the technology (Home, Trips and the iReach marketing platform), and its Australian agreement page returned an error. Travel Associates’ independent-advisors page is a notice to clients. Entourage Travel Group in Melbourne offers its terms through “a confidential discussion” and works with Brokers (independent advisors) and Affiliates (self-branded agencies). Australian Escapes charges no fees to experienced agents and currently says it’s hiring experienced agents only.

Networks I left out

Travel Creators is no longer operating. Brisbane Travel Centre is a single retail agency with no advisor program. Helloworld’s home-based offer is MTA, which is covered above.

Next step

If you’re experienced and Niftrip sounds like your kind of setup, see the full fee breakdown on our pricing page or apply here.