Virtuoso—and the travel industry at large—has boomed over the past 20 years, mostly due to the proliferation of the independent contractor (IC) model. According to The Travel Institute, in 2008, less than a third (29%) of travel advisors were ICs; now, it’s the exact opposite, with 71% of advisors working as ICs.While this has allowed agencies and advisors to flourish, an overabundance of independent contractors could cause an issue for consortia as the former lose their “sphere of control” over the latter.At its Opening Session at Virtuoso Travel Week last week, Virtuoso’s Senior Vice President, Global Memberships, Cheryl Cheney Bunker asked the audience who could have predicted 24 years ago that there would be “so many individuals proudly calling themselves travel advisors?” She added, “That’s why it’s important to keep raising our standards, ensuring that all of you—our members, our advisors and our partners—are successful.”
An Entrepreneurial Revolution
When asked about the seemingly exponential growth of the IC model, Matthew Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso, said, “That model attracted professionals who would have never been a traditional travel agent, because they run their own businesses, they’re their own bosses, they can do their own thing.”
Calling them “independent contractors” doesn’t do them justice, said Upchurch. These folks, he added, are entrepreneurs.The challenge, however, comes when inclusion with an agency automatically earns an IC the title of a “Virtuoso advisor,” even if they may not meet the expected set of standards for one.“How do you determine quality (of the advisor) when people are at different stages (of their careers)?” Upchurch said, adding: “Is there a difference between an advisor that’s stuck at $50,000 in commission but they’ve been an advisor for 10 years versus an advisor that’s at $50,000 after only 18 months?”
What’s the Solution?
This begs the question: “Should every advisor at a Virtuoso agency be considered Virtuoso?”Well, it’s not so simple, according to Upchurch, who called the process of
determining that answer “very complicated” and “a very tricky thing.”Cheney-Bunker said that Virtuoso is working alongside its global and regional advisory boards “to modify membership standards globally.” From these conversations, the luxury travel agency network is crafting new standard based not only on an advisor’s sales numbers but career stage and commitment to continued professional growth, “which maintains the value of our collective brands.”While noting “our biggest challenge is diversity our biggest asset is diversity,” Upchurch agreed to the urgency of the situation, saying “we have to do something.”“The IC revolution is spreading fast—because it’s not an IC revolution, it’s an entrepreneurial revolution,” he said.
