Switching host agencies: what moves with you and what doesn't

When you switch host agencies, your skills, your relationships and usually a copy of your client contacts move with you. Bookings made under the old host's credentials usually stay behind, and the old host collects their commission and pays your share under its contract. Your IATAN card, E&O coverage and any Seller of Travel filing are tied to the host, so each needs redoing.

Your book is portable. Your bookings mostly aren't. Here is what moves, what stays, what your contract decides, and a step-by-step switching checklist.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What does switching host agencies actually involve?

A host agency lends you its accreditation, supplier relationships and insurance. You sell travel under its numbers as an independent contractor. Switching means ending that agreement and signing a new one with another host.

The old contract runs the exit. It should spell out what happens to your clients, bookings and commission when you leave.

Expect an overlap: old bookings finish under the old host, and new bookings go through the new one.

What moves with you and what doesn't?

Most of this depends on your agreement. Use the table as a map of what to check, not as a promise.

Who owns your client list?

Your contract decides. HostAgencyReviews tells advisors to read your contract(s) very carefully to see what their policies are on client ownership. It also warns that it's possible you will not have access to your CRM if it belongs to the host.

Check your agreement for three things:

• Ownership. Does it say clients you brought in, or clients you found while hosted, belong to you or the host?
• Access. Can you export contacts, trip history and preferences before you leave? Do it before you give notice, if your contract allows.
• Use after you leave. A non-solicitation clause may limit contacting clients, even ones you own.

What happens to bookings already in progress?

They usually stay with the old host. One host executive told HostAgencyReviews that all bookings that are booked under the host agency's credentials belong to the host agency.

Some can move. The same source says some bookings can be transferred to the new agency if not paid in full. Another host executive says suppliers will not transfer a booking that is in final payment. A supplier may also require permission from the traveler before it moves a booking.

What this means for you: list every open booking, its final-payment date and its supplier. Anything past final payment will almost certainly finish under the old host. Ask suppliers about the rest one by one.

Who gets paid commission on bookings that travel after you leave?

The old host collects it, because the booking sits under its numbers. Whether you get your split depends on your agreement.

Check your agreement for:

1. Whether commission is paid on bookings that travel after termination.
2. Any minimum fee or membership you must keep paying to stay eligible.
3. How and how often the old host reports and pays commission to former advisors.

Can your old host stop you working with clients?

Possibly, through a non-compete or non-solicitation clause. How enforceable either one is depends on your state and the exact wording.

Non-compete. This stops you working as an advisor, or in a territory, for a set time after you leave. A KHM Travel Group executive told HostAgencyReviews that some contracts have a non-compete clause that does not allow you to act as a Travel Agent/Advisor for a period after you leave.

Non-solicitation. This stops you contacting the host's clients or advisors. It is narrower than a non-compete.

Notice period. Your agreement may require written notice before termination. Check how many days, in what form, and whether commission or access rules change during the notice period.

Did the FTC ban non-competes?

No. The FTC's 2024 rule never took effect. On August 20, 2024, a district court issued an order stopping the FTC from enforcing the rule. On September 5, 2025, the FTC voted 3-1 to dismiss the appeal and accede to the vacatur of the rule. Its rule page now says the Noncompete Rule is not in effect and it is not enforceable, and lists a February 12, 2026 notice removing it from the federal rules.

The FTC still acts case by case. In November 2025 it finalized an order requiring Gateway Services to stop enforcing existing noncompete agreements specified in the order.

What about state law?

State law decides most cases, and it varies widely. California is the strictest example. Business and Professions Code section 16600 makes every contract that restrains anyone from a lawful profession, trade or business void to that extent, unless the chapter allows an exception. Its broadest language targets noncompetes in the employment context. Whether and how it applies to an independent contractor's host agreement is a question for a lawyer in your state.

Why your independent contractor status matters here

Hosted advisors usually work as independent contractors, not employees. ASTA reports that the share of advisors working as independent contractors rose from 20 percent in 2020 to nearly 65 percent roughly five years later. Under IRS guidance, someone is generally an independent contractor when the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, not how it is done.

The IRS weighs behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship, including written contracts. Your contractor status is one reason restrictive clauses deserve a lawyer's read: the rules that apply to employees and to contractors can differ by state.

What happens to your IATAN card, CLIA membership and E&O?

All three are tied to the agency, so plan for each.

IATAN ID card. Eligibility runs through the agency. You must be an owner, employee or independent contractor at a travel agency with a valid IATA Code. You must also work at least 20 hours a week in travel sales and earn at least USD 5,000 in salary or commissions in the past 12 months. To transfer, you must first be listed on your agency's IATAN Personnel List, which gives you a 6-digit PRIN. A reissue costs US$40 digital or US$48 with a printed card, and fees are non-refundable.

CLIA individual membership. CLIA's individual agent membership requires that you be affiliated and in good standing with a CLIA Premier or Travel Agency Member (CLIA's eligibility page, archived April 30, 2025). Confirm the new host is a member before you move, and ask how your certifications carry over. What is a CLIA card covers the membership rules.

E&O insurance. If you rely on the host's errors and omissions policy, your cover follows the host. HostAgencyReviews notes that only bookings made under your host's accreditation number are covered by the host's E&O policy. If the policy is claims-made, the claim must be first made during the policy period or any extended reporting period. Extended reporting, or "tail", coverage covers claims made after the policy ends for things that happened while it was active.

What this means for you: a client could complain about a trip you booked under the old host months after you leave. Ask the old host whether its policy still covers former advisors for past bookings, and whether tail coverage exists. If not, ask an insurance broker about your own policy. Travel agent E&O insurance explains what a policy covers and what it costs.

Do you need to redo Seller of Travel registration?

Possibly, if your state ties your status to one specific seller.

California. An individual can be exempt from Seller of Travel registration when they have a written contract with a registered seller of travel to act on that registered seller of travel's behalf. They must also act only for that seller, take no payment for travel services from the passenger, and disclose that they act for a registered seller. A new host means a new contract and new disclosures.

Florida. An "independent agent" is defined as someone with a written contract with a seller of travel that complies with the law. Each independent agent must annually file an application and pay a $50 fee, and each seller lists its authorized independent agents.

Check the rules in your state and in the states where your clients live. This is a summary, not legal advice.

Switching host agencies checklist

Before you give notice

1. Read the contract end to end. Mark the termination, notice, non-compete, non-solicitation, client ownership and post-termination commission clauses. Get a lawyer to read anything unclear.
2. Back up what you're allowed to keep. HostAgencyReviews advises having a backup of your clients' contact information.
3. List every open booking. Note the supplier, travel date, final-payment date and expected commission.
4. Pick the new host and get its contract. Compare it against the old one, clause by clause.
5. Choose a slow month. HostAgencyReviews suggests you plan your transition during the slower season, and allow time for the new host's onboarding.
6. Check your domain and email. Confirm you own the domain registration and can point your email elsewhere.

When you give notice

1. Give notice in the form the contract requires, and keep a copy.
2. Ask the old host in writing how it will report and pay commission on open bookings, and whether its E&O covers past bookings.
3. Get on the new host's IATAN Personnel List and start your ID card reissue.
4. Update your Seller of Travel filing if your state requires one.
5. Ask suppliers which unpaid bookings can move, and get traveler consent where needed.

After you move

1. Update supplier logins and profiles under the new host's numbers. HostAgencyReviews flags that BDM (business development manager) access can follow the origin of their IATA or accreditation number.
2. Track every old booking until its commission lands. Keep a sheet with expected amount, travel date and date paid.
3. Update your website, email signature and disclosures with the new host's details.
4. Book everything new through the new host.

How to tell clients you've switched host agencies

Tell them what changes for them, which is usually very little. HostAgencyReviews advises: let your clients know what to expect, especially if bookings are moving, and make sure they aren't emailing your old address for future trips.

Keep the message short:

• You are still their advisor.
• Existing trips are unaffected, or you will contact them about any booking that moves.
• Here is your new email, phone and website.

Check your non-solicitation clause before you send it, and only contact clients your contract lets you contact.

Questions to ask the new host

1. What does your contract say about client ownership if I leave later?
2. Is there a non-compete, non-solicitation or exclusivity clause, and for how long?
3. How much notice do I give, and what happens to commission on bookings that travel after I leave?
4. Am I covered by your E&O policy, and is there tail coverage for former advisors?
5. Will you list me for an IATAN ID card, and are you a CLIA agency member?
6. Are you a registered Seller of Travel in my state, and will you list me where required?
7. Who owns the CRM data and the website: me or you?

Not sure you need a host at all? Compare host agency vs independent, or start with how to start a travel agency.

Switching to Tripdash as your host agency

Every other host agency expects you to bring the book. Tripdash actually hands you qualified clients, with IATA accreditation, E&O insurance and supplier access included. See how Tripdash works for advisors.

Sources

1. Federal Trade Commission. Noncompete Rule, rule page, accessed October 21, 2026.
2. Federal Trade Commission. Federal Trade Commission Files to Accede to Vacatur of Non-Compete Clause Rule, September 5, 2025.
3. Federal Trade Commission. FTC Approves Final Order Prohibiting Noncompete Enforcement by Gateway Services, November 26, 2025.
4. California Business and Professions Code. Section 16600, as updated January 1, 2024 (via California Public Law).
5. California Business and Professions Code. Section 17550.20, current as of January 1, 2026 (via FindLaw).
6. Florida Statutes. Section 559.927 and Section 559.928, 2025.
7. Internal Revenue Service. Independent contractor defined, reviewed October 11, 2026.
8. Internal Revenue Service. Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?, reviewed May 19, 2026.
9. IATA. ID Card eligibility.
10. IATAN. How to order an ID Card.
11. Cruise Lines International Association. Membership eligibility requirements, archived April 30, 2025.
12. New York State Insurance Department. OGC Opinion No. 02-01-15, January 10, 2002 (quotes 11 NYCRR Part 73).
13. HostAgencyReviews (Mary Stein). Switching Host Agencies? Here's 5 Things to Consider, updated February 21, 2025.
14. HostAgencyReviews (Steph Lee). Do Travel Agents Need E&O Insurance?, updated December 18, 2024.
15. American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA). Legislative Priorities, 2026.