How we accidentally developed a platform that revolutionises the hosted travel advisor model
Waybird’s story begins in 2014, when we launched Timbuktu – a travel-tech company specialising in multi-destination trips to some of the most remote and inspiring corners of the world (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and beyond).
Over the years, we’ve navigated the challenges of building a brand, weathered the storms of Covid, and found ways to scale our business in a rapidly changing landscape.
Building a travel company is complicated
As we grew Timbuktu, we found ourselves running into the same frustrations many independent travel advisors face today. For our team of travel advisors, the tools for planning and selling travel were fragmented, only solving pieces of the puzzle. And when it came to showcasing complex, multi-destination itineraries, the content just wasn’t compelling enough.
So, we took the plunge and decided to build our own tools and technology to streamline the process of designing and selling trips. And, along the way, we realised something important: we weren’t alone.
Independent travel advisors across the world face the same challenges every day. And now, we knew we could help.
The deeper we explored the opportunity, the clearer the need for a new kind of host agency became. One built specifically for modern travel advisors who want more control, more profit, and more time creating spectacular travel itineraries without the added admin.
In 2022, we made that technology, content and infrastructure available to independent advisors and operators. Today it comes two ways. Waybird Lite and Core (from USD 199 a month) are the software on its own, for operators already set up to run their own business. Waybird Hosted is the host-agency membership: guests contract with Waybird under our booking terms, we handle supplier payments and insurance, and you keep 80% of the margin on every trip.
Say hello to Waybird: A platform that brings the traditional travel agency model into the digital age
The traditional model of booking hotels and tours on behalf of clients and collecting commission after travel is one that many advisors know well. It works perfectly well for simple trips, but when you’re handling complex itineraries with multiple moving parts (flights, accommodations, experiences, transfers, DMCs, etc.), it becomes cumbersome.
Not to mention:
- Commissions are paid months (sometimes years!) after booking.
- Margins are often dictated by hotel rates, limiting earning potential.
- Managing supplier payments in multiple currencies creates headaches.
- A client’s experience can feel fragmented.
- Creativity and freedom to curate a cohesive, seamless tour experience is stunted.
Having built our own successful tour operator, we were well aware of all of these sticking points. Waybird is a way for independent advisors to plug into our infrastructure – and take advantage of our years of expertise – without becoming fully-fledged tour operators themselves.
With Waybird, you can:
- Offer clients a seamless, “one-price” packaged experience.
- Tap into our network of vetted DMCs and suppliers, with preferential rates to boost your margins (or use your own, if you prefer).
- Set your own pricing and control your profit.
- Get paid your share of the margin once the trip travels, without chasing a supplier, and qualify for early payout after your first few bookings.
- On Hosted, leave the supplier payments and insurance to us: guests contract with Waybird, we pay the DMCs and lodges direct, and you’re covered by our insurance.
- Build and operate your own brand with our full back-office support.
Waybird is a fully integrated platform – no more juggling tools
Most travel advisor tech is disjointed. You might use one platform to build proposals, another to accept payments, a third to create invoices, and a fourth to manage bookings.
At Waybird, we’ve solved this fragmentation with a fully integrated platform that’s built specifically for multi-destination travel.
In one simple system, you can:
- Create stunning, personalised proposals in just 5 minutes.
- Accept client payments seamlessly.
- Automatically generate invoices, receipts, and essential post-booking documents.
- Manage client communication and admin with ease.
The result?
A 2x increase in booking conversion rates and up to a 70% reduction in admin time, allowing you to handle more inquiries and grow your business faster.
Waybird makes multi-destination travel simple
Designing and quoting complex, multi-destination trips is one of the most rewarding, but a time-consuming part of an advisor’s job. Between supplier negotiations, availability checks, and endless back-and-forth emails, it can feel overwhelming.
That’s why we built live availability and dynamic pricing directly into the Waybird platform. As you build a travel itinerary, you’ll get real-time estimated pricing and availability for hotels, flights, transfers, and more. This will help you deliver faster quotes and ultimately, convert more clients.
Waybird’s curated content inspires… and converts
We learned the hard way that most destination and property content out there is pretty generic. Your clients don’t want fluff, they want the why. Why should they choose this tented camp in the Serengeti over that one? When is the best time to go gorilla and chimp trekking or to visit Cape Town? What is special about this lodge in Patagonia over the hundreds of others?
With Waybird, travel advisors have access to our growing library of over 3,000 handpicked hotels, experiences, and itineraries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. If the lodge or destination isn’t available yet, you can easily add and create your own, anywhere in the world.
Our content is trusted and curated by independent researchers and travel journalists. It’s designed to help you inspire clients and close sales. And it’s fun, quirky and a little bit different.
Empowering travel advisors to sell smarter, earn faster, and create effortlessly
At Waybird, we believe independent travel advisors deserve more: more freedom, more profit, and more time to craft incredible trips for their clients.
We’re here to help you build your business, your way. See how Waybird Hosted works, or start a 14-day trial of the software.
