Independent Travel Experts vs Vertical Travel Group
Neither charges anything to join — both record £0 — so the whole decision rests on the monthly fee, the split and who will have you. Independent Travel Experts charges £59/mo for 61–80%; Vertical Travel Group charges £20/mo for 60–70% (tiered).
In short: Independent Travel Experts suits a newcomer who wants a structured start, because it runs a programme for people new to travel. Vertical Travel Group suits an agent with a couple of years behind them who wants the lowest running cost and clear ownership of their own client data.
Side by side
| Independent Travel Experts | Vertical Travel Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Commission split | Commission split |
| Cost to join | £0 | £0 |
| Ongoing fee | £59/mo | £20/mo |
| Other fees | No transaction fees | None recorded |
| Agent keeps | 61–80% | 60–70% (tiered) |
| Protection | ATOL · Trust account | ABTA · ATOL |
| Agents in the network | 180 | 150 |
| Founded | Not published | Not published |
| Parent or owner | The Travel Network Group | Independent, or not published |
| Accepts newcomers | Yes — 12-week New to Travel programme | Ideally two years’ ABTA experience |
The model is the same; the company behind it is not
Both are commission-split hosts: you sell under their licences, they pay you a share. Independent Travel Experts is a division of The Travel Network Group, which also runs the Travel Trust Association and The Global Travel Group, and records 180 agents. Vertical Travel Group trades as “Your Holiday Booking” and is descended from Future Travel, described in the research source as the originators of the concept. It records 150.
The running cost
Independent Travel Experts: £59/mo, which is £708 across a full year. Vertical Travel Group: £20/mo, or £240 a year — a difference of £468 before a single booking.
Independent Travel Experts also records “no transaction fees”, which is worth more than it sounds: per-booking and transaction charges are where the cheap-looking monthlies elsewhere in the market quietly make their money. Our fees guide works four real examples into a single first-year figure so you can see the effect.
What you keep
Independent Travel Experts: 61–80%. Vertical Travel Group: 60–70% (tiered). Both are ladders rather than flat rates. On a £3,000 package holiday paying 10% supplier commission, the bottom rungs are worth £183 and £180 respectively; the top of the Independent Travel Experts range is worth more than either. Ask each what volume moves you up a rung, and whether the ladder resets each year — some hosts reset, and it makes a real difference.
Protection
Independent Travel Experts: ATOL cover plus a trust account; no ABTA membership is recorded in the research source. Vertical Travel Group: ABTA and ATOL cover.
One holds a trust account alongside ATOL cover; the other records ABTA membership and ATOL. Those are different shapes of protection rather than better and worse ones, and the protection guide explains what each covers. Neither company’s ABTA and ATOL details have been checked against the official registers yet.
Who they will take
Independent Travel Experts: yes — 12-week New to Travel programme. Vertical Travel Group: ideally two years’ ABTA experience. If you are starting from scratch, that is the line that decides it — and our guide to becoming a home-based travel agent covers what a structured start should include.
The honest differences
The cheaper monthly is not automatically the cheaper host. A lower fee with a lower split costs more as soon as you sell enough, and the crossover point is easy to work out once you know your expected commission.
Client data ownership is stated on one side only. Vertical Travel Group records that agents retain 100% ownership of their client database; 24/7 helpdesk. Independent Travel Experts makes no equivalent published statement in our record, which is not the same as saying the answer is different — it means you should ask.
Both are small next to the big names. A network of this size can mean better access to the people running it, or fewer resources, depending on the week. Ask to speak to two current agents before deciding.
Who each one suits
Independent Travel Experts if you are new, want the training programme and no transaction fees, and can carry the higher monthly while you build.
Vertical Travel Group if you have experience, want to keep fixed costs to a minimum, and care about owning your client list outright.
Both records in full: the Independent Travel Experts profile and the Vertical Travel Group profile, or see everyone at once on the master table.
Figures on this page were last reviewed on 2026-09-21 and come from the two profile records, where each one is listed with its source. Neither company’s ABTA and ATOL details have been checked against the official registers yet. See the methodology note. Terms change — confirm anything that matters to you with the company before you sign.