Travel Weekly’s annual Power List is a massive undertaking to identify and rank the biggest sellers of travel. And when we say big, we mean big: The minimum for inclusion this year was agencies that sold at least $125 million in travel in 2024. But among the 70 travel agencies that made the cut, which ones grew the most?

In this episode we look at Departure Lounge, which moved almost 10 places in the rankings, after joining just last year.

Host Rebecca Tobin and retail editor Jamie Biesiada talk with owner Keith Waldon about Departure Lounge’s founding as a travel agency/wine bar/coffee shop and how his experiences at Virtuoso shaped Departure Lounge. We also talk about how to find independent contractors and treat them right; why some advisors are making so much money; and the 2024 landscape and the 2025 prognosis. 

Episode sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Travel Insured International https://www.travelinsured.com

Summer series

This episode is part of our annual Summer Series, where we feature some of our favorite recent Folo by Travel Weekly discussions. This episode was recorded July 7 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Related links

Departure Lounge https://www.departurelounge.com

The 2025 Power List https://www.travelweekly.com/power-list-2025

A 2017 column from Richard Turen that features Departure Lounge: "Rethinking the travel agency experience" https://www.travelweekly.com/Richard-Turen/Rethinking-travel-agency-experience

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.