The iconic musician Bob Dylan released this song a very long time ago—50 years to be exact—in 1964. But in my mind it so aptly describes what’s taken place over the last 10 years in the home-based agent and host agency market. Indeed, the times they are a changin’!

Let’s backtrack a bit to see how the times really are different from a decade or so ago when only a few host agencies existed; most traditional travel agencies didn’t support or want to work with home-based agents; claiming to be a host agency was easy, with few services provided beyond the use of an ARC or CLIA number; and few suppliers wanted to partner with host agencies or home-based agents.

My apologies for painting such a brutally honest picture here, but there’s a reason behind my thinking since it so clearly illustrates just how far our business has come. Despite these challenges, the home-based agent/host-agency model has survived and today is thriving for so many forward-thinking travel professionals and host organizations willing to take the risk to think beyond the traditional parameters to succeed.

The same can be said of Agent@Home magazine, a true pioneer in the very costly publishing field, which believed in a market still in its infancy when the first issue was published in 2004. Now that’s what I call taking a risk and never looking back.

Fast forward 10 years and today nearly half of all travel advisors are independent contractors and most are working from home. Many of these entrepreneurial agents are becoming niche specialists, selling a narrowed yet more profitable portfolio of destination and niche products. They’re also succeeding by focusing on customer relationships and adding value at each touch point along the way.

And speaking of value, thousands in the home-based, independent sector of the travel agent market have realized that they can’t do these things on their own—or at least as effectively and still sell travel—which has fueled the increase in the number of host agencies in the marketplace. Today the host community is composed of small, mid-sized and mega-host agencies with the latter supporting both leisure and corporate travel agents.

It’s important to clarify what I mean by the term “host.” Today, most travel agencies have anywhere from a handful to 40 home-based agents on staff, but that certainly doesn’t make them a host. What defines a host is a dedicated support system, and one where the host isn’t competing with its own agents through advertising and other sales and marketing efforts.

Today’s successful home-based agents are more demanding, requiring full support, including lead generation, cutting-edge technology, extensive training and networking, and marketing programs that provide results. That’s exactly what Travel Planners International delivers to its more than 2,600 agents nationwide.

We are true partners with our home-based agents. When they succeed, we succeed. We are constantly creating tools they need to grow their business. For example, in first quarter 2014 we launched TPI Dynamic Groups, which is our own blocked space loaded with amenities to keep our agents super-competitive and their clients super-satisfied. With just a few clicks of the keyboard, an agent can take any of the group space and create an effective marketing piece to sell it.

We also know how important training and networking is to our agents (attendance at our 2014 TPI Extravaganza is up 33 percent), so earlier this year we launched the TEAM Program (Training, Education, Ambassador, Meetings) that creates education and networking opportunities for TPI agents and participating partners on a local level. We’re the first host to offer this, and it’s off to a great start with 20 TPI Ambassadors already onboard and a total of 30 expected by year-end. More than 80 local training and networking sessions have been conducted to date, as well.

Suppliers also are supporting us more than ever because they value what we do. At TPI, we bring all of these resources under one roof and connect these preferred suppliers to our nationwide network. Agents are paid electronically every week, complete with on-demand reporting, viewable instant commission reconciliation, and alerts when our office receives agent commissions. It’s the type of trust on which a true partnership is built.

I want to extend a huge thank you to Agent@Home, a supportive supplier network, innovative and dedicated travel advisors, and my colleagues in the host business. Thanks to you, the times truly are a changin’!