March 2025
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Fora—Making Huge Waves Across the Industry
By Paloma Villaverde de Rico
Fora
, which was founded in 2021, is on a mission: To empower the next generation of travel entrepreneurs by combining top-notch technology with the human touch and, along the way, innovate the travel advising space.
This tech-driven “modern travel agency,†Co-founder and Chief Product/Technology Officer Jake Peters tells
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, is truly aiming to revolutionize the way travel advisors offer their service.
“The first thing people think about [when they think about Fora] is tech because we say we’re the ‘modern travel agency,’ but we’re not unique [simply] because we have technology for our agents. I think the unique thing about Fora is that we’re building this in house, purpose-built for the way that our agents work. There are a lot of great solutions out there in the marketplace that do very specific things, but we’re building an integrated platform combining all these things together that in our view is doing some of those things better for the agents because we’re able to build it the way we want it.
  “But the real power comes,†he continues, “as you start combining those things together in a real integrated way.â€
Included among those various tools within Fora’s integrated booking platform and available directly from the Fora Advisor Portal, are “maps,†which allows Fora advisors to search and view hotels without leaving the platform; “sort by price,†where advisors can sort hotel search results by price; and “favorites and lists,†where advisors can view the number of favorites for a hotel, automatically add liked hotels to a “Liked hotels†list and create custom lists, plus lists can be viewed in list or map view. Additionally, with the “associated travelers†tool, advisors can save relevant data for associated travelers all in one place, linking clients together in relationships, such as to a spouse or partner. This allows advisors to connect and manage multiple travelers under one client, enhancing organization and client management.
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Another element that makes Fora unique, says Peters, is “our community, the profile of our people. We have some [advisors] who’ve sold travel before but the bulk of them are new to the travel industry. We have people that have come to us from very professional careers—executives at companies, lawyers, doctors, journalists, teachers—who are doing this with some background in travel. They’re not just doing this if they don’t like travel. A lot of these people are now switching careers, and I think that’s totally fine because these are professionals who are serious about their work. We have a community of people that are happy to be here, collaborative, community-oriented and helpful.â€
He emphasizes the word “collaborative,†because, he says, while sitting in on some of the advisor chats, whether in Fora’s own forum or WhatsApp groups, he sees everyone helping each other. “It’s impossible for one person to know the world, so if you have a client who wants to go somewhere you’ve never booked, there are hundreds of [Fora advisors] who can help you out.â€
He also says that Fora is making a name for itself because it offers a guiding hand throughout the whole process. “We view ourselves as a complete solution. So we’re not sitting here going like, ‘Okay, we do this and you do that.’ Yes, advisors are in charge of their own book of business, but we’re giving you a business-in-a-box travel advisor platform.... We’re making it as complete as possible for you to [sell travel].â€
Additionally, Peters says he learns a lot from spending time with Fora advisors and he always walks away inspired to create another tech solution that will help them better sell travel. In fact, he says, “I’m trying to build my team out so that I can just spend time with advisors, spend more time externally. That’s important. I hosted some coffee times with different advisor groups in different locations in November and [through] the questions, feedback and ideas, I came back and I’m like, ‘There are so many things we could build.’ And this happens to every one of our team members that goes and spends time with our advisors.â€
Peters adds that Fora is looking at the travel industry with a “fresh approach.†The host agency wants diversity within its membership, with differing socio-economic backgrounds, different age groups and racial backgrounds. “We want advisors who can bring us their network of travelers with diverse backgrounds.  We want to offer travel to a wider audience—that’s part of our modern mission.â€
To that end, Fora just released a new and updated accessible travel program designed to help advisors offer barrier-free experiences to all. Accessible travel includes tailored experiences for clients with diverse needs—whether it’s mobility accommodations, wheelchair-friendly transportation or activities suited for sensory or congenital disabilities. Advisors will have access to monthly newsletters; top accessible booking destinations/trends; a handpicked and vetted selection of 100+ accessible partners around the world; new training modules on gathering client information and finding and booking accessible travel for clients with mobility needs; a WhatsApp group; and the option to get a brand-new accessibility badge/be accessible travel certified. The program was co-created with Fora advisors who have mobility needs themselves.
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Table of Contents
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