Host FAQ
General
If you are a new Host, simply fill out our Host Contact Form and a member of our team will get in touch to answer all of your questions
If you’re an existing Host with a pending or completed trip, please contact your TrovaTrip Account Manager.
If you’re an existing Host with a trip <50 days out, please contact your Trip Coordinator.
If you’re an existing Host with a confirmed trip and have not yet been assigned a Trip Coordinator, please contact Host Support for confirmed trips. Please note that this inbox is staffed Monday - Friday from 9am - 5pm and is only for confirmed trips, all other inquiries will be re-routed.
Yes! In fact you'll be paid a portion of the trip revenue for Hosting (all about how that that aspect works here). Everything included on the itinerary for Travelers (accommodations, meals, activities) is also included for you at no cost.
On average Hosts receive over 20% of the trip revenue! This starts around $6,000 and can go up from there. Exact amounts that TrovaTrip Hosts make can vary, since you set their own price as part of the trip planning process — we trust you to value your time appropriately. Check out the other benefits of hosting with TrovaTrip.
Hosts and Travelers are responsible for booking their own airfare — it is not included in the trip. Hosts can choose to get an advancement of earnings to cover flights purchases, though! The advancement will be paid as soon as your trip reaches confirmed. Hello credit card and travel points!
In some instances, you may be able to add or remove meals, activities and days. If you'd like to add, remove or replace an activity please indicate this on your trip request and the Operator will confirm if it's possible. Once the trip is launched we will be unable to make any adjustments.
All trips include a certified Guide who speaks both English and the local language, and is with you throughout the entire duration of your trip. A lot of Hosts and Travelers tell us that their Guides are the best parts of their trip!
Your Guide will be introduced to the group chat ahead of the trip's start date.
Yep, plus-ones are welcome and can be added to the trip at no additional cost to you (or them)! However, the cost of additional people does get factored into the cost to run and operate the trip, so may impact Traveler costs or your final payout. You'll be able to see these numbers and decide when you're planning your trip!
This all depends on you, your community, and how ready y'all are to get started. Surveying your audience will help us determine the best time for everyone to travel.
In general, It’s important to allow your audience enough time to make a purchasing decision which is why we plan an average 8+ months for international and 6+ months for domestic.
As Host of a trip, you can expect a room all to yourself. However, if you decide to bring a plus-one, you can request a room together with either a shared double bed or 2 twin beds.
Hotels will vary depending on the itinerary — the star level will be noted in the planning stage for your consideration. Then once the trip is launched, Travelers will see the star-level outlined on the trip page.
It's important to note that hotels and their star levels vary greatly by region.
For instance, rooms in Europe will be smaller with twin beds, bidets and handheld showers, while rooms in Bali may be more spacious and feature more amenities (and perhaps a gecko or two climbing the wall). In some cases, those very different spaces will have the same star ranking.
We work to set clear expectations for accommodations on every itinerary, and encourage Hosts and Travelers to have an open mind while exploring other cultures.
Refer a friend to host a trip and we'll kick back $100 when they qualify as a Host and $500 once their trip gets confirmed to say thanks! To be eligible for the referral cash, the referred Host must not be in the process of working with us (meaning they have not started surveying or planning their trip with us).
Get your referral link and learn more about the Host referral program.
Activity Level Ratings let you know exactly what to expect before you sign up for a trip or request an itinerary. Each itinerary has a physical activity level rating clearly marked based on the amount of physical exertion it requires.
The rating process is simple—the higher the level (1-5), the more challenging the trip.
We’ll pay you 50% of your earnings for each paid-in-full customer prior to the trip starting and the other 50% at trip completion. Earnings are calculated 30 days before the trip and the first payment will be sent 5-10 business days following.
How to Stay Safe While Traveling: Safety, Privacy, and Security
In the event of a medical emergency, seek help immediately. Contact the local urgent response number (included in your Trip Preparation document), and your Guide. As appropriate, contact the closest embassy or consulate (included in your Trip Preparation document).
We recommend Travelers consider purchasing travel insurance prior to departure, with ample coverage for your specific itinerary for additional peace of mind.
Important numbers to have on hand can be found in your Trip Preparation document and include:
- The local emergency response number- your destination's version of 911
- Local embassy or consulate phone number
- Your Guide's phone number
Before the trip, Trova sends out a Trip Preparation document to Hosts and Travelers with guidance for your chosen destination. The Trip Preparation document will give you high-level insights into what to expect and guidance on local norms. We recommend you save the local urgent response and embassy numbers from that document into your phone. Additionally, we encourage all Hosts and Travelers to do their own research to ensure they feel safe while traveling.
All Hosts and Travelers should seek medical advice prior to departure to ensure they have adequate health and fitness for full participation, and consult with the embassy website for updates on safety in the destination.
Host identities are verified prior to their trips to help ensure Traveler safety and certainty. We encourage all Hosts to do their own due diligence with their Travelers prior to confirming their bookings.
Travelers will pay for their TrovaTrip directly via the Trova platform, and will not be asked to make payments directly to any other Traveler, Host, or Trip Operator. We do not recommend exchanging money or personal information with other members of the community.
For safety and security, all community members — Hosts, Travelers, and Trip Operators — should communicate in formal channels. We provide a monitored Telegram chat that should be used leading up to and on the trip. Telegram allows everyone to protect their personal data, while forming connections and sharing information with their fellow Travelers.
Trova is not responsible for any communication or in-person meet-ups that occur outside of our platform, the Telegram chat, or scheduled itineraries.
TrovaTrip handles all logistics leading up to the trip. This includes pre-trip payments, itinerary planning, connecting you to your fellow Travelers, and collecting all important information. Once you are on the trip the logistics are handled by our Trip Operator — our local experts who handle all logistics on the ground.
Local Trip Operators and their Guide are the authority while you are traveling and can assist with any issues you have while on the ground. Please alert your Guide immediately if you need logistical support or feel unsafe.
Your Host is the one bringing the community of like-minded individuals together. They may provide work-shops, classes, or just hang out and get to know you. They are not responsible for leading activities or handling logistical issues while on the trip.
Our Operators are the experts on the ground. They handle any issue that may pop-up, get you where you need to go, and ensure you and your fellow Travelers have a great time.
For safety reasons, we recommend all communication and interaction stays within our formal channels before you travel. If you do wish to meet up prior to travel, we recommend following basic safety guidelines — tell someone where you are going and who you are meeting, meet in a public place, and be careful when sharing personal information like your address or workplace.
Surveys
If you've never hosted group trips before, you'll want to survey your audience to get started. This gives you a chance to let your community know you're thinking about a group trip, and allows you to collect valuable insights from your followers! Surveys tell you where your audience wants to travel, when the best time to travel is, and what they're comfortable spending. Knowing that allows you to plan a perfect TrovaTrip for your people.
We tell Hosts to aim for 100 survey responses, and to try and collect them all in the first week! This keeps your audience engaged and excited. A minimum of 50+ qualified responses are required to begin planning, but we encourage you to keep going until you hit that 100. You'll be 83% more likely to confirm your trip if you get 100 responses.
Qualified survey responses are from adults 18+ with a budget of $2,000.
Primarily, Hosts start by sharing the link to their Host Profile, which contains the survey, across their social media platforms. We recommend creating engaging videos and linking out through your story and bios for maximum reach. We've got plenty of tips and tricks to help you out!
Then, share your Host Profile with anyone you would want to travel with! Friends, family, clients, your professional network, sports/hobby groups, email lists or your broader social media audience.
Our past experience has shown that Hosts who get 100+ responses are 83% more likely to confirm their trip than Hosts who get 50 responses. The more responses you’re able to get, the higher likelihood you have of confirming your trip even faster and selling out all the available spots!
From other Hosts
“By far the most valuable experience I’ve had for building memories, sharing moments, and deepening relationships with my audience."
- Katie Duke, TrovaTrip Host
"This is our first trip hosting with TrovaTrip and we are blown away by how amazing it’s been so far. Feeling safe and comfortable as LGBTQIA+ couples in another country is a priority for us as Hosts, and Costa Rica has been so welcoming and loving to all of us."
- Luke Wesley Pearson, TrovaTrip Host
“These trips are changing my life. I think it’s doing something for the people on them too. We still show up for each other in ways no one knows about."
- Ally Coucke, TrovaTrip Host
So long as they don’t violate our community guidelines, we publish every Traveler review we get (yes, even the ones that are less than 5 stars) on our website — you can read all of the feedback we receive on the Reviews page here. If you’re keen to hear more from Hosts directly, we recommend checking out our Host Testimonials page.
We greatly value feedback — it helps us learn, grow, and provide a better experience for everyone. We are so proud to have consistently been rated above 4.5/5 stars for the last 3 years — and counting.