Mine was down to himself and one assistant, and is just getting back to getting some of his old staff back. TAs had it particularly tough during the Covid pandemic. Lots of work with cancellations both by cruise lines and passengers. And none of that brings in commissions. No one was sailing, no commissions were being paid.
Mine did say that if he had known at the beginning of the pandemic what would have happened, he would have got out of the business. Even when bookings started again, there was a delay until commissions would be received. For example, we booked a cruise in 2021, and it is finally going to sail next month.