I am the social media director for a travel company, so I am a bit biased, but I defininitely think people should pay travel agents for their services. If travel agents got the commission from all the travel providers (like airlines), it would be a different story, but that is no longer the case, or, if it is, it’s no longer a living wage. I hear stories all the time about agents who have spent days and weeks working out a detailed travel plan for an individual, who then books the entire thing online. All that work for no pay! You are, as you say, paying for a holiday. But you are also paying for the expertise of the individual who helped you plan that holiday!

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Then I guess travel agents are screwed.

Most of the “expertise” involves doing a search on a computer. Last time I heard, travel agents were having serious problems competing with the internet. Raising prices is usually not a recipe for success when the product doesn’t change.

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I think it’s perfectly reasonable that agencies should charge for putting together a tailormade tour for you, as it’s a LOT of work. Obviously a sensible agent would work this into the costing rather than hitting you with a fee.

I put together a quote for a customer back in July. Several revisions later, and countless emails from the customer asking for our tour operator licence, business licence, bank references etc, they still haven’t paid a deposit. So as well as the many hours put into the costings and recostings, I’ve sent dozens of emails and bent over backwards to satisfy this customer that we are a reputable business. If they don’t book, that’s hours wasted for nothing. It’s no wonder some companies feel they should charge for quotations!

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At first I thought this was an April fools joke – obviously not. Why would you, as a business alienate people from booking with you by charging them for a service that you provide to keep in business.

Of course, you could simply add the £15 into the holiday price and the consumer leaves happy.

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Long story short: Travel agents are screwed.

Slightly longer version. I haven’t used a travel agent for personal travel for nearly 20 years. The last time was when we booked our honeymoon. Since then, the internet has covered all our needs. If travel agents want to charge for their “service” then let them try. I, for one, won’t miss them when their doors close for the last time. RIP Travel Agents.

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Quotes could be a niche

In France, a cie make leaving with Travel Quote Online

The women manager is in the business since 5 years, and she make money since some years.

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Ha! Yes, that is not going to work.

I work in hospitality and to be honest consumers are already fed up with charges, add this on, and it will send more of them online to book their own flight and hotel. Where would that then lead the travel industry, in a mess.

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Travel agents are fed up with time wasters coming in, finding out information and then buying elsewhere? I’m not surprised, but charging customers is only going to be an act of self-harm. It’s competitive enough out there without imposing a deterrent on potential customers who want to contact you.

Everyone else in business has to deal with the same problem. We pitch for work, and the chances of success are only loosely linked (if that) to the effort made in chasing the business. The answer is not to put up more barriers; it is to change the offering to one that is compelling to the customer. If travel agents can’t do that, they won’t survive.

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Ultimately, the market decides, so if everyone feels the same way as you Darren it won’t work. It depends how much you value your travel agent.

How would you feel if you were a travel agent and you gave an hour of your time to someone, going through all the options and sharing your expertise and experience and they walk out the door and book it cheaper on the internet?

Comparing to other industries is difficult because car dealerships,are protected a little bit more by their manufacturers in terms of the deals they can provide.

A more interesting comparison for a purchase that is for a similar price is with hi-fi equipment. If you want to go and buy some top hi-fi you go and sit down and listen to various combinations and it takes a long time, probably longer than buying a holiday. However, you cannot then go home and buy it cheaper on the internet because it is impossible to buy most good hi-fi on the internet. Travel hasn’t protected its channels of distribution this way which is why agents feel they have to do this.

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I can understand that travel agents might be fed up of giving quotes for timewasters but that is just part of their job. I worked at a travel agency in London for over 9 years and we could spot timewasters a mile away.

Travel agencies now have to realise that customers want to compare and will do some between the high-street and the internet.

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A lot depends on what kind of travel advice you’re talking about. If it’s a one week jaunt to Lanzarote, then I think it’s difficult to value-add on that.

But if instead of regurgitating what they found online (or in a brochure) the agent is actually bringing a lot to the table in the form of personal experience and a far more detailed level of guidance, for example a trans-Africa self guided trip, with info on border crossings, visa regulations — ie., advice that WILL save you money, and time — then I think it’s reasonable to expect people to pay for it.

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First of all it doesn’t seem correct. But if you get some more informations, it’s not really the fault of the travel agencies. The big companies and airlines stop more and more paying commission to the travel agencies. The car dealer would also charge you for looking at his cars, if he wouldn’t get a commission for selling his cars.

The travel agencies just have make sure that their knowledge & services are that good, that the private person prefers it than doing his own research online.

Would you pay a rent for an office, large amounts for special software, if you don’t earn anything? You should start writing about the airlines and the companies who work against the travel agencies.

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Hi,

I found your site because I was lookking for help on an issue I have with a travel agency and then stumbled on this post and I had to respond. The problem we had is that the travel agent who served us did not want to help us and we left feeling bemused.

So to hear that some agents are going to charge us has made me laugh into my coffee. It is the job of the travel agent to find me a holiday. I am not going to pay for that. Not now, not never.

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This is a difficult one. On the one hand if you charge a fee, which puts up the price of the holiday, for your services then you shall be undercut. On the other, as people have said , you spend a lot of time on a quote only for the client to go elsewhere. My wife runs a travel business and she is always complaining about the amount of time spent on a client only for that person to book elsewhere becuse she has been undercut by pennies. Most people are now street wise and shall paly one agent against another to get the best deal for them.

I think that agents should charge a fee but as I already mentioned it would just increase the cost of the holiday therefore you would not get the business.

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I’m an agent based in India and we face similar issues such as spending time and effort on a providing information only to enable the client to book online. It’s an unfortunate reality.

However we do have a lot of clients that stay because of our service levels. An online portal can never give the service and interactive information that an agent can.

The most unfortunate thing is that a lot of time is wasted on these enquiries that affect the productivity and our ability to create new business without affecting our service to existing clientele.

We do wish that we could have a fee payed for consultation which can be deducted from the final price on purchase. That, I believe is fair and would be the best way forward.

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Again I agree with Zaheer but unless all agencies charge the fee it would not work

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I am a desk editor at Travel Weekly (sister publication to Travolution). I think the original agent was only talking about charging the fee for putting together a detailed itinerary, which involves a lot of research. To me this sounds fair enough.

There is an onus on the agent to prove their worth through customer service and product knowledge, but booking through an agent is also a decision for the consumer about how much they value their own time.

A complex, detailed itinerary could take days to put together, including getting all the different timings in place for flights, connections, transfers etc. I would certainly prefer to pay someone else to do it, especially if I got the money back when booking.

I think it is just a way for the agent to gauge whether the customer is serious about the booking or not.

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Agents can’t charge. What agents can do is to learn how to quickly fathom out who is a serious customer and who is not and spend more time with those that may book, rather than those that just look. In my opinion, repeat clients do get a better service because of this.

This morning I spent a quick 5 minutes with someone who was clearly telling fibs about a price they’d been ‘quoted’ by another Tour Op/Travel Agent. We quoted last week, so they’d shopped around (as you’d expect). But they price they told me they could get it for was under our net. I suggested they went and booked it with the other company. They then asked if we still had it at the slightly higher price? The customer is always right and if they had found it so much cheaper (surely they wouldn’t lie to me about the cheaper price), why call us back? So a quick “sorry no” and move on and take the next enquiry.

Zaheer has a good point about wasting hours on enquiries that absorb time and productivity of real business. You do have to ensure an even balance and accept that you will waste some time giving quotes that never end in a booking. However if your marketing and service are good and your product’s great quality, you will remain in business.

I can think of another business comparison for FREE time – design agencies. They do free pitches to potential clients, teams of people working all day and night pitching for a contract or campaign. I remember those days before I moved into travel – the irony.

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I can sympathise with the feelings of agents who have commented about customers for whom they’ve created a tailor made holiday, that they’ve put a lot of work into.

However, putting work into a sale & trying to win a customer, and then having that customer book online, is basically fair competition in a free market. Like all other businesses in all other industries, you put work into winning a sale, but may lose the sale if you’re unable to compete effectively on some level with other businesses in your industry.

If you can’t compete on price you have to compete on higher quality product, or service. Trying to lock customers in to the sale, and restricting their ability to shop around is not the solution.

I have been researching and booking all my holidays and travel myself online, mainly because I end up with better quality information AND better prices…however, when it comes to group Snowboarding trips, I always book with travel agent Neilson.co.uk via phone, because they beat the likes of Expedia for information, tailored service, well researched info, AND price.

They don’t need to charge me for a quote, because they’ve created a competitive offering…if they can do it, others could too – so for me, trying to charge for a quote is for travel agents who are unable/unwilling to actually provide a competitive offering (whether on price or service).

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I would search it online myself likely over pay a fee for someone to search for me. That being said I do try to be conscious of not being a time waster and not making contact with someone like a travel agent until I am ready. My cousin calls them lookie lookies.

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Travel agents need to change before they can charge. Over here in the US, the High Street travel agent is dead. The travel agent is changing into a Travel consultant, often specializing in a Niche or two. Providing a specialist service for a client who is prepared to pay for it. Many of these are now charging a non refundable ‘consultancy fee’ at the first stage of the enquiry. This is then credited onto the final balance.

Those that don’t specialize generally have a solid client base who come to them for their package or cruise because they don’t have the time or the inclination to book it themselves. A good travel agent will provide a service that goes beyond the internet with personal contacts and expert knowledge and ‘the little extras’ such us the complementary room upgrade or add benefit. People who want that will pay for it.

However, The Travel Agency has to change from being the purveyor of a mass market product to the expert whose time you pay for only then can they justify their charges.

Here is an example of a contract being used by some agencies

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Everyone love’s the internet until they hit a problem and then what do you do.

I work for airlines and while people love saving themselves $10 booking online when something goes wrong you are on your own a good travel agent is worth the time and money.

Having said that if you have a crappy agent who doesn’t know their stuff you may as well book online.

Maybe a sliding scale, if it’s a quote thats going to take a lot of time and effort a fee may be payable but if it’s a quick quote then probably no fee or they’ll lose the business to the internet.

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I think the comparison made by Darren with buying a car is unfair – the work done by a travel agent is in the planning and then the margins are much smaller than with a car. A fairer comparison could be with a professioanl in a certain field – a financial consultant for example – many of whom will charge for an initial consultation.

Travel agents have talked about this for years as a more transparent way of charging for their services – people must remember that the time spent by the agent on people who don’t book is essentially costed into the holidays of those that do – or at least it is in a profitable agency.

Many higher end customers choose to use this model already through travel clubs and as a commentator suggests above, in America it is common place and seems to work well. In business travel it is common too. It seems that many clients are happy to pay something upfront for a travel consultants professional expertise – especially if it is in return for lower prices in the longer run.

I think though, that this only fits the travel consultancy model for highly skilled travel professionals. I don’t think we can put every agent in the country into this category unfortunately and I don’t think the consumer would buy into in the main part.

As a tour operator we would definitely not go down this route as we rely on our expertise and competitive prices, to ensure we lose very few sales after the initial quoting process.

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In no other business do you expect to go and see someone with a degree and get them to do 2 days work for you and not pay, so why do people expect a Travel Agent to do so? For example you can write your will online, but a lot of people still pay 30-50 pound to have someone do it for them.

As already commented this is about detailed Itineraries not your bulk standard holiday, so if you came in after a quote for Sri Lanka 3 centre that takes the agent about 3-4 hours to put together you will not be charged. If how-ever you came in for a 12 centre Africa quote that can take up to 20 hours to place together (e-mails out, faxes and other such costs) you would be.

What is the agent in the article talking about charging 30-50 quid, not a lot really if you wish to do this? Plus from an agents point of view they can work on maybe 1-3 of these at a time. 10 years ago about 40% conversation rate, 5 years ago about 30% now it is heading under 20% as people take the quotes and go direct asking for some money off here and some off there, to watch it go wrong more often than is admitted. The thing is those pounds that people go save is the agent’s costs and the protection against things going wrong.

Also people shop around more, we placed togeather a simple quote with 3 company’s and when we rang the last company they told us they already had the quote and will add us to it so we could see on our system, nothing strange there, but when we asked how many other agents this person had been to and the answer was 32. So they had rung 32 agents regarding 1 quote, 32 agents each spending 3 hours doing the quote, that is 96 hours or over 2 weeks, instead of saying this is best price I have they just kept ringing agent after agent and saying they did not already have any quotes.

I did have to ask the customer why and they informed me that the 2nd agent had given the best price and others would match but not beat it, but that quote was still 500 pounds over what they could afford. The agent margin on this quote was under 500 pounds, so they where never going to get it at the price they wanted.

So why such a low fee for something that’s costs so much, well it a discourager and once you have your quote it does not stop you shopping around, most agents would give off 50 pounds if it saves them 12 hours work. We have done this and seen it done. Agents do charge now, if they know there stuff. The first agents who did this saw an increase in business as they where able to devote more time to serious enquiries and not waste there time on to be honest in some cases dreams. If you can get rid of 50% of none bookings and if you look a figures quoted that’s about 2 in 5 quotes you free up a lot of time to give a better service.

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I commented on the original article last week and most were against the idea, but here it seems 50/50. I find this very strange, as most seem to be consumers.

I will say it again, how can someone expect passengers to pay ahead of time for something that may or may not be what they want? The equivalent in the online space would be a site that charges to use travel guides, maps and itinerarys… wouldnt be very popular. I think if you want to do this, you better be an amazing agent. You may want to be a specialist on a small region or country to have knowledge worth that much but that takes time to build a reputation that big, and how can you build your reputation when no one wants to pay first?

I do believe people that actually want to book a holiday with an agent would pay a premium for really good advice, but I dont think all agents could justify this.

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I can see the reason for doing this. Any one smart enough would get the travel agent to do the legwork and then go and find the prices cheaper elsewhere.

However, this means that either Travel Agents need to be for the cash rich/time poor audience who are prepared to stump up the cash, or become a travel advisory service.

To quote Parkylondon, “Travel Agents are screwed”

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If this became the norm, then the next wave of online businesses would be providing free or low cost quotes for packages online which are done by humans. Either way, they are screwed.

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Graham, i think your missing the point. You don’t want to pay, and that’s fine. At the same time I don’t want clients who are only interested in the lowest price whenever they travel. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that i’m in business to make money and that type of client doesn’t make me money. Most of my clients don’t pay me ahead of time because i know them, they are repeat clients and i know they will be booking with me. Most of my new clients come from referral by current clients. I don’t want to spend several hours researching and planning an itinerary for someone who will end up going and doing it themselves on the internet, with another agency who are £50 cheaper.

They are not paying for something they may or may not want. They know what they want. They want me to help them plan it , offer suggestions and fine tune it. They want me to provide support before, during and after the trip. As Liz points out, if something goes wrong your on your own. Not my clients. Flight cancelled, they call me from the airport coffee shop or bar and i work it out while they watch everyone else crowd around the ticket desk with 200 other people. Problem with the hotel when they arrive, i call the manager (or whoever is my contact) and get it sorted while they have dinner.

It’s just like everything else in this world. You get what you pay for. Sure, not all agents can justify it and those agents are probably not in the same market as me.

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Gary, I’m sorry.. who is screwed? I don’t understand that comment.

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Hello – as some commenters will know, I started the original discussion on Travolution. While I’m sceptical about the idea myself (as I think the original post shows) I do want to clarify that nobody suggested charging for a meat-and-potatoes holiday search. Some commenters seem to have surmised that the average high street agent wants to slap a £15 fee on you for looking up a flight and a hotel. That is very wide of the mark.

Jonathan says that in the US “the travel agent is changing into a travel consultant, often specializing in a niche or two. Providing a specialist service for a client who is prepared to pay for it. Many of these are now charging a non refundable ‘consultancy fee’ at the first stage of the enquiry. This is then credited onto the final balance”

And *that’s* what our correspondent suggested. Graham, who was involved in the Travo thread, nails what I think is the real issue:

“I think if you want to do this, you better be an amazing agent … but how can you build your reputation when no one wants to pay first?”

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It’s not about being an “amazing” agent. It’s about being a good agent who provides a good service that the client is prepared to pay for. I’m lucky, my clients com to me either because they are already loyal clients (who don’t get charged up front) or because one of my loyal clients referred them. I don’t have a blanket policy of charging up front and in most cases don’t. I take each enquiry on it’s own merit. If i don’t think they are serious about using me and they are just shopping around then i might advise them of the upfront charge.

Nobody in any business can charge premium rates from the start. You probably can’t build you reputation by asking people to pay first, so you don’t. You offer your services in the traditional way and build that reputation. It’s corny but if you go above and beyond, provide the quality service and remember it’s all about ‘the little things’ you’ll get where you want to be.

You can then pick and choose your clients and end up earning more from less.

To use an example from your industry, Nathan. You can be the Daily Star, free online or the F.T. with a pay wall. Who’s making more money?

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I’ve already outlined my position in the comments section of the Travolution blog. To cut a long story short, the travel agent is making a sales pitch. In the real world, you don’t get paid until you close the sale.

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If this did happen, how would it work? As others have said, if you decided to charge for a quote, or if you like a ‘finders/planning’ fee, (possibly be deducted off the holiday cost once booked), at what point would you take payment?

1) Online community/club – joining fee (can think of at least one UK company doing this already). Not a route many have followed, or would consider.
2) At your desk, or over the phone (card swipe before discussion)
3) Or another way?

Caitlin I agree, it is a sales pitch. If they decide not to purchase, you can’t penalise them.
They will go and find it for free elsewhere.

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If all your looking for is the cheapest ‘quote’ for your trip then of course you shouldn’t be charged for that quote. The travel agents that your most likely to deal with would probably try and offer a competitive price in order to earn your business. However, please remember that this business is changing and has been ever since companies like Expedia and Travelocity went onto the web to sell their services. The all purpose, sell everything ‘High Street’ travel agent may be in direct competition with these companies, but not all travel agents are in the business of being the cheapest and competing on price. Price is just one way you can make your sales pitch, not the only way.

If all your looking for is the cheapest quote then i’m almost certain than me charging a fee for a ‘quote’ makes no difference. I understand that that i’ll lose the potential for the business because you won’t want to pay for the quote but it’s unlikely that you’ll accept my quote anyway, since i’m almost certain that someone will offer a cheaper alternative. So in my mind i’m actually better off by not quoting you because i have saved the time it would have taken and have been able to spend it doing something more productive like working on my current clients or spending time with my kids.

I’m not really keen on providing quotes anyway because if i do, there is no guarantee that when you come back 2,3 or even 7 days later the supplier price may have changed. Airfares can change overnight. So can hotel rates. Currency fluctuations mean that a price quoted in your currency might change tomorrow (not that i ever price an itinerary element in anything other than local currency supplier anyway). I’ll happily give you the price of something when you call. ‘Estimates Free” but i won’t guarantee that price until it’s booked and paid for. In my mind a quote is the final price. By holding a deposit from the client i am, in some cases, able to secure space, a bed or a seat or whatever and therefore be in a better position to secure that price.

I’m not going to plan and prepare an itinerary without discussions with you. I’m not going to pick one hotel without finding out what you want from that hotel, perhaps in detail. Room types, facilities, location. Even then i probably will offer a choice. Preparing an itinerary is an ongoing process, constantly changing and being amended as information and detail grows.

If you come to me and say i want to go here on this day. Stay here in this hotel and do this then i probably won’t charge anything because it won’t take more than few minutes. But if you want me to plan a journey. find the best flight choices, offer the right accommodation options. Find local guides and transfers that are good and reliable. Arrange other ancillary arrangements and then be available before and during travel to make changes answer questions and resolve any problems, then you need to pay for that. Even after departure my clients call me for changes as they travel. The itinerary continues to change and evolve. Maybe i’m picky, but let’s not forget what this blog is called. I don’t want my clients ranting i want them raving. If a supplier doesn’t come up to scratch, doesn’t do what is required or doesn’t meet the expectations of my clients then that reflects on me. I need to be sure that a supplier i use will meet those standards and won’t let me down.

All this takes time and time, my friends, is money.

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@ Gary

If the above is what you think a travel agent is doing, than you have no clue. My expertise is from 15 years experience in the trade, holding my clients hand from point A to point B, and experiencing many of the place I sell first hand. It is not just a search on the computer? Not sure where you got that idea?

@ Jodie

Of course comparing is normal. But to call a travel agent because you have NO clue of the destination and pick thier brain to learn about the destination as them about the hotels they recommend and then go by it elsewhere is the situation travel agents are trying to avoid. I am so tired of someone that picked my brain, wants to buy it on the internet, but can not find answers on the internet and calls me to ask more questions because they know I have the “expertise”, but are planning to buy it elsewhere?

@ Caitlin

A TRAVEL AGENT is providing a service and offering thier experience and knowledge, in my opinion it is NOT only a sale. It is building a relationship with a client to make sure they have a PERFECT trip and you know everything about them to make sure you pick the correct destination and all thier needs get met. If an agent thinks it is ONLY a sale then that in my opinion is not a good qualified travel agent. Providing Service and going the extra mile for every client is the key and why shouldn’t a travel agent be paid a service fee for thier knowledge and professional opinion? Does a lawyer or doctor give thier professional opinion for free?

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I agree totally with Johnathan Hansen and Deborah. This is not about agents, it’s about the general public learning how to use agents. Travel agents have changed (those that haven’t have either gone or are going) – the general public does not seem to realise this. Often, simple stuff people should do online – if someone asks me for a low cost airline flight I ask them why on earth are they calling me (though I still do some of these as some of my clients just do not have the time or inclination to do it themselves) – go and book it online. I cannot “add value” to the booking. Simple bucket and spade holidays are DIY as well. What I will say, is that part of the knack (for an agent) is knowing time wasters and what many talk about as being “poor service” often translates as people getting ignored because our agent’s sixth sense tells us that what you are going to ask for, is hours of work and then take great pride in telling us that you have found the same thing for £10 cheaper on ripyouoffholidays -dot- com.

If you read carefully what J Hansen says, this epitomises what the modern agent should be – someone committed to their client as much as the client is committed to the agent. each knows what the other wants and expects. A good agent is someone to whom a time poor person (and that’s not always a rich one!) can simply say “Get me a holiday for next week” in the full knowledge that what will be arranged will be what they want – or that if say two options are offered, both will be relevant.

Fine, if you enjoy doing your own thing, that’s good as well. Agents are not demanding that you book with them. As long as people recognise that agents are not a sort of travel “RAC” service or a booking resource to be viewed as just another (though human) internet resource page. It is pleasing to see that many find planning a trip or adventure just as exciting as enjoying the travel experience. That’s exactly as it should be – as it has always been. Please remember, though, that just because information appears online, does not mean that it is correct or even relevant.

Good, modern agents are very, very hard to find these days and their numbers are diminishing rapidly so if you need one and can find one, nurture them. If you are happy doing things yourself, that’s good as well. Agents are fully aware that the General Public do not owe them a living and most have grasped that, adapted and moved on. The issue seems to be that the average holidaymaker does not seem to have advanced quite as quickly!

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I have been working as a travel agent in this country for the past 7 years and I can’t take this any more. I honestly hate my job now, it’s extremely difficult to earn any commission. I too had sometimes worked for days to build an itinerary for a client to have them go elsewhere after printing an email I had sent them and booking it with someone else so they could save 10 quid. Honestly, these people spend hours calling around to get the best deal but don’t realise how much these phonce calls actually cost.
And yes, you can book it online yourself and get a great deal, and then when an airline like XL goes bust and you’re stranded at the airport for days, then you wish you had booked with a travel agent.
Anyways, I’m changing my career, I want to get away from travel industry – I have had enough. And I actually wanted to charge some of the clients for quotes too, there’s too many timewasters who don’t know what they want calling around….

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Yes, well, AA, I fear that travel will lose many more like you – to the detriment of the travelling public. As I said, the public have not learnt yet how to use the new breed of travel agent. The trade will lose a lot of good, dedicated people. I am saddened to read your post.

If you still want to stay in travel, just do business travel (like I do) – I am not interested in holidays at all – I still do them, if asked, for my business clients, but because of exactly what you experienced happening once to often to me, now Jo Public can get some other mug to do their work for them!

Could go on – but – “enuf said”

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