To Fee or Not to Fee?

If the pandemic has taught both the travel industry and consumers anything, it’s the value of an experienced agent. There are horror stories of consumers who booked trips without an agent and faced the anonymity of being “just a number,” a fate that can befall those who book without an advisor.

Agents, on the other hand, took the brunt for their clients. They’re the ones who, on behalf of their clients, waited for hours on hold with providers, navigated the (seemingly daily) changes and updates to travel restrictions and spent days arranging for their clients in destination to come home safely and sooner than planned.

And they did all of that without getting paid.

The topic of commission recalls has been a hot one this year. Agents, who did all the work leading up to the booking and then when the pandemic hit, continued to provide a service to their clients. But the commission rules apply when a trip is fulfilled. When a trip is cancelled, so is the commission.

On the flipside, the tour operators who pay the travel agents the commission, also don’t get paid if a trip is cancelled. They also lose the revenue from the trip booking. Quite frankly, if travel providers were to pay out commission on cancelled bookings, they would lose what has been estimated to be in the millions per provider, on top of the daily costs to continue operations. That at a time when loads are down more than 90% across the board. Simply put, if a traveler doesn’t travel, it hits everyone hard in the pocketbook – the traveler, the agent, and the travel providers.

Is the answer a travel agent service fee?

“Professional fees are for service rendered - not for booking, that is what your commission is for,” says Lary Neron, AirfareConsultant.com. “Since all of us provide different levels of services, it's impossible to have the same fees. It's a highly personalized concierge service that applies to the air travel journey, but the same logic can be applied to any travel niche.”

“I've traveled to over 40 countries.  I've experienced what it's like taking the train versus flying between countries in Europe.  Or taking a bus versus flying domestically in Asia.  I've experienced a variety of accommodation, from hostels to the luxury of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.  And I've had hands-on experience on how travel has changed as a result of COVID-19,” says Teodor Mihal, Centre Holidays. “A website will not provide any of the above services.  They will simply issue a ticket.”