Travel Agent Booking Fee?????

[abitjaded]

Our travel agent charged us a $20 per cabin booking fee when we paid DCL in full. Did anyone else's agent do this? Pretty dirty trick, they better give us a goody in the cabin! Doesn't DCL pay the agent a commission? I feel "double dipped".

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

Is the fee to cover the cost of Fed Ex-ing your tickets? My TA charges us $9.95 for shipping costs. You should call and ask what the fee is for.

 

[taswira]

Did your cruise include air? If so and if you received a paper ticket instead of electronic, that could account for the $20 additional fee.

 

[ldb1030]

Airlines no longer pay agents commission so if you booked air seperate, this could be what the fee is for. I work for an agency and we charge a per ticket fee because we would be losing $ to process the reservation since the airlines no longer pay. But for cruises and things that we are still paid commission for, we do not charge a fee. I'm sure if you just called and asked the agent what the fee was for she'd explain it to you however she probably should have advised you in advance that your rate included a "booking or service fee"!

 

[lzj21428]

I was talking about this to my TA yesterday. She said the only time that they have to charge the customer a fee is for airline reservations because the airlines no longer pay commissions to TA's. She receives a commission on the booking of the cruise. If you booked air with her that's probably what that $20 is for. Call and ask her to explain.

 

[Michelle]

Not all agents charge additional agency fees like that, Dreams does not charge any extra fees except those imposed by Disney.

I would ask the agency for an accounting of the fee, it sounds like as others said it has something to do with airfare, if you booked air.

Have a great cruise!

 

[TnRobin]

They now charge you to book your Airline tickets???? Especially when you can go to the internet and book them for free????

I have book my cruises with two different TAs in the past and have never been charged an additional fee.

 

[taswira]

Robin - <B>Some</B> airlines are now imposing a $20 fee for the issuance of paper tickets. This charge must be passed on to the client by the TA unless they are going to take a loss on it. This is separate from any expedited handling charges. But this fee is NOT added if they accept electronic ticketing.

 

[abitjaded]

Our TA, Virginia Horne Travel of Denver, says this is a $20 per cabin booking fee, a "document fee" that the agency charged us simply to book the cabin. The only reason we questioned it is an unidentified fee showing up on our credit card the day before DCL charged us at 60 days. We called the CC company and THEY could not identify the source of the charge as even being the TA. No, they did not book our air, they CLAIM they told us at the travel show about this fee, which is why I think this whole thing smells a bit. I do not mind TAs charging for their services, but when DCL pays them a commission also, I feel this is underhanded. I was just curious if ANYONE had the same experience. Anyone know for sure if DCL gives the agent a commission?

 

[taswira]

I think it should have been stated in writing beforehand if the TA was going to charge a "document fee" (aka "service fee", IMHO!). As for DCL, yes, they do pay commission, but it is not the highest.

 

[ldb1030]

TNROBIN- Since airlines are no longer paying commission, agents MUST charge a service fee. Why would they issue an electronic ticket for FREE?! The airlines pay them NOTHING anymore!
I did not lose any clients when we started charging! It's worth some peoples time to have us do it. They are busy people who do not have time to spend searching on the internet but it is certainly an option for the people who do have time!
I have noticed that alot of internet sites for airline tickets also have a fee now however it is not quite as much as some agencies.

 

[taswira]

As a p/t TA, I do NOT charge a service fee for electronic airline tickets that are in conjunction with a cruise or tour. If a paper ticket is required, the airlines imposes the fee which is passed on to the passenger. It does not go to me. However, I no longer book airfare alone for clients. They can do so themselves from my website, but it is not profitable for me to handle air requests so it is not a service I offer.

 

[Deb in IA]

Originally posted by TnRobin
They now charge you to book your Airline tickets????

Robin, our travel agent charges $50 per ticket for e-tickets for air travel, non-refundable, non-transferable.

We only use them when we travel on business, as they are the "official" travel agency for our university.

When we travel for vacations, I always book online.

 

[taswira]

Originally posted by Deb in IA
. . . our travel agent charges $50 per ticket for e-tickets for air travel, non-refundable, non-transferable.

Wow! I'm surprised anyone books with them! That's about the highest fee I've heard of even for <I>paper</I> tickets. Why would anyone pay a $50 fee for an e-ticket? I don't mean to sound offensive or anything, but I am REALLY curious about why anyone would be willing to do that.

 

[Deb in IA]

Believe me, taswira, if I didn't have to travel for university business, I would NEVER use this travel agency!!!

Example: I will be flying from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Shanghai, China in about 1 1/2 weeks to speak at a symposium. Ticket was only $680. I will be traveling with my parents, who, unfortunately, had to make changes to our itinerary on 2 separate occasions. Each time, I had to fork over another $50 bucks.

So now my relatively cheap international ticket (an E ticket, no less) costs me $680 + $50 booking fee + $100 for each of the previously booked tickets that had to be changed = $830 !!

 

[taswira]

Deb - You're going international with an E-Ticket? BRAVE girl!

 

[peagreenid]

Also charges a booking fee. I believe it was $10 or $15. They charged my card seperately when I paid my deposit.

smiles Patty

 

[taswira]

Patty - Do <I>you</I> charge a fee if someone books a cruise with you? No air - just a cruise?

 

[peagreenid]

No, We do not. We also do not sell just air, unless it is with the Cruise Line or Vacation package.

I'm trying to remember what Costco called their fee......, I think it was a booking fee.

smiles Patty

 

[taswira]

Glad to hear it, Patty. I think if an agency is going to charge a "booking fee" they should call it what it is, a "service fee," and let clients know up front. Since you and I don't rely on our TA work as our only source of income, perhaps we see the situation differently. But in these days of increased competition, I'm not about to tack on a fee. I would feel guilty of "penalizing" my clients for selecting me as their agent!