Travel Agent Booking Fee?????

[peagreenid]

I've seen a lot of the big internet discounters charge a service fee.
Costco is one of those. I was willing to pay the service fee, when I was receiving $400 off of my cruise price.

smiles Patty

 

[taswira]

Originally posted by peagreenid
I was willing to pay the service fee, when I was receiving $400 off of my cruise price.

Yes, but I think a lot of agencies that charge such fees are <I>not</I> providing such a <I>big</I> discount. There are also complaints about lack of service due to lack of knowledge for many of the discount agencies. $400 off is great - as long as one gets lucky and everything goes as planned. But when using a discount agency that charges a fee, if something goes wrong, they might not be knowledgeable, available, or even willing to help. I'm NOT saying they are all that way, but I've heard plenty of horror stories. Worst cases are those agencies that keep adding fees they never warned the client about when they decided to book.

 

[my3kids]

Yes, Costco charged us $10 per cabin booking fee that was charged at the time DCL charged the deposits. I was told ahead of time and it was included in the total cost for the trip when I got the quote from them. They said it was non refundable if we cancelled the trip. Ten dollars was a small price to pay with the 10% discount they gave.

 

[Doctor P]

Most of the agencies in our area now charge a fee for almost any of their services (especially air tickets). One offset is that they use a portion of it to provide a price protection program and some travel insurance, but I have not booked anything through an agent in quite a long time (several years now, I think) because of the fees.

 

[ldb1030]

Just FYI- the agency does not make the airline tickets "nonrefundable, nontransferable" those are the AIRLINE rules! Also, each airline has a penalty for changing nonrefundable tickets! Most of them are at $100.00 now and for international tickets, most are up to $200.00 now!

taswira- I don't know why everyone pays the service fee but I do know why our clients pay- they are paying for a service that we offer. Most of have been clients for years and value our services so much that they don't mind paying for us to do the work. They pay a lawyer, they pay a house cleaner, etc...and we are just one more service. At our agency we ALWAYS quote the service fee with the total, telling the client "this includes taxes and service fee". I have had SEVERAL calls where a customer says "Oh, I saw that for $40.00 less on the internet" and I explain that the airlines no longer pay us to book their tickets so that is our service fee" and the customer will STILL purchase the ticket from us! I don't know that I would even pay it if I were not a TA but then again, I know how to find the low fares etc. and I think for some people, the internet is just overwhelming at times and they'd prefer not to mess with it! We are extremly busy at our office so this service fee does not seem to have hurt us! Of course we'd prefer not to even have to book airlines tickets and just do the other stuff where we actually make a nice commission but we have too many people who depend on us!
Hope that helped to answer your question!

 

[mcnuss]

My TA charges a $20 fee for airline tickets, but not hotels, cruises, etc... She is our corporate TA but I use her now for much of my family's travel. Why do I pay it instead of going on-line? For the service - both before & after the sale. She offers me options that would take me hours to find and my time is worth more than $20. Also, I have been stuck numerous times, and one call to her fixes all my problems, from re-booking the air portion to hotel and car and so on. It is SOOOOO worth it. But, having said this, please note that 1) she clearly stated up front that she has to do this bc the airlines pay no commission and 2) she does not charge for changes. Deb - your University ought to negotiate with its TA - that fee is high, but it' s the charging for changes that is egregious.

This is becoming standard in the industry, I think.

As for the electronic int'l tickets, taswira, I have done it flying on US based carriers and when I got to the airport, they issued a paper ticket bc of Immigration rules in my destination (I think it was France & Belgium). I would not chance it on most foreign carriers, to be honest.

 

[taswira]

<B>my3kids</b> - As long as you are told ahead of time and you agree, there is nothing wrong with having a booking fee (Although I still think the $50 per ticket that Deb was charged is too much!) But what I have seen many times is people incurring hidden charges and being told after the fact.

<b>ldb1030</b> - I was referring to the $50 per ticket that Deb was charged when I said I didn't know why people would pay that. I am not putting down your agency for charging a fee. I am saying that if a fee is going to be charged it should be stated up front AND there should be a high level of service provided. As I said, that is JMHO. I have had safari clients for many years and <I>never</I> charge a fee unless they want something really complicated. Then I charge a non-refundable planning fee that is <I>applied</I> to their trip, so as long as they take the trip they are not losing any money. For cruises and tours I do not charge a fee. It sounds like your office is high-volume. I am an independent with less volume, but my clients are just as loyal and appreciate the personalized service they get <I>without</I> any service charges.

<b>mcnuss</B> - Yes, $20 is now the standard for airfare booked without a tour or cruise. It also sounds like you have an EXCELLENT TA!

 

[ldb1030]

taswira- the ONLY thing we charge a service fee for is airline tickets. Nothing else
I never thought you were putting down our agency for charging a fee, I was just trying to answer your question!

 

[taswira]

Thanks, ldb1030. My question was only in reference to the $50 per airline ticket for the agency Deb's university uses. All agencies must charge for airline ticketing now because not only is the commission gone, but the airlines charge for paper tickets. I come from an airline family and always booked myself even internationally long before becoming a TA. Now with the Web, I think frequent flyers are quick to learn the ins-and-outs of booking air. Those who rarely travel still need a TA even to book air and there are a lot of first-timers out there.

 

[ldb1030]

The first timers AND the busy business men/women who won't/don't take the time to do it themselves!
It's amazing what companies would probably save if they did it themselves but I guess they figure their time is worth more than that!? I won't complain...........it keeps me in my job!

 

[abitjaded]

Originally posted by taswira
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. ....I would feel guilty of "penalizing" my clients for selecting me as their agent!

Taswira, I agree. I still like to use a TA to book things, and am willing to pay someone for help with tickets and such (once a self-booked e-ticket where the computer booked a plane change without enough time between flights to pull it off, Delta had to correct this and paid the fee.) Seems a large agent (the one we are questioning is the largest cruise booker in Denver) would want to encourage us to return. But they really took the money and ran and have provided no services, they messed up the insurance, messed up the cabin numbers (we are stuck in "noisy" cabins) and have caused us several extra trips over to their office. My usual TA that I use for work is so wonderful, she really makes these folks look lousy. I am going to "penalize" this agency by not using them again. (Maybe that is why they charge the service fee- they know you will not use them for repeat business.)

 

[taswira]

<b>abitjaded</b> - It sounds like THAT agency may have to rely on a big first-timer market if they keep slacking on the service in addition to charging a fee! Those in-the-know will take their business elsewhere. The sad thing is that it only takes one bad agent to give a highly reputable agency a bad name.