As a travel agent myself, it is in my best interest to tell you that you should absolutely book your vacations with an agent. The truth is that you certainly don’t need to and that it’s a personal choice, but there are some benefits that you might want to consider, and travel agents are not going to disappear anytime soon. In this article, I will share three reasons you might want to consider partnering with an agent instead of planning and booking everything by yourself.
I understand that people are nervous about dealing with salespeople. I never would have expected that I would become a salesman myself, but here I am. The truth is that the vast majority of travel agents and other salespeople are regular and honest people who are just trying to make a living like everyone else.
Reason 1: It does not cost anything extra to book with an agent
People often wrongly assume that dealing with a travel agent is a needlessly more expensive way of booking travel. People assume that there are extra fees and commissions that are either tacked onto your invoice or worked into the cost of your booking. This is not true, and the misconception stems from a misunderstanding of how the industry works. Travel agents and their host agencies earn their profits from promoting and selling commissionable travel products. We make money when we complete a booking in our name. We do not tack on extra fees or manipulate the price. There are some cases where fees might be applied (see below), but these will always be transparent and communicated ahead of time.
One such example of a fee I have seen is a “research fee” of around $30-50 for new clients as a way of qualifying whether they are serious about actually buying. Agents will often acquire new leads from people who are just looking for general information and aren’t too motivated to buy. Charging a research fee compensates the agent for the time they spend researching vacation packages and corresponding with the lead. While I understand why some agents might want to do this, I do not agree with the practice, and the vast majority of agents do not charge any such fees. If you are serious about buying and encounter an agent who requests a research fee, I would suggest asking if the fee can be refunded once your booking is complete.
The only other time I have seen an agency charge a fee is for booking flights. Flights are a 0% commissionable product, so a fee is applied so that we do not earn $0 on the booking. Travel agents are primarily in the business of selling cruises, guided tours, and group travel packages, so simple flights are frankly a waste of everyone’s time. You are best off just going to a website like Kayak and seeing where you can get the best price. However, if a client is booking a cruise or some other kind of vacation package and wants me to also book a flight for them, this is a service that many agents will provide for free since we are already earning commission on the other products.
Doesn’t commission cause the price of my vacation to be higher? No, it doesn’t. Many people assume that the commission earned by the agency causes the price of a vacation product to be inflated, and that booking directly with the tour operator would result in a lower price since there is no commission to pay to anyone. While this seems like a logical assumption, it is not true. You will not save any money by booking directly with the tour operator. Instead of them paying commission to an agent, they simply keep it for themselves. Commissions do not increase the price of a vacation.
Why do commissions exist at all? Travel agents have always played a significant role in marketing travel products sold by tour operators and doing the on-the-ground work of promoting this to local community members. Travel agents are usually very active in their communities and have a large social network. We are essentially doing free marketing for cruise lines and other tour operators through word of mouth, social media, organizing groups, sponsoring sports teams and community events, and other methods. In return, tour operators pay us a commission to compensate us for our efforts. The travel industry would not be as large and profitable without local agents with boots on the ground actively selling their products.
Reason 2: Travel agents are required for booking group travel
Group travel is one area where travel agents will continue to be necessary now and into the future. Group travel is not something that tour operators make available through consumer-facing websites. If you are planning on traveling with a group bigger than your immediate family, it is necessary for you to deal with an agent who will allocate the group space, collect payment from the various traveling parties, and manage the booking. Agents are also able to secure exclusive group rates that are not available to the general public. They achieve this by blocking group space on a particular sailing up to two years in advance and locking in an exclusive price with the cruise line.
Reason 3: We are travelers too, and we know the products we sell
People typically become travel agents because they have significant experience traveling, so they know the industry well, and they can provide expert advice. Agents also typically specialize in a particular travel segment, or even a specific brand. Agents undergo significant training from their own host agency as well as from specific tour operators. For example, in addition to the training I have received from my Expedia Cruises agency, I have also completed training for Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean, NCL, Globus/Cosmos, and Manulife Insurance. I also minored in tourism and environmental studies during my undergraduate degree, and I have experienced living in a foreign country with a different language and culture from my own for more than two years. While I don’t have experience with every category of travel and every major tour operator, I do possess a lot of insider knowledge that the average person doesn’t have.
In addition to personal travel, agents also have the opportunity to go on familiarization trips from time to time. These are discounted trips for agents that are intended to be an opportunity for agents to learn the brand and be confident in selling it to their clients.
In Ontario and many other jurisdictions, the travel industry is highly regulated by the government. Travel professionals are required to pass an exam which certifies that they have met the educational standards for the industry. Agents are required to advise clients on a number of things that are not common knowledge, and the agent also takes on some professional liability when advising clients.
Deciding to work with an agent
If you decide to receive help from an agent, it is good etiquette to complete the booking with them unless you have some kind of serious reservation about working with that agent. Travel agents typically work on commission exclusively. It is not typical for an agent to receive an hourly wage or salary. Please try to remember that our income depends on making bookings. If you consult with an agent who provides you with useful information but then you book it elsewhere, you have wasted that agent’s time and prevented them from earning an income. We only get paid for bookings completed under our name, so all that time we spent advising you is not compensated. If you are satisfied with the agent’s service and the price he/she quotes you, please complete the booking with them. At the same time, simply asking for some information and then contemplating a decision is perfectly reasonable, and you shouldn’t feel that you’re wasting anyone’s time. Just finish the booking with your agent after initiating the process. Making a booking is essentially a way of thanking the agent for his time, knowledge, and service.
In summary, there are some good reasons to consider working with an agent. If you think you would benefit from an agent’s help, please visit my agency website and fill out the contact form to get in touch with me.