Historically, Travel Agents have received commissions from airlines, hotels, car hire companies and other service providers. This commission formed the sole or major income stream for travel professionals and allowed for manipulation of the market by way of hidden incentives etc. This traditional structure assumes that we are “working for” our suppliers rather than for our clients and puts the focus on “making the sale”, rather than providing the best value holiday for the client.
I believe that we need to see a paradigm shift in the travel industry, so I am changing the way that I do things to ensure transparency, to avoid third parties that don’t add value and to move to a position where I am “working for” my clients rather than for our suppliers.
Under my new pricing model I will charge the “cost price” for all Travel Product, and then charge a Travel Management fee separately. This puts me in a position where I am working for you – the client, rather than for the Providers of any Travel Product that you might decide to experience; and will result in a similar end price to you, but with far more transparency and certainty around what you are paying for what.
Here is an example on how it works; a package holiday comprising an airfare, accommodation and transfers is advertised at say, $2000. Commissions would vary across the different components of the holiday, but for the purposes of this example, let’s say that the “cost price” for this package is $1740. Rather than charge you the $2000 for the package, I will charge $1740, and then add a Travel Management Fee to cover the cost of the services provided to you when making this booking.
Peace of mind
