The Big Question: Should agents start charging for their time?
Will PayneThis month, travel experts give their views on whether it is time agents started charging for the time, service and expertise in the wake of the pandemic in TTG’s third Big Question feature.
With the pandemic serving only to underline how precious agents’ time is, this month’s Big Question explores the future of how agents go about their business.
TTG believes high quality debate and discussion is vital to progress, and is keen to encourage it. Our new series of Big Questions continues in May as we explore an issue that has long been debated in agent circles – and has resurfaced more prominently than ever in the wake of Covid.
After working their fingers to the bone for their customers during the pandemic, the value inherent in agents’ time, service and expertise has never been more evident within the trade.
However, despite doing their best by their clients, this appreciation doesn’t – yet – appear to have fully filtered through to the public. So is it finally time agents put a price on these efforts?
What do you think? Join in the debate in the comments section below, or email feedback@ttgmedia.com. Alternatively, head to one of TTG’s social media channels to get involved.
'We need to earn more per booking'
I believe agents should be charging for their time. We’re becoming more and more bogged down in post-booking hand-holding, and even though commissions aren’t being reduced, our margins are as we’re spending more time on admin and backroom work while costs are forever increasing. As our time is becoming more squeezed, we need to be earning more per booking.
I recently heard from a client how a homeworker from a major agency group had informed them the booking would cost an additional £2,000 to deliver a one-to-one, specialised service. While I think that’s a little extreme, I know another independent travel agent who charges an hourly rate of around £90 per customer, which I feel is much more realistic.
In most cases, especially homeworkers like myself, we offer a one-to-one service, not a one-to-many service. And as we’re solely responsible for a client’s booking, from enquiry to post-departure, this is a level of service large agencies and online booking engines often don’t – or can’t – offer. Therefore, I believe this personal, targeted, unique service should be paid for.
Fees provide fair compensation for our time and expertise, while allowing us to work for a client in the best possible way while providing the best price and value, which often includes booking non-commissionable experiences. Another honourable mention is the out-of-hours contact I have with customers, where charging a fee allows for calls in the evening, as well as the 24/7 support I offer the client while they are away on their holiday, which I think is more than reasonable.
Kate Holroyd is the founder of Strawberry Holidays.
'This surely is the time to look at fees'
There is undoubtedly still a strong taboo around charging service fees for agents’ time and expertise in the leisure travel sector. But when you look at business or entertainment travel, service fees are expected – even willingly requested by clients in proposals or bids to compensate an agent for their knowledge.
For many years, we have seen other industries, such as law firms, charge for their time and services. And since the pandemic, it is a standard practice for restaurants to charge deposits, holding fees and cancellation fees. None of this is questioned – it is simply accepted.
Major credit card reports show travel is the number one consumer purchase post-Covid. Add this to the strong desire to “book human” with an agent because of their knowledge and expertise, then this surely is the time for us to look at implementing consultancy fees.
We have been working with travel advisors at Global Travel Collection UK to analyse and benchmark what would be an appropriate fee to charge clients, especially when dealing with higher- value bookings. Overall, the fee being applied does vary according to the advisor and their client base. Once this exercise is completed, we work with our advisors to build a communication plan for their customers.
Only the advisor knows their client and how this message might be received. It’s therefore important to plan and rehearse beforehand. Naturally, this can be daunting – advisors do not want to lose their business. However, given the existing relationship with clients, the fees have been accepted.
The pandemic has changed many industries, and the way their workers are compensated for their value – we shouldn’t be afraid to do the same.
Francesca Mendola is director of account management at the Global Travel Collection UK.
'Fees are an unnecessary risk'
Many of us have been led up the garden path by prospective clients, so I wholeheartedly understand the argument for, and temptation to, charge for our efforts.
But while this may be effective for luxury agents, or business/corporate agents where fees are normal, it would be a risky strategy for the majority in a world where many people look starry- eyed at online prices and are either sceptical of, or oblivious to, the value of booking with an agent – even after Covid.
Advance deposits risk creating a perception of expense, and could reinforce the idea online pricing is “worth the risk”. It could also give rise to clients questioning whether the consultant has their best interests at heart. We should focus on building a rapport and trust with clients without shining a spotlight on how we make our money.
How can you tackle time wasters without pre-payment then? Asking the right questions from the start is key to determining whether you want to work with a prospective client, and whether the enquiry is likely to convert. It’s our choice after all. As professionals, we too have the right to say no, but many forget this in pursuit of a sale.
So, identify competition before you start; establish whether the client has already looked elsewhere; check if they’re the key decision-maker; seek areas for compromise to ensure you tick as many boxes as possible first-time; and always ask whether they’re ready to book if you find their perfect holiday. If they hesitate on any of these points, you’ll gain valuable foresight.
There are plenty of ways to choose the clients you work with without putting financial barriers in the way, or by bringing unnecessary or unknown risks into your business strategy.
Ben Casey is the founder of Out of this World Travel.
'Why don't we value our time and effort?'
As a home-based agent, I am one of many who are paid purely on commission. Sometimes we do the work for a client, only to discover they have booked elsewhere – either by accident or when they finally decide to reply to calls, emails or messages.
In March, I returned from a week in the US where I worked on six or seven very big itineraries. I called each to discuss their trips, and one by one they tumbled. Three of them used my suggested itinerary and booked identical trips online themselves, and one didn’t even tell me they had booked the holiday with a different company, leaving me to continue working on an itinerary which would never lead to a booking.
All the work I had spent my time on while in the US was wasted when I could have had a relaxing week away. During the pandemic, I connected with a global network of around 80 agents from different countries – all of whom charge a fee for their time.
Why is it that, as a sector, we don’t value our own time and effort? We are one of the few professions where we do the work way before we see any payment for our time.
There is an argument that we should adopt a flat fee or sliding scale approach, something I’ve found many of our travel advisor colleagues around the world to be in favour of. But at the moment, it seems the UK travel sector doesn’t value what we do enough to allow this to happen.
Lisa Russell is the founder of Wanderluxe by Lisa.
'We're worth it, but can we afford it?'
I’ve been faced with this question many times over the years, and one thing I would ask agents considering charging for their time is: can you afford to do so? If you’re already trading without fees, how are your customers going to react? And how many, if any, are you going to alienate – and potentially lose – because of a new business model?
Don’t get me wrong – a good travel agent is worth their weight in gold. But with that said, how many customers would be willing to part with more of their gold because of that? I’m sure there’s a market out there for those who would be willing to pay a fee, possibly at the higher end, but I know from my experience on the high street that the vast majority of customers wouldn’t do it.
We’ve been around for 39 years this year, and the thing I’ve always strived for is good service. But if we started to charge for quotes, we would lose customers in droves – our business would shrink and we’d have to change the size of the team. Would we even retain enough business to survive on the high street? I doubt it.
We’re in a really competitive market, and if we started to charge for our time a travel agent down the road wouldn’t and would secure those bookings. The way in which the travel market in the UK operates has developed over many years, and I think it would be difficult to alter that.
As much as I know we’re worth it, I just don’t think we have a chance of successfully integrating service charges without it having a severe impact on our business.
Tony Mann is owner and director of Idle Travel.
The Big Question by TTG
The Big Question is a monthly feature from TTG taking on some of the burning issues facing travel through expert commentary, insight and debate. While it's not designed to be adversarial, it won't flinch from placing a spotlight on some often uncomfortable topics travel – like it or not – will one day have to reckon with.
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