Stupid Travel Agent Question...

[Morgie44]

I probably should know this, but I don''t! Do you pay a travel agent for their services? How do they make their money, from comissions from hotels etc.? Or from fees from customers, does it cost for them to recommend or just if you book, if in fact the traveler pays?

 

[LauraBabe08]

FI and I just visited a travel agent to get some info for our honeymoon (were going to Japan!!!).

The agent gave us some travel books that offer various tours, etc. From my understanding, if you book through them all that you have to pay is the cost of the trip. I am pretty sure that they contract with hotels, etc and get paid by them. You do not have to actually pay the travel agent a fee for booking your trip, or time spent with you.

 

[mintve]

you don''t have to pay them. They receive a commission from the airline/hotels/tour operators, etc. I love to plan trips and I was a bit weary of using an agent b.c I thought it would cost more. I think if you are going to piece meal a vacation together and do your own thing, you might be better off on your own (it depends on what you are wanting to do), but if you are going to a resort, like an all-inclusive and want to package it w/ air or you want a cruise, or a tour package from tour operators etc. then a travel agent will likely save you money.

We are going to Couples. No travel agent could sell the resort portion for less than what is on the www.couples.com site (many hotels are like this too). But once you package it w/ air, car rentals, etc, they can offer a discount. We were able to save several hundred dollars over what I could book on my own. You will also need to contact a few travel agent in your area. I contacted the ones listed on the resort''s site as "preferred" and the rates varied drastically.

Good luck!!

 

[Sabine]

I used Liberty Travel to book our honeymoon, and they do not charge a fee for their services. They make their money through their contracts with resorts, etc. So they found us great deals on the locations that they have contracts with, but if we wanted to go somewhere that they didn''t have contracts with, they couldn''t help us (we had the idea to go to Belize, but they had nothing to offer us there).

I would suggest using one if you have no idea where you want to go and need help finding good deals, but if you know where you want to go and are good at using other travel websites, you probably don''t need a travel agent.

 

[marchswallowbird]

Actually many travel agents DO charge for their services these days. They used to make their money solely through commissions provided by the airlines and hotels where they booked your travel, but many of those companies have reduced or eliminated travel agent commissions. So, to make a living, many travel agents will charge you a fee. Be sure to ask when you are having an initial conversation with an agent so there are no misunderstandings.

 

[Blackpaw]

My SO used to be a travel agent - heinous feild to work in. They get a percentage of the value of your booking. Depending on what you''ve booked though this is often next to nothing. They make nothing on flights, only really on accom bookings. But its true what the others say, you will most often get a better deal from a travel agent, especially when you''re packaging things - their commission comes from the agency they work for and isnt added to your bill or anything. I havent heard of agents charging for their time though...

Be nice to whoever you use - its a hard job