(WARNING: This article MAY be controversial. I’m revealing the secrets of how travel professionals are compensated)

Far and away number the one question my colleagues and I get asked most often is,

“What does working with you cost?” 

Have a seat and get comfortable because I am about to pull back the curtain on exactly how travel designers (aka travel “advisors”) get paid and an idea of what it will cost to have them plan your travel. 

First, a clarification. This article addresses the modern-day travel professional of the 2020s. When I say “Travel Professional/Advisor/Designer,” I am referring to what might be called a concierge, boutique, or custom travel service that goes beyond just quoting and booking mostly pre-designed packages.

(In a later article, I will explain the differences between traditional travel agents and professionals such as myself)

How Travel Advisors are Compensated – A Myth and Some History

Another common question we professionals get is, 

“Well, don’t you get paid commissions?” so let’s deal with that one first.
The answer is, “Yes, no, and sometimes more than a year after performing our services.”

Years ago, travel agencies and agents could earn a decent income solely through commissions paid by travel suppliers to represent their products. However, due to changes in the industry (the explosion of the internet, 9/11, and the recent pandemic), many suppliers have gradually reduced commissions or increased the non-commissionable portion of a sale. Airline ticket sales, which used to account for over 50% of the income of some agencies during the last century, stopped paying the average agency any commission around 2005.

Additionally, when a commission IS paid, it is often paid 30-60 days AFTER the traveler’s return. At the same time, the responsibilities, obligations, and time involved in research, proposal, booking, and managing travel have increased. That is why, by 2015, the industry was seeing a shift to a new form of travel professional, one who provided a service beyond the standard transactional “booking and reserving” of travel, and travel professionals began to charge for that service.

This new breed of travel “advisor” went way beyond what traditional travel “agents” typically did and created personalized travel “designs” on a level that no online travel site could compete with. (More on this in my forthcoming article on the differences between a travel agent and a travel designer/advisor). However, when the worldwide travel shutdown happened in March 2020, many agencies and agents had yet to pivot to that new model. These hardworking and conscientious people, who had already performed the work of proposing, tweaking, and booking upcoming travel (for example, my agency had over 100 travelers booked for spring break trips due to depart by the end of April 2020), were then left to work just as hard to UN-do the bookings, seek refunds, and advocate for their clients. In most cases, these agents were never compensated for the initial bookings nor for processing all the cancellations and gaining refunds for their clients.

Why Travel Advisors Charge for Their Services and Why That is Best for the Traveler

I will summarize simply with this – We charge because we are in a service business, and most of our services are performed upfront; why would we not get compensated for that? It may help to think of our profession in the same way one might think of an interior designer or an architect. Often, those professions make an override, markup, or commission when their designs are executed; however, they are mainly compensated for their creative work before the execution of those designs comes to life.

Compensation by the Client for the Design of the Travel Plan is Better for the Traveler. 

When a travel professional is fairly compensated for their service, the travel designer can customize the travel experience solely to the client, regardless of whether a commission is involved. The options are unlimited in this situation. On the other hand, I have sometimes heard commissioned-only travel agents say, “Oh, I won’t book that for my clients because it doesn’t pay commissions.”

The Nitty-gritty. Service Suites – What They Are and What They Cost

Service Suites are levels of services or service packages. This is the structure that is most commonly used among travel advisors. They may be organized by the number of benefits, or they may be arranged by type of travel (this is my model). As an independent affiliate of a long-successful and well-respected host agency, Coastline/Tafari Travel (For an explanation of this and other terms, see my article “Travel Lingo You Should Understand”) through which I am also a member of the world’s oldest and largest luxury travel consortia, Virtuoso™; I am in weekly contact with hundreds of top travel professionals around the world. Service levels and the costs below are compilations of myself and these colleagues. As each of my travel experiences is custom designed, I have a starting price point based on each travel category. For example, 

“Two travelers, seven nights, one destination…starting at $810”
“Groups of six or more travelers, seven nights, three or more bedrooms…starting at $1500”

How Does This All Work?

Most travel advisors (including myself) conduct a complimentary consultation after a travel inquiry has been submitted. This consultation helps clarify what the client desires or envisions for their trip. From that meeting, there may be add-on costs for additional destinations or extra nights beyond the base number. A service quote is made, along with an outline of what services will be provided. If the client wants to proceed, an agreement is signed, and the invoice for the advisor’s services is paid. Only then does the work begin.

Like many services, especially creative services, there may be after-the-fact fees that apply in certain circumstances, such as:

• Change fees (Client decides to shift to a different destination or add/delete portions of an itinerary)
• Voluntary Trip Cancellation fees (Client voluntarily decides not to travel)
• Non-responsive/Re-Quote fee (Client fails to respond promptly to proposals or requests for feedback, resulting in a re-quote of the itinerary or loss of availability)
• Expedited Fee (This has become more common as travel worldwide has opened up. Each travel designer is a little different. To avoid an expedited fee with my services, my clients must begin the process at least 150 days before anticipated departure, or there is a fee of $250)

Finally, a reputable travel professional will have all their terms and conditions, a quote for charges, and a scope of work outlined in writing before you pay their invoice and begin working together. If you are not presented with that, at a bare minimum, ask.

Now that some of the mysteries and misconceptions of what a professional travel advisor costs and how we work have been removed…

Next up: The difference between a travel agent and a travel advisor.

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Ciao for now!