Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008 - (Page 31)

N HOW TO DO IT WITHOUT LOSING BUSINESS BY JOE PIKE OWADAYS, AGENTS ARE PRACTICALLY FORCED TO CHARGE FEES FOR THEIR SERVICES. The easy scapegoat for this—and rightfully so—is the airline industry. Once the airlines cut commissions in 1995, many travel agents implemented a fee structure for their services. Other agents, however, waited, fearful that such fees would scare potential business away. But today, the airlines still haven’t wavered on their now 13-year-old decision to cut commissions, and in a weak U.S. economy, the cost of running a business is higher than ever. “I started charging fees way back when the airlines cut out our commissions, and I was terrified of losing clients,” says Marjorie Agriss, a homebased agent affiliated with Altour Travel. “But my clients surprised me. Most are savvy New Yorkers who had read about what was going on, and were disgusted with the airlines, and were happy to pay for my services. Now my fees are a lot higher, and I charge for many different services, and nobody even thinks about them anymore. It’s just the price of doing business, like any other business.” Kit Hoagland, of Frosch Travel in Houston, agrees. “Working from a home-based office is a working dream for the capable agent,” Hoagland says. “It is the very rare client who questions or begrudges payment of my fees in return for a veritable Fort Knox of knowledge, years of invaluable expertise and the willingness to be their personal ‘travel terrier.’ If there is a danger of losing business due to charging fees—is that business wanted or needed? Most clients today realize that the days of travel agent commissions across the board are fast approaching a bygone era and that professional fee-for-service is the current byword.” Home-Based Travel Agent surveyed some successful home-based agents and found that many not only had advice on how to charge fees without losing business, they were actually skilled enough to make their clients grateful for paying them. Earn the Fee Karen Lacy, a home-based agent in Los Angeles who is affiliated with Altour Travel, says the best way to show a client the fee is worth it is to earn it. Continued on page 32 O CTO B ER 2008 Home-BasedTravelAgent 31

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008

Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Publisher’s Note Your Lifeline Agent Profile New Technology Industry News Hot Deals Charging Fees Cover Story: Divers’ Destinations For the Traveler - Cruise - Groups For the Agent - Cruise - Groups Top Hotels in Italy For the Traveler - Destinations - China For the Agent - Destinations - China For the Traveler - Destinations - Caribbean For the Agent - Destinations - Caribbean For the Traveler - Destinations -Las Vegas For the Agent - Destinations - Las Vegas Home-Based Agent Expo New Products

Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008

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