Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008 - (Page 32)

Continued from page 31 “There is always some risk of losing clients over service fees,” she admits. “To minimize this risk, agents need to make themselves indispensable to a client. Return information promptly and accurately. Offer insight, attention and extra perks they could not possibly get on their own.” According to Lacy, the money clients have to pay is not nearly as valuable as their time. Therefore, they are willing to fork over a little extra so long as it means everything has been taken care of for them from A to Z. “The smart travelers will realize they saved money by not spending two hours trying to shop or book via the Internet,” Lacy says. “My own goal is to reply to e-mails and phone calls within 30 minutes, even if it is just to say, ‘I have your request and will work on it.’ If you don’t get back to people right away, they will find the information online. They probably won’t do as well for themselves as an agent would have. “But agents need to earn the fee,” she stresses. “I always go the extra mile for clients, monitor and secure upgrades on flights, clear waitlists, get amenities at hotels, and so on. Those are valuable perks and they come at a price.” When and How to Ask for Fee M.T. Herrin, also of Frosch Travel in Houston, says she doesn’t even charge the fee until the clients come home from the voyage. The fee is loosely discussed during the planning stages, but she never collects until the trip is over. Once the client has already had a pleasurable experience, she says, the fee becomes easy to collect. “You’d be surprised how many people love helping their travel agents, love giving you more money as long as it means you will continue to do a great job,” she says.“You are making changes in their lives by sending them on vacation, so they understand the changes in your life, in your job and those changes sometimes involve having to charge more fees.” And a little charm doesn’t hurt either. 32 Herrin suggests that when discussing a fee, don’t simply blurt it out, but slip it into a casual conversation. Do it with confidence, she adds, and spice it up with a little humor and a flattering remark. “You don’t just say, ‘Oh, by the way, it’s going to cost you more because of this fee and that fee,’” Herrin says.“Instead, you say something like, ‘This is going to be a little extra, and that might cost a little more, but, hey, you’re worth it, right?’” In Herrin’s experience, repeat customers are the ones more likely to pay the fees because they have already built a rapport with their agent, and already know that the agent’s services are worth the extra cost. However, Ray Cyrnek of RaymondWilliam Travel Consulting in Los Angeles, which is also affiliated with Altour Travel, says that in most cases, he will do the opposite. “In most cases, when I know that a very loyal client is serious about a booking, I don’t charge a fee if I receive an override commission on a tour or cruise,” Cyrnek says. “However, with a new client, I do require a commitment fee depending upon the request with full disclosure as to what I will do for them.This commitment fee is applied to the booking, but nonrefundable in the event that it does not come to fruition. I also charge a booking management fee for extras, like dinner reservations, theater tickets, waitlists and on and on. My fees are fair and flexible and depend upon the situation. I am not concerned with losing business because of the fees that I charge. It is not worth my time and effort to go through all the motions and not get the booking as the end result.” Traveler’s Perspective To find out how travelers feel about agent fees, we talked to Joe Sharkey, a wellknown freelance travel writer for The New York Times, author of an air travelrelated blog called “High Anxiety” and an in-progress book on air travel. “I would gladly pay a fee, say, of $25 to $50 per itinerary or maybe more for complicated trips,” says Sharkey, who flies about 100,000 to 125,000 miles a year. In exchange, of course, he would expect “a travel agent who knew me personally, understood my needs, and was able to book the best fares and hotels while paying attention to connections, frequent flyer advantages, and also keep track of my various frequent flyer programs and hotel and car rental loyalty programs. “All of the travel management companies that I’m aware of specialize in corporate accounts, and they aren’t interested in me as a client,” Sharkey continues. “Given the increasing complexity of booking, with reintroduction of airline minimum-stay requirements and with the sharp reductions in domestic flight capacity, I would think that there would be opportunities for a smart independent travel agent to get new clients from the growing ranks of independent contractors who are on the road frequently. But they’d have to provide customized service. I used to pride myself on being able to do all this myself. Now it’s becoming HB too complex.” The Art of Charging a Fee Remember these five rules and you won’t merely be charging a fee—you’ll be earning it. I Reply to e-mails and calls within 30 minutes I Return information promptly and accurately I Offer insight, attention and extra perks that a client can’t get without you I Always go the extra mile I Use discretion, humor and confidence when mentioning the fee Home-BasedTravelAgent O CTOBE R 2008

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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