To fee or not to fee. This is not a new topic; travel advisors have been contemplating for years whether they should charge planning fees to clients.
Both new and veteran advisors struggle with implementing a planning fee, but now might be the best time to start.
Vinal Desai Burbeck, Founder & Chief Experience Officer at Wanderlark, has been charging fees since day one and thinks all advisors should feel comfortable charging for their services.
"In my view, travel advisors are no different than any other professional that offers services. Attorneys, event planners, personal trainers, and many, many more all charge fees for their services. Travel advisors should be no different, especially when an increasing number of suppliers are cutting commissions or are unable/unwilling to pay them in the first place," Burbeck explains.
In the recent weeks, travel advisors have been spending countless hours canceling, rebooking and coming to the rescue for stranded clients during the coronavirus pandemic. Those who decided not to work with an agent have spent hours on the phone trying to reschedule or get a refund for their canceled trips.
The benefits of booking with a travel agent have never been more clear, and there is no reason for agencies to hesitate when it comes to charging a planning fee.
When travel begins to pick up again, almost everyone will most likely be looking into booking vacations through a trusted travel advisor, and as agents prepare for a post-coronavirus world, they should consider incorporating a planning fee into their business plan.
When asked how agencies can go about incorporating fees into their already established business models, Burbeck explains that being transparent is key.
"It's all about transparency. If you have existing clients who are accustomed to not paying for your services, educate them and explain why they are necessary. That is, commissions alone are often insufficient - especially in this unstable world we are living in at the moment," Burbeck shared. "Consider introducing the fee if/when these clients are planning to embark on a different type of trip that would require more elbow grease on your end. For example, road trips are bound to be more popular this summer. Any trip that includes multiple stops and uncommissionable components (vacation rentals, "mom & pop" tour operators, roadside attractionsthe list goes on) can and should be monetized via a flat or hourly fee."
A recent study, Host Agency Reviews' 2020 Fee Survey, taken this year pre-pandemic, even indicated that more advisors charge fees to their clients now than ever before and that the majority of travel advisors reported charging some sort of fee.
When travel picks back up in the coming months, agencies will need to be creative in finding ways to increase revenue, and charging a planning fee is a great way to do so.
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