TORONTO — There’s nothing like the topic of service fees to spark debate and discussion among travel advisors.

In last week’s article about service fees and how much advisors should charge, Zeina Gedeon, president and CEO of Trevello Travel Group, told Travelweek that the amount “varies based on an advisor’s experience, expertise, location and the type of booking.” While Trevello gives its advisors general guidelines to consider, whether it’s a percentage of the total cost of the trip or a flat fee based on the trip’s components, “every advisor should find a fee structure that works best for them and their business model.”

Judith Coates, travel advisor and owner of Wired for Travel in Orillia, ON, agrees with Gedeon that service fees should be self-regulated, telling Travelweek that her agency charges $100 per person for flights only, $100-$200 per person for all-inclusive packages, $100-$250 per person for cruises, and anywhere from $500-$750 for customized itineraries. However, Coates takes issue with fees being based on an advisor’s experience and expertise, firmly believing that they should only be determined by the type of booking.

“If new travel advisors just starting out have received proper training, they need to charge fees that are comparable to other travel advisors’ fees because even though they don’t have the experience or expertise, they know where to get the answers. We have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips because of supplier relationships, peer groups and host agency databases,” says Coates.

Although Coates, who has been a travel agent for 25 years, only started seriously charging what she calls a “planning fee” during the pandemic, she’s since taken a hardline approach, telling clients that her fee is non-negotiable. 

“I’ll base the planning fee on my estimate of how much time I think it’s going to take me to do the research. It’s a variable fee but I don’t negotiate, and I won’t tell clients that I’ll apply the fee towards the cost of their booking, which some advisors call a ‘plan to go’ fee. That might get their commitment but it won’t compensate me for my time,” she says.

Confidence is key when discussing service fees with clients, adds Coates. But this wasn’t always the case for the veteran advisor who admits that she drafted up a script for herself at first and practiced repeatedly.

“I felt very self-conscious talking about fees with clients. But now it’s second nature and I can talk about planning fees with confidence,” says Coates. 

Today, Coates hopes to see all travel advisors charging fees, and continues to be surprised by how many veteran advisors who are still against it for fear of losing their clients.

“The pandemic and all the travel cancellations and lost commissions we dealt with during that time taught us that we cannot rely on the small commissions we earn from our travel suppliers, which is just their way of saying thank you,” she says. “Our relationship is with our clients – we work for them, not the travel suppliers. Since most of our work is done up front, we should be paid for that work up front.”

ZOOM: “A HUGE GIFT” FOR INDEPENDENT TRAVEL AGENTS

If you were to ask Coates what good came out of the global pandemic, she’d say Zoom, the video conferencing platform that allows users to connect online for meetings, webinars and live chat. The platform surged in popularity during lockdowns, with millions of people around the world using it to stay in touch with family and friends and conduct business from home.

For home-based travel advisors in Ontario, Zoom also offered them a convenient workaround to ‘meet’ with clients in their home offices, something that’s prohibited by TICO and the Travel Industry Act, 2002. The Act prohibits travel advisors from using their home to meet and counsel customers; if they want to meet with a customer for the purpose of selling travel services, they must do so from the registered travel retailer’s registered business location or the customer’s location, which can be their home or a public space like a coffee shop.

Being able to virtually meet with clients via Zoom allowed Coates and all at-home advisors in Ontario to consult with clients one on one from home, see their faces and gauge their reactions, something she says is particularly important when discussing service fees and closing the sale.

“Of course, meeting in-person is the ideal but Zoom is far superior to a phone call because you can see people’s facial expressions. If they react with raised eyebrows when I tell them about my planning fee, then that tells me they need more information about what that fee is going to provide for them,” says Coates. 

Whenever Coates receives inquiries from clients (the majority of which, she says, are for customized itineraries), she’ll invite them to make an appointment via Calendly, a scheduling platform that allows users to schedule, prepare and follow up on external meetings. Coates includes a Calendly link below her email signature, which she will then instruct customers to click on to view her calendar, allowing them to choose for themselves a 30-minute block to meet via Zoom. This, she says, eliminates the unnecessary back-and-forth that often comes with pre-arranging a set time and date to meet. 

Once on Zoom, Coates spends “90% of the call asking questions, listening to them, finding out what their ideal vacation looks like and how much they would like to spend.” She spends the last few minutes telling them how much she would enjoy working with them and explaining all the research that will be required to plan their trip. 

“Although there are many options out there, I tell them that I’ll weed out all those that wouldn’t be a good fit based on the information they’ve given me. And then I tell them that my planning fee will ensure that I’m working for them, and not for anyone who might just be shopping around,” she adds. 

Coates says that this strategy has proven to be really effective, with about 95% of Zoom calls ending with her getting a customer’s credit card information on the spot. To provide further reference, she also includes an overview of planning fees and why it’s important to book with a travel advisor on her agency’s website.

But at the end of the day, whether travel advisors use Zoom or not, Coates is adamant that every advisor should be charging service fees and know and understand their worth. 

“You may not have the years of experience, but you’ve done extensive training, you participate in webinars, workshops and trade shows and you attend fam trips,” she says. “You’ll be doing a lot of research, investigating and organizing for your clients, and will be looking after them before, during and after their vacation. All that is worth something to your client, and when you work with clients who understand this, they’ll be your clients for life!”