Travel Agent (Falsely) Claiming Zero Availability on QF

[elbarto]

Does anyone know what commissions are paid to the TA for both domestic VA and QF?

May not have been the commission, but some kind of VA incentive on offer which are regularly offered to travel agents.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

No commission on any domestic and trans tasman on any carrier (except EK) generally. VA offer a little if booked in a package with land arrangements through a wholesaler. Other other agencies may have other arrangements.

 

[paris3008]

Hi I am a travel agent, and I agree with the comments, 99.9% of us and yes I know you travellers out there will disagree, we DO NOT try to deceive customers.

We do not always show the same availability in our GDS ( Galileo, Sabre, Amadeus) that is online.

Booking online a lot of the time is tedious and expensive and time consuming with the web booking tool not always functioning or incredibly slow as I am sure others can attest to.

We do not make much money from a domestic booking and make little or no commission - 3% at most of a fare ( and remember the fare you see online includes taxes which are non commissionable) so if your fare to Perth is $400 then you can bet the commission the agent makes at best is on $300 and that would be as little as $9 a ticket, and I would say for domestic this is better than it has been for a while.

I only book domestic for regular clients, or ones I know dont use the internet as there is no money in it, and I am sorry for people when I say this, but it is a business. We dont have 50% off sales as some people think because 10% on any booking is huge commission these days.

So when you think of all the time you visit the agent, the enquiries, the back and forth with itineraries, the payment and accounting on a file, the paying of suppliers, the collection, checking and dispersing documents, processing visas, on a per hour basis it is not a huge money maker.

And to add to this everyone I know who is a travel agent is a true professional that only wants the best possible holiday for their clients. This is our reward.

For the person who wants to rip the head off the travel agent who is making as little money as the person looking after their child in a child care centre and thinks we are without morals, try one day in our job and see how emotionally and mentally drained you are. I have worked for hours and hours on a booking with commission return being as little as $100 on a domestic booking, and that is gross profit.

How many of you travellers are working for this little a reward but we do our job. I cant believe someone intentionally ripped off your parents, as there is no reason to do so, really the difference between $6 commission and $9 commission really. The best suggestion I have read is use your feet, just dont go back because with clients that are this judgmental it is no wonder a lot give up the job.

If you have checked the internet and knew there were seats why didnt you use the internet and book. I dont have a problem with clients that book their own domestic bookings as it frees me up to work on large and complicated itineraries.

Sure for elderly people, such as my parents and their friends who live on the central coast I have no problem doing this at all, and I book whatever works out the most reasonable. Dont jump online and do this, it demeans all of us that work hard. And yes airlines are to blame, they jack up prices on flights that increase the cost to customers, but they up the taxes not the fare. Agents only make commission on the fare not the taxes.

A recent fare to the US was with Qantas was only $550 return, taxes were $950, so a travel agent makes a mere 5% of the $550 - $27.50- so when you book, get itineraries, have yuor agent book meals, seats, assist with your visa, and then print out the documents, think the Agency and not the travel agent just made a staggering $27.50 on me.. Wow.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Some TA companies sell buckets of seats like Qantas does. The would try to sell a lower fair bucket first (at a higher cost) to turn a profit. Just business really.

I've run a business for nearly 30 years. It did not include lying to clients to make a profit. My staff did get incentives, but if any of them had lied to make more money they would have been gone pretty quickly. Being in business does not mean having the morals of an alley cat....

 

[paris3008]

incentive - really? you think 3% on tiny domestic fares is any incentive.... and this is good commission for domestic.. really how about checking facts first. Last time I checked the incentive the poor person would have got would have been no more than $10 a ticket.

yippee, how about giving travel agents the credit for doing a job well, and trying their best. And if this is an agent on the central coast their bread and butter is senior clients, so they wouldnt like to damage their reputation this way.

Just dont go back, or give the agent the benefit but really who would work for no commission or $10 for this amount of work, I will say again only a child care worker or your travel agent.

Funny how we put so much trust in people and then pay them so little and not appreciate their value and are the first to shout they ripped us off.

 

[paris3008]

I am going to reply to hadynsydney - 3% at the top end , some agents may not even get this if they dont issue their own tickets. ( this is also on the fare and NOT on taxes) you never get commssion on the taxes which make up most of the fare by the way. tough world out there in travel, and very thankless in the long run, except for the wonderful clients that put their faith in us that we do a good job. Now you know how profitable we are.

 

[KPerth]

Guess why I NEVER use a TA unless I absolutely have to e.g. when booking a Cruiseco cruise. I knew more about travel than the TA I HAD to use.

 

[paris3008]

Hey Tuppaware -[redacted] , All answers have been honest and revealing and for you ff out there you need to respect your agent more. We dont sell bucket seats like Qantas does, what sort of comment is that. We make the same commission ( some or none) no matter what the fare is. Of course we prefer to make more commission but realy on a riduculously priced domestic fare how much can we make.. again you would have us make nothing. I work corporate and we book domestic, and we charge a booking fee above the fare, why? because there is NO money in domestic bookings.

 

[Dougo]

Guess why I NEVER use a TA unless I absolutely have to e.g. when booking a Cruiseco cruise. I knew more about travel than the TA I HAD to use.

That doesn't surprise me at all based on my experience and as an avid cruiser ... and BTW, I never use Cruiseco.

 

[paris3008]

Hi, if you dont have full information dont speculate please. I posted a reply and received an infraction so last time I will add to this. VA incentive non existent. commission offered only and I have posted the commission. Dont shoot the travel agent just trying to do their job. If yuo arent happy switch agents or book online yourself, we are just trying to do our best.

 

[paris3008]

again, dont tar us all the same. If you dont want to use an agent dont, if you want to book online do, but when there is stuff up and your cruise is cancelled, your tour cancelled and you need someone to reissue tickets and you have cancellation penalties that the travel agent could have waivered dont complain either.

 

[Limewood]

The is always going to be one bad apple in the barrel so all can't be tarred with the one brush no matter what business it is. Six retired friends recently had a go at doing a one month trip to Europe online and gave up, later went to a local TA, and once i saw the flights and itinerary i was rather impressed at the deal they had.

 

[paris3008]

Generally this is what I find as well. it is not easy if you dont know exact hotels, airlines, seats how to get from one place to another it is not easy. We spend lots of time on bookings, much as there might always be one bad apple, I still think the perception is on the side of the customer and I dont know anyone in ,I dont want to put how many years, that would deliberately cheat a client,as the first non informed irrate person said. Be civilised, go and ask or dont book with them or do it yourself but really... I am glad that you were impressed also. I spend so many hours doing my job, yes I am working now, on planning a europe trip the most economical way but comfort for veterans and it is a challenge to do a good job that is a good deal for the client, fulfulls their need and ours which is to stay in business at the end of the day.

 

[paris3008]

oh and I will gladly and honestly show a client how much I made on their booking if they ever wanted to ask, you would be horrified at gross cost versus the commission made. I am sure most of my clients dont ask as they know this already, and they would be devastated at how little I earn

 

[Dougo]

The is always going to be one bad apple in the barrel so all can't be tarred with the one brush no matter what business it is. Six retired friends recently had a go at doing a one month trip to Europe online and gave up, later went to a local TA, and once i saw the flights and itinerary i was rather impressed at the deal they had.

Where I have had complicated itineraries I have gone to a TA and they have done a great job.

I was aware prior to Paris' posts that TAs get very little or no commission for some services and in fact when I did try to place bookings with a local TA (my preference over chains any day), I was turned away due to no commission. Fair enough .. but this is why I tend to book on line most of the time ... plus like the OP, I have had a couple of horror stories primarily with chain type TAs which I will never use again.

Having said that, Paris your posts seem very angry to me. TBH, I have not felt much sympathy for you as a result.

 

[paris3008]

possibly- but I am not angry- but you do get tired of false information out there, and it wears you down. It is a long day for most of us, and so i am not looking for sympathy. i do the job that I love to do, but it is hard when you read people wanting to tear you down and complain about how you rip them off. I wish every agent was honest and told every client how little money they made, this might help. I have always been for transparency and its hard when you read, oh it was an incentive, they had to sell more or they wanted to just make more money out of you. The highest commission on a fare is around 7% if you are lucky and zero and yes I have had complicated itineraries where I simply let them know if that is what they want me to book I will need to charge a fee and it is not usually anywhere near enough to cover costs but it is better than nothing at the end of the day to keep a client happy. So no angry TBH thanks for the honest feedback, more than I can say about the other postings which arent. I would avoid Flight centres as they do need to make a buck as they are paid so little and their very livelyhood depends on commissions, so they are more likely to not call you back or not do the booking at all if there is no profit in it, but again I get the agent there as well, and you were paid tiny, and I mean tiny, then you would chase down bookings where there was ok commission to make. I recently passed on a booking to a flight centre friend because I didnt have the time and it was commissionable and I think they made about $100 on the booking and she was so grateful but I didnt have the time and knew she would do it right. So again not angry, dont need sympathy - just dont need false information and people out thinking we all have no morals. I even drove my clients to the airport when their shuttle didnt turn up as they were distraught, so I hardly think I am in the angry category, just the opposite and if the message I can get out is think kindly of your agent they are overworked and underpaid I will keep at it. because it doesnt appear to me, in any of these threads except the last couple that anyone out there thinks highly of their agents

 

[haydensydney]

paris3008

While the commission may not be a hell of a lot, there are 'incentives' that the airlines throw open to agents. I don't really know the intimate details regarding incentives, but I do know that airlines say "Give us xx_ in bookings and you we will give you two tickets to LA" for example. Perhaps the OP's TA was close to meeting a VA incentive? We will never know, and this is just speculation.

I'm all for a fee for service model in all industries - supplier incentives and commissions can adversely affect advice given to customers and cause conflicts (and perhaps breed mistrust among the customers).

 

[paris3008]

there is no such incentive, and of course this as you said is speculative. we do have incentives that may see a slight increase in commission and I mean slight as in 1% but this would not mean that the agent would be more or less likely to sell one airline over another. Some agents have a preference on an airline based on personal and I do mean personal experience only. I personally dont like Jetstar as I find they dont run on time as much as clients would like and this causes problems. So I have a personal preference not to book them for this reason, It doesnt stop me booking them however. I have a preference for Qantas as they are full service and I can do seating and meals and entertainment with no additional cost to the client, but in saying that they are usually more expensive as well. So this can deter the customer on a price level. I am all for a fee service as well, but clients dont go for that, they dont want to know how little you make, I am sure for some of themthey would feel guilty at the work they give them for the little return they make. Most advice is given on a PERSONAL basis only, and if you travel you would have your personal preferences based on your experiences which you share. we just get to do this for a job.

 

[jukebox333]

Hi I am a travel agent, and I agree with the comments, 99.9% of us and yes I know you travellers out there will disagree, we DO NOT try to deceive customers.

*snip*

If you have checked the internet and knew there were seats why didnt you use the internet and book. I dont have a problem with clients that book their own domestic bookings as it frees me up to work on large and complicated itineraries.

Sure for elderly people, such as my parents and their friends who live on the central coast I have no problem doing this at all, and I book whatever works out the most reasonable. Dont jump online and do this, it demeans all of us that work hard. And yes airlines are to blame, they jack up prices on flights that increase the cost to customers, but they up the taxes not the fare. Agents only make commission on the fare not the taxes.

*snip*

Paris,

As the OP for this topic, it is crystal clear to me that my parents experienced what you describe as the 0.1% of T/A's.

Me, or my parents, using, or not using the internet, to book these seats is not the issue. It is the lie (and lets not sugar-coat it, that it exactly what is was) told to two gullible elderly customers that here was zero QF availability in this instance.

The profitability or otherwise of T/A's is irrelevant. Farmers don't make so much money anymore selling milk, either. Neither do record companies, selling CD's. Times change. Technology intervenes. You either adapt, or become extinct.

My bottom line: There is no excuse. People in service industries who deceive their customers deserve to be avoided.

 

[paris3008]

again I am not so sure, GDS do not show the same availability as a website, and most of us rely on our gds as the easiest and quickest method of booking. I can do screen prints and show you the difference or we can argue the point, or we can agree to disagree. ( and i have just checked my gds and qantas website and there is a difference on flights to perth and fares even as I type) There is no excuse and I agree but i still dont believe that the venom to the agent is warranted. I know on occassions my screen shows no availability and surprise the next day there are plenty of seats, the airline manages yields on a constant basis and constantly changes the availability on what they sell to agents and customers direct. To say the profitability is irrelevant, maybe to the customer- mostly not by the way, but I want to know that my doctor/lawyer or someone I am seeking on advice from is not going to run away with my money and I am going to be left with nothing so to speak, so the financial viability of the agent should be a concern as a consumer, especially as your are purchasing an intangible. Again avoid the agent if you are so inclined but again at the end of the day if they are not financially viable you could be one of the unlucky ones that checks in at the airport to find the booking cancelled or the ticket cancelled or even worse never issued. Be concerned as the US market for travelagents died a big death with technology but due to shysters online is now making a comeback, Face to face isnt so bad after all sometimes.