How many travel agents to use?

[Sololux]

I’m thinking of booking a relatively expensive cruise and will be travelling solo.  I’m interested in getting a good deal but using knowledgeable TA’s.  I’ve identified two in the U.K. who can provide the level of service and expertise that I think I need for the type of cruise I have in mind.  I will be looking for cruise, flights, hotels pre cruise and possibly post cruise plus transfers airport - hotel - ship and return

My question is should I just stick to asking one TA to produce the package or ask at least one more to assess what deal they are offering?

[leaveitallbehind]

If you mean that you are considering using multiple agents to book different pieces of the same trip, IMO I see no need to do that.  That would just confuse things with different agents assisting on different components.  Most TA's - at least those in the US - all have similar access to the same rates for the cruise, hotels, flights, and the rest. 

 

If you want to compare total packages between a couple of TA's that might be OK as one may use different hotels or other associated land packages.  But IMO, in general most of the major component pricing will likely be similar with all of them.

[Sololux]

Thank you for the feedback.  It would be for the whole trip.  The last thing I’d want would be in the middle of two TA’s.  
I was wondering how much leeway they would have in their commissions to either discount the price or provide on board credit.  We used to only use one TA when we last cruised and I never really knew whether we were getting a good deal or paying full up money.  We haven’t been on any cruises, or holidays for that matter, since we moved to France over 10 years ago.  As I’m looking at around £30k to £40k budget I would think their commission was going to be significant.

[leaveitallbehind]

Just now, Sololux said:

Thank you for the feedback.  It would be for the whole trip.  The last thing I’d want would be in the middle of two TA’s.  
I was wondering how much leeway they would have in their commissions to either discount the price or provide on board credit.  We used to only use one TA when we last cruised and I never really knew whether we were getting a good deal or paying full up money.  We haven’t been on any cruises, or holidays for that matter, since we moved to France over 10 years ago.  As I’m looking at around £30k to £40k budget I would think their commission was going to be significant.

Whether or not an individual TA is willing to give you part of their income in order to entice you to book through them is not something that is easy to determine up front. And not something I would ask.  I guess you can only compare the total value of what one TA can provide versus another.  But I always wonder how willing someone would be to share there earnings in any other situation with a client to garner their favor.  Not criticizing, but always curious.  JMO.

[CDNPolar]

32 minutes ago, Sololux said:

Thank you for the feedback.  It would be for the whole trip.  The last thing I’d want would be in the middle of two TA’s.  
I was wondering how much leeway they would have in their commissions to either discount the price or provide on board credit.  We used to only use one TA when we last cruised and I never really knew whether we were getting a good deal or paying full up money.  We haven’t been on any cruises, or holidays for that matter, since we moved to France over 10 years ago.  As I’m looking at around £30k to £40k budget I would think their commission was going to be significant.

 

One TA does not necessarily get the same commission as another TA.

 

The commission the TA puts in their pocket depends on many factors.  Whether they work for a large agency group or are an independent agent can play a role.  Different agencies have different commission levels based on their booking status with the cruise line.

 

You can assume that their commission will be significant, but they are also not commissioned on the entire price you pay.

 

For instance, taxes, fees, airfare, and other elements are often non-commissionable.  Other elements like transfers, hotels, and tours can be very low commissions to TA's.  These elements can constitute a significant portion of your cruise fare paid.  The actual cruise fare is likely the highest portion of their commission but that is again before taxes, and fees.

 

As @leaveitallbehind mentioned, you cannot expect a TA to give up their commission to your benefit.  This is their income and often they spend a significant amount of time managing your booking.  This is how they earn their income, and shockingly they need an extreme volume of bookings to make a good living.

 

Often as well, cruise lines limit what a TA can give to you in discounts, or onboard credit.  This is also further limited by the number of days a cruise is.  Or favourite cruise line only allows a TA to give $300 pp OBC for a 7-14 day cruise.  Up to $500 pp for a 15 day cruise.  Many cruise lines have these rules so that one agent cannot discount their way to volume bookings by offering more.

 

Interview your agents and ask bluntly if they offer any perks, or OBC to book through them.  You will get a yes or no.

 

Don't put an agent through the exercise of producing a quote to only then ask for perks and not go with them because they don't offer the perks.

[leaveitallbehind]

@CDNPolar 's comments are dead on.  To add, unless they are self employed, an agent splits the earned commission to some degree (often as much as 50/50) with the sponsoring agency and they rarely see all of it themselves.  And along with port fees and taxes, there is a portion of the fare that is non-commissionable, which means $0 commissions are paid on that portion.  And BTW, airlines don't pay a commission for their bookings. 

 

But more importantly, a TA does not get paid on a booking until after the cruise is completed and the cruise line closes the books on that cruise, and then it is entered into the cruise lines next payout schedule. Which means their commission is not received by them until 30-90 days after the cruise is taken.  Booking a year in advance means they wait up to 15 months to get paid for it.

 

This is why I am always curious, along with the expectation with TA's, whether or not other people would be willing to share their income with a prospective business client. 

Edited August 2 by leaveitallbehind

[Mike981]

3 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

This is why I am always curious, along with the expectation with TA's, whether or not other people would be willing to share their income with a prospective business client. 

 

I had a sales client years ago ask me what my commission was for a sale, and I said "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." That ended the discussion. I saw a study years ago that most people would rather talk about their sex lives (good or bad) , than their income and on a smaller scale their money situation.

[leaveitallbehind]

28 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

 

I had a sales client years ago ask me what my commission was for a sale, and I said "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." That ended the discussion. I saw a study years ago that most people would rather talk about their sex lives (good or bad) , than their income and on a smaller scale their money situation.

Having been affiliated with the sales side of business when for my entire career, I get that!  Very good response. I just find it interesting when some people think that TA's should provide financial perks from their commission to facilitate a booking.  That's why I ask if they would be willing to do the same from their income to garner a business transaction.

Edited August 2 by leaveitallbehind

[Sololux]

You have all raised good points.  However, I’m not naive but not stupid either - OH worked in roles which had commission structures.  It’s been obvious, from some of my research that some TA’s are more preferential TA’s to specific cruise lines and they are passing on more ‘value’ back to their clients as they receive better commission rates.

[leaveitallbehind]

3 minutes ago, Sololux said:

However, I’m not naive but not stupid either.

To clarify, I don't believe that you are nor have I intended to give that impression.  If that is how it seems, then I apologize as I would never suggest that.

 

If anything, I think there are those may not realize the reality of how the industry works and may believe certain things regarding give backs, etc., based on incorrect assumptions.

 

I hope you enjoy your future cruises and are satisfied with whomever you book with and with whatever value they bring.

[clo]

6 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Booking a year in advance means they wait up to 15 months to get paid for it.

And I had to cancel a cruise booked way out for medical reasons. So she got nothing.

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, clo said:

And I had to cancel a cruise booked way out for medical reasons. So she got nothing.

That would be correct as TA's only receive their commission on completed cruises. 

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, clo said:

And I had to cancel a cruise booked way out for medical reasons. So she got nothing.

And when the Covid shutdown hit, TAs not only did not collect commissions, but also had to do a lot of work doing cancellations with no income coming in.

[MacMadame]

I am confused about these comments that no TAs would give back a small portion of their commission to give their clients perks. Every TA I've talked to has offered things like OBC and that has to be coming from somewhere. And I know salespeople who will discount a product by using some of their commission. It's worth it to them to get slightly less compensation vs. no compensation.

 

[CDNPolar]

On 8/3/2024 at 1:22 PM, MacMadame said:

I am confused about these comments that no TAs would give back a small portion of their commission to give their clients perks. Every TA I've talked to has offered things like OBC and that has to be coming from somewhere. And I know salespeople who will discount a product by using some of their commission. It's worth it to them to get slightly less compensation vs. no compensation.

 

 

Not attacking what you said here, just sharing some of my observations and making some of my opinionated responses...

 

I think that some of the comments suggest that we should not expect all TA's to give part of their compensation (commission) to their clients.

 

Some do and some don't.

 

We often get confused by the word "commission" I think.  To me often commission suggests income on top of a salary - or a bonus.

 

For many travel advisors, the commission IS their income.  There is no salary, and then commission on top, the commission is their income.

 

Yes, and the salespeople that you know that will discount their product by giving up some of their commission, are they also receiving a salary?

 

 

Edited August 5 by CDNPolar

[ldubs]

On 8/3/2024 at 10:22 AM, MacMadame said:

I am confused about these comments that no TAs would give back a small portion of their commission to give their clients perks. Every TA I've talked to has offered things like OBC and that has to be coming from somewhere. And I know salespeople who will discount a product by using some of their commission. It's worth it to them to get slightly less compensation vs. no compensation.

 

 

We get heavily discounted fares using our current TA.  While the size of the difference would make me think they can't all be commission kickbacks, in reality I have no idea where it comes from or how it is accomplished.  All I know is it happens. 

[MacMadame]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

We get heavily discounted fares using our current TA.  While the size of the difference would make me think they can't all be commission kickbacks, in reality I have no idea where it comes from or how it is accomplished.  All I know is it happens. 

Which is as is should be. 

 

From what the TAs who have YouTube channels say, they get discounted fares compared to what we can get by booking ourselves on the website. But some also sweeten the pot here and there and those perks are paid for by them however they choose to do it.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, MacMadame said:

Which is as is should be. 

 

From what the TAs who have YouTube channels say, they get discounted fares compared to what we can get by booking ourselves on the website. But some also sweeten the pot here and there and those perks are paid for by them however they choose to do it.

Yes, and sometimes they get discounted fares by buying blocks of cabins.

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, and sometimes they get discounted fares by buying blocks of cabins.

 

Is there some organization that does that on behalf of member agencies?   It is hard to think many agencies would be able to purchase blocks of cabins across the cruise line fleets.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Is there some organization that does that on behalf of member agencies?   It is hard to think many agencies would be able to purchase blocks of cabins across the cruise line fleets.  

I do not know. I do know that the travel agent we usually use has in the past bought blocks of cabins. Another time when my DW saw a very good price and I asked if he could match it, he could not and said that the consolidator who gave that price must have bought a block of cabins and the cruise line would not sell the same to him.

[ldubs]

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

I do not know. I do know that the travel agent we usually use has in the past bought blocks of cabins. Another time when my DW saw a very good price and I asked if he could match it, he could not and said that the consolidator who gave that price must have bought a block of cabins and the cruise line would not sell the same to him.

 

Thanks!  Consolidator was the word I was missing.   They do it for airlines so I guess it can also be done for cruise ships.   

[Noble724]

I think there a lot of assumptions about a travel agents ability to offer 'perks' and 'discounts.'  Sometimes the value of a professional travel agent cannot be measured in the few dollars you get back in discounted commission.  Also, on board credits may well be coming directly from the cruise line or a consortium.  

 

If you have an agent that provides you with quality service, accurately responds to your questions in a timely manner, helps you with information on your destination (or ship) based on personal experience or significant, credible feedback from many customers, then I think you have to decide what is more important to you.  If getting a discount here or there is your benchmark, go for it.  If onboard credit is your bench mark, understand that OBC can greatly be impacted by what promotions the cruise line is offering.  If all you want is someone to do an electronic search for the best price, give you a couple of dollars or OBC...that is your option.  Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. 

[Noble724]

To the original question:  "I will be looking for cruise, flights, hotels pre cruise and possibly post cruise plus transfers airport - hotel - ship and return.  My question is should I just stick to asking one TA to produce the package or ask at least one more to assess what deal they are offering?"

 

There is nothing wrong with interviewing two or three agents, just give them the professional courtesy of letting them know you are shopping around.  The agent can then decide if it is worth their time to submit a bid for the package.  It sounds like you are not familiar with the area you are visiting.  The agent(s) may have a lot of experience in your destination area, if they do, they can give you the level of service you are seeking.  If they do not, they may not want to invest the hours of research to give you a meaningful quote (including discounts and OBC).  

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, Noble724 said:

I think there a lot of assumptions about a travel agents ability to offer 'perks' and 'discounts.'  Sometimes the value of a professional travel agent cannot be measured in the few dollars you get back in discounted commission.  Also, on board credits may well be coming directly from the cruise line or a consortium.  

 

If you have an agent that provides you with quality service, accurately responds to your questions in a timely manner, helps you with information on your destination (or ship) based on personal experience or significant, credible feedback from many customers, then I think you have to decide what is more important to you.  If getting a discount here or there is your benchmark, go for it.  If onboard credit is your bench mark, understand that OBC can greatly be impacted by what promotions the cruise line is offering.  If all you want is someone to do an electronic search for the best price, give you a couple of dollars or OBC...that is your option.  Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. 

I noted in post #20 in this thread that my DW found a much cheaper fare for a cruise we really wanted and when I gave our regular TA the quote, he tried and could not match it as he said the cruise line would not sell him a block of cabins. But I went back after that to our regular TA. I like being a name, not what is your customer number. He also gives us great information based on his long experience as a TA and the cruises he has taken. And his prices are generally very competitive. He told me when we booked a cruise with him the next year that he understood saving a bunch of money and that he was grateful that we were back booking with him.

[Noble724]

Great!  It appears you have the answer to your original question.  Enjoy and have safe travels.