jojisgirl

Would be interested to hear what folks are paying their travel agents for booking a flight.

One booking of return flight, two people travelling together, different names, separate credit cards. $80 fee , does that sound reasonable ? I would have booked on line,major airline not likely to go bust but the other party wanted travel agent "protection"

Gavin

When I travel for work I have to use a TA who charges $40 per ticket to book the exact flights that I tell them and could easily book online myself. I find the practice most irritating but rules must be obeyed. I have not used a TA for personal travel in years.

Scotia

A fee for service between $40.00 to $45.00 per person plus GST is reasonable. As you are probably aware, majority of airlines do not pay commission any longer. It costs a travel agency approximately $33.oo to $38.00 to process a transaction. That is taking into consideration salary of counsellor, telephone and computer equipment plus backroom staff who process the tickets for airlines. Each airline ticket is a transaction. A travel agent will give you one stop shopping. In addition to airline tickets, they will book hotel, car, insurance and give visa, passport advice all in one shot.

Intrepid1

I suspect these days a lot of people aren't paying a TA anything to book a flight since they aren't using a TA to do so.

I do not understand what "protection" you are going to get from a TA that you won;t get from using your own CC to book aflight even if an airline "goes bust"..and don't forget, filing for bankruptcy protection (which is usually the first step) is not the same as liquidation which is really the "goes bust" part.

Scotia

In Ontario travel agents are protected under the consumers protection provisons under The Travel Industry Act. For example agents must disclose all terms and conditions of reservations, documentation required, insurance available etc. Consumers will also be compensated if they are unable to get money back through their credit card if supplier goes bankrupt.

jojisgirl

Thank you so much. I am not quite so irritated this morning! But, oh my, if it is $40 per ticket, do they charge extra for hotel, car, etc. if all booked at the same time ? Eek! As a pensioned, old dog (no new tricks) I find the airfares already off the wall...
Re. the airline "bust" when it happened not long ago the credit card companies paid up - the agent says they have opted out of this; reason for the "insurance".......Thanks again.

Scotia

To my knowledge if car, hotel, insurance booked at same time there is not an extra fee for these services. However, I know of agencies who will charge a smaller fee; e.g. $15.00 for hotel and/or car if booked after the initial air is booked.

RobynBC

As a travel agent in an industry that has been expected to work for "free", I'm a bit appalled that people don't quite realize that fees imposed to customers are because of the work that it takes to actually book hotels, cars, customize tour programs, air tickets (not to mention any issues with the airlines such as delays, cancelled flights etc tend to come back to the agent to "fix") consulting on insurance, visas, health requirements and much much more. Yes, it can take a few minutes to book yourself on a flight now online to some pretty mainstream places such as within North America and Europe, but when there's an issue that arises, it's often the agent that works behind the scenes for their clients to make sure that plans run as smooth as can be. No one wants to work for free and I would think that one who goes to his doctor for a medical visit or dentist for routine check up, hairdresser, grocery store to buy food etc etc, expects to pay some sort of fee. The difference is that their fees are HIDDEN.

eliztravels2

I rarely use a TA, but when I do I don't begrudge them their fee. Recently two friends and I booked a trip to Belize and used a TA to book the flight. She was able to tell us when the seat sale was likely to expire, ensure we were all on the same flights, recommend a more convenient flight on the return and process 3 separate CC payments. We paid $25 each and ended up with what was probably a better deal than if we had dithered around a few days trying to sort it out and coordinate our efforts. The friend who recommend her is a frequent and adventurous traveller who finds her services are helpful and her fees great value.

nicholasadam

Hannanasr

If people are looking for a good place to stay in Toronto I would recommend livingsuites-toronto.com
You can email them by putting info before the above.i don't know why you would go to a TA unless you are not sure of your travel plans or are visiting multiple countries.having said that I feel more comfortable using a TA. Let them book the flight but check out the hotels yourself.its best to stay in a furnished apartment. Especially if there are three or four of you going.