Line your pocket

Commissions on in-destination activities add up, said Natalie Darby, senior travel agent at AAA Tidewater in Virginia Beach. Darby recently put together an FIT where the client pre-booked $1,800 on a variety of day tours in several cities.

“I book day tours, city passes, private transfers or shuttles, and different excursions every time I book a European trip,” said Darby, who typically books through online activities specialists Travel Bound or Viator.

Agents told Travel Market Report that they’re earning between 5% and 18% on such bookings. Travel Bound’s commission levels start at 10%.

Commission potential depends on the activity. Prices for the average day tour run anywhere from $40 to $80. Those that include features such as a private car and guide or cooking with a chef are priced as high as $300, said Darby.

Those numbers may look small but, as Butler said, “If you do enough of the little bits on the bottom line, it becomes a top line.”

The money adds up
Consistency is the key, she added. “You can’t do one a month. If you do a handful every time you’re doing a European vacation, it builds up.”

Ray Espino, owner/travel consultant with A & R Travel and Tours in Burnham, Ill., agreed. “Think about a small tour in the Riviera Maya for the Mayan ruins – let’s say it’s only $8 [commission]. If you do this three or four times a week, over the course of a year it really adds up.

“Even at the end of the quarter when you run your quarterly report, it’s like ‘wow, we generated $1,500 off of these tours,’ and every single dollar helps.”

Improve customer service . . .
Another reason to pre-book activities for clients is to provide an additional service and enhance the perceived value of working with your agency, and that will be reflected in client loyalty.

The more travel agents can do for their clients, the more prepared the clients are for their travels, and that’s a win-win, Darby said.

By recommending activities, and then pre-booking them, agents remind clients of the expertise they provide, commented Ken Frohling, vice president and head of business development at Viator.

“They show clients they are the expert. Recommending [the tour] Be a Gladiator for a Day in Rome to a family traveling to Italy – that’s not something the customer would likely find on their own. It reinforces the expertise and service of the agent community.”

. . . and build loyalty
Butler agreed. “If you suggest something they haven’t thought of, they appreciate you that much more. They see that you’re that much more knowledgeable, because you clued them into something.”

Client appreciation will boost agency earnings in other ways, she said. “That circles back to commission because they’re going to come back to you for their next tour.”

Espino shares this philosophy. “Let’s say you book a Cancun package. We want to sell you a tour to the Mayan Ruins, to Cozumel. We want to book all those things for you, because it’s important that we create more value as a travel agent for our clients.”

It’s up to you
Few clients booking a land vacation for the first time are aware of the array of available activities or of the fact that their agent can pre-book their activities. It is often incumbent on the travel agent to suggest in-destination activities and explain why pre-booking is advisable.

At AAA Tidewater, agents routinely recommend to clients that they pre-arrange their activities whenever they handle a sale. “If they haven’t asked about it, I do suggest it, if I know they’re planning on sightseeing,” Butler said.

Ninety percent of the time clients are open to her suggestions. “You can at least talk them into one tour.”

More experienced travelers recognize the value of pre-booking. “They know that if they book it as an excursion ahead of time, they get to skip the line, and that’s a big benefit.”

Free Travel School. Now is the time to become a travel agent. Learn how to become a travel agent and open your own online travel agency. Earn extra income and Free Travel Benifites. http://www.homebasedtravelagents.org