Travel advisors, in honor of Women's History Month, I'm encouraging other travel advisors and business owners to charge for trip planning with fees. We provide a critical service to our clients, and it takes research, resources and time to ensure the most affordable options are provided for our clients. While it is an investment for them, as travel advisors, we also provide huge cost savings when investing in our services for planning travels.
As a trusted travel advisor focusing on corporate and business travel, in addition to my other areas of expertise, I know I bring a variety of critical components when it comes to planning travel for my clients. I think that the long travel pause has shed light for many travel advisors and 2021 can offer that "reset" to the perception of a professional travel advisor.
The travel industry needs to recognize the worth and the value that a seasoned advisor like myself brings to the table. Professional service fees are a reflection of value. The travel advisor is in the travel industry providing a service, and in return, a fee should be a standard practice across the travel advisor industry community. Here are a few points as to why I believe charging our clients fees for our services makes sense.
Focus on Clients: I advise and act as a concierge to my travelers. They know they can rely on me because I know how to get things done. My corporate accounts are treated with respect as individual travelers. With that in mind, it becomes more of a personal service experience that I am providing. At large companies to the administrators who are supporting their executives, ultimately, I make their lives and their jobs easier. They can focus on what they need to for their executives with their important meetings because they are assured that I have the travel part covered. I take that stress off their plate. My company, Status, has a different paradigm - wherever my travelers are, I am with them, I stay abreast of what is happening in the world, in addition to knowing the status of their particular travel arrangements any time of day. My clients trust me, and they know that no matter what comes up, I am just a click or phone call away.
The Value of Expertise: The expertise we bring to the table for our clients is incredibly valuable. While travel sites are filled with data and information, as trusted travel advisors, we offer wisdom and ingenuity. Our insights and access to information ensure our clients have the best experience during their corporate business travel. While they are focused on preparing for important business meetings, we are focused on the travel to ensure the experience is seamless from start to finish. Booking corporate travel through an online travel site has become confusing and just a waste of time for many executives and their assistants. These sites can actually make booking travel more difficult. The corporate traveler spends way too much of their workday searching, navigating and sorting through their online results.
Trust and Relationships: Technology, while still necessary, cannot replace the bond of a relationship and that human connection. For my travelers, I leverage my relationships with trusted partners and suppliers across the industry. Having the right and influential connections is priceless for my travelers. Not only that, but I have built the trust that is needed with my travelers. I continue to save my travelers valuable time in exchange for a fee. They focus on their job and are more productive and know that I will show up and dedicate my time to provide them with the best experience. I am proud of the fact that if my traveler reaches out to me at night or on a weekend, I always reply. As an independent consultant with an entrepreneurial spirit, I am very different from an online agent and serve a different market and demographic and offer more than a typical call center agent can provide. The benefit of being a "live" person who knows how to maneuver (travel changes or emergencies) while having the right connections with the right people, will never go away. My experience and fast reactions to travel snafus give my travelers peace of mind.
Travel Advocate: As travel advisors, we are our traveler's advocate. We are their voice, and we watch over every part of the trip, keeping track of travel portfolios, just as financial advisors would of financial portfolios. Trusting a travel advisor on your trip is critical, as they are there to advise you, and that's exactly what we do. We advise and share recommendations. This is an investment and not an expense. My expertise is used to my traveler's advantage as I am their advocate.
Planning and Peace of Mind: For corporate business travel trips for teams or individuals, travel advisors provide peace of mind to clients while focusing on all of the planning elements.
Time Management: As business travel can come up at any time, sometimes at the last minute, travel advisors are able to handle bookings in a timely and efficient manner.
Always There to Support: I am not a call center agent. If my client reaches out to me at night or over the weekend, I am available; I am ready to provide support, and most importantly, I answer the call or text and reply. As a fellow travel advisor, I'm sure you do the same. While I'm always happy and willing to help, my time and my service comes with a fee. My time is extremely valuable. I make efficient use of my time, and there are enormous benefits in working with experts in travel, such as travel advisors. I sell and inspire travel. I work harder than any salaried agent ever will. It is my brand, name and reputation on the line. As I'm taking on new clients, I am also happy to discuss opportunities on how we can best work together and how I can support my client's future business travel.
In closing, the travel industry needs to know their worth and the value of this service industry. The perception of a travel advisor must change. We are not a cost center to a company. We save companies money. We are in this business to make money. I am a for-profit company. As a travel advisor, I am also a hands-on business owner, who is an ally to the traveler. Every day, I advocate for my brand, and I urge travel advisors across the industry to do the same.
Our travel world is evolving. There are new rules set out by governments that continue to change, and as travel advisors, we are the ones in the know. We provide the resources and insights travelers need to make decisions about their trips. Throughout the pandemic, I answered emails, phone calls and texts supporting my clients. I was able to get them refunds that suppliers allowed without penalty. I put a lot of dedication into that work, and I did not charge clients back for all of my time, connections and favors. Online agencies cannot do what I do as they are ultimately a call center and online platform.
Travel advisors should not work for free, and their clients should not expect them to either. In "big business," if one of my clients' customers signed a contract, these clients would expect their client to pay their fees. It's the same thing here, just on a smaller scale. The travel advisor provides a service that requires fees for planning. It is not a disservice to charge a fee for a service provided.
If you do not charge for your work, then you are giving away your time. Ultimately, as many of us know, time is money, and customers should understand and respect that, especially after this pandemic as the travel industry continues to face challenge upon challenge as we are still at the beginning of the road to recovery.
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