How low price can travel agents go?

[PLANT]

Hi all,
Well I normally book my own airfare, car hire, accom and travel insurance.
Work allowed Salary packaged accom.
Now they have opened up the option using a travel agent to package holidays... Including flights, car hire and insurance.
Can I work out the details and present to travel agent and have them book exact same.... Or will commission (they won't get) get in the way?????
Still best practice to book the cheapest to save as my other deductions get me into the lowest tax bracket.... Or book the business class seat now to get tax credit/refunds???

 

[mooingchicken]

Not sure of your specific questions.
Yes you can give a travel agent all the details and get them to book it. They will generally be able to price match anything you find (aslong as its available and withing there T&C).
There commission comes out of the ticket price not you paying extra for it. They will get a commission no matter what but it comes from the airline not you.

 

[RooFlyer]

Also trying to figure out your specific questions.

A travel agent will (or should) book exactly what you ask them to. However going the TA way means you are probably going to get exposed to a lot more possibilities than simply booking on-line, including getting cheaper options (almost always international long haul). I usually recommend asking the TA to quote on three scenarios - 1) cheapest, 2) best or not a bad schedule 3) any special deals which may involve some diversions. I also specify the ticketing/paying condition I want (ie OK to pay immediately, or I don't want to pay until 30 days prior to travel etc etc).

Don't simply accept a TA saying "this is the best fare for you". Only you can make that decision, and you can only make that decision if you have the various choices laid out. I'm sorry if this is making it sound difficult. The first couple of bookings you need to figure each other out. I have a great TA, used them for 5+ years who now knows exactly what I want each time and its pretty easy.

As mooingchicken notes, the TA's commission comes out of the fare, and out of the hotel rate if its in their GDS system. For hotels, tell them if the hotel you nominate isn't in their GDS (their booking engine for everything), then you'll book it yourself. Otherwise they may need to do a manual booking and then they may charge you a fee. This is rare these days!

 

[PLANT]

Yep I know airline tickets cost 10% and hence the rest goes to travel agent shop and from that the agent gets a cut.
I also know that if I work out a trip and flights, that the flight I want maybe going by the time I see/contact the agent.