Travel agent for yourself

[qf17]

Bit of a crazy thought. But has anyone tried learning how to use Amadeus or another travel agent booking platform to book their own paid travel and bypassing a TA? Every time I use a travel agent or change the date etc it’s at least $150. How difficult would it be to book one’s own travel? Has anyone tried it? Experiences? I keep thinking expertflyer + Amadeus would be a pretty golden combo.

 

[GDSman]

I’m not sure you could get a GDS contract without being an agent. The contracts are complex multi-year deals with all sorts of fees and rebates…that said I’ve been out of GDS for a while but I hadn’t heard it had changed.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Bit of a crazy thought. But has anyone tried learning how to use Amadeus or another travel agent booking platform to book their own paid travel and bypassing a TA? Every time I use a travel agent or change the date etc it’s at least $150. How difficult would it be to book one’s own travel? Has anyone tried it? Experiences? I keep thinking expertflyer + Amadeus would be a pretty golden combo.

What GDSman said + why not book direct with the airlines and make your own changes? You’d still have to pay change fees but you’d be cutting out the agency fees.

 

[Forg]

What GDSman said + why not book direct with the airlines and make your own changes? You’d still have to pay change fees but you’d be cutting out the agency fees.

How does it work when the agent can get cheaper fares than you can as a pleb straight from the airline?

I assume that some sort of agreements are required, which just having access to booking software wouldn’t get you?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

How does it work when the agent can get cheaper fares than you can as a pleb straight from the airline?

I assume that some sort of agreements are required, which just having access to booking software wouldn’t get you?

That’s true, agents can forego commission to reduce fares… and I guess there are some special deals? I dunno how trip.com gets these ‘$100 off’ coupons for china for example?

But I’m not sure a single operator booking single tickets would get those? I dunno… maybe a guest ion for madrooster!

 

[Cynicor]

So I did this, and now work as a travel agent (on the side) to cover the fees to the agency so I don’t make a loss.
I did it primarily to access hotel rates with a slight discount for the commission, which means I now can offer other people STARS, Prive, Hilton for Luxury etc.

Important points- there’s 0 or near 0 commission in airfares mostly, so booking via the airline is typically just as good. I get better oversight on fare classes and certain constructions that you can’t easily book online (circle/rtw mainly) but it’s actually a huge hassle and mostly a side gig to the hotels.

We don’t get cheaper airfares 99% of the time. Even when I quote someone and they say it’s cheaper, I’m not sure why a lot of the time- I suspect they just haven’t searched properly.
The savings would be minimal for an individual just doing personal and friends and family, almost certainly not enough to outweigh access costs.

Next- why access costs? Because you can’t get gds access or ticketing ability without a lot of hassle and paperwork, and typically a history of bookings etc (which is oddly circular). No small agency will want to take on someone who needs full training and has nothing to offer so you’d need to intern with FC or similar. And then you either take on a paid job or you pay as a contractor a set fee for access.

Bottom line- it’s all a hassle for 99.999% of people booking flights who will get nothing from it. The fees that agents charge cover the time that is not otherwise reimbursed- so if you book for others to try to make some money back in all its cost you, will you then charge them when they take a heap of your time or have issues? And you can’t send them to the airline direct now as you are the agent!!

Ask me anything you want though!

 

[Cynicor]

That’s true, agents can forego commission to reduce fares… and I guess there are some special deals? I dunno how trip.com gets these ‘$100 off’ coupons for china for example?

But I’m not sure a single operator booking single tickets would get those? I dunno… maybe a guest ion for madrooster!

No, there’s no commission basically. Occasional airlines aren’t so bad (ANA still pay from memory) but the massive agencies get volume rebates, and make money on hotels too so they all try to package things up. Madrooster has done pretty much the same as I have- working with big agency, and will have their own insight into airfares.

 

[Cynicor]

How does it work when the agent can get cheaper fares than you can as a pleb straight from the airline?

I assume that some sort of agreements are required, which just having access to booking software wouldn’t get you?

Yes, also this. In theory there are some discounts for agencies with agreements. Again they are so limited that they just won’t be worth it, esp with things like QBR.

I’m working with some people who have negotiated a really good corporate deal but I think the reality of the fares is going to be a shock, and the final discount will not be huge (and even then likely only noticeable on J and F internationally, maybe $100 on 10-20k)

 

[Cynicor]

On the plus side, the hotel deals I book get for clients, friends and family are excellent, and occasionally they hotels give me a better deal for my own travel (though mostly they are non commision-able, come with no extras and are basically worse than I can book myself!)

 

[Forg]

No, there’s no commission basically. Occasional airlines aren’t so bad (ANA still pay from memory) but the massive agencies get volume rebates

Ah, so it’s the result of a volume rebate I’m seeing when I use booking.com(*) to get a fare which is cheaper than the cheapest the airline’s site is offering for the same flight on the same day?
Or is it maybe something like the airline’s site playing games with pricing based on my location vs the online agent’s?


(*) It wasn’t booking.com - I can’t recall which one it was so I made that bit up

 

[Cynicor]

Ah, so it’s the result of a volume rebate I’m seeing when I use booking.com(*) to get a fare which is cheaper than the cheapest the airline’s site is offering for the same flight on the same day?


(*) It wasn’t booking.com - I can’t recall which one it was so I made that bit up

Typically yes. And probably some marketing cost in there too. If you regularly find they are cheaper, you’ll head there first for everything eventually.
I found GA fares on “rando flight site dot com” for about $1000 cheaper than I could buy direct; and that was on only a $4000 or so fare.
GA being bizarre, on the website I was actually able to see the cost of the ticket was the same $4000 that I was quoted direct, so the wholesaler must have been trying to make volume rebate targets and just dropped the price for a sale.

It’s also entirely possible that those giant sites have private corporate discounts too, I wouldn’t know. Trippin’ might, if they turn up in this thread.

 

[jb747]

I thought I'd give a travel agent a go when I was looking to fly to Europe a year or two back. I was really shocked at how poorly they compared with just doing it myself. Much more expensive, and wanted to channel me to airlines that I told them I wasn't interested in. So, I guess that's where the commissions lay. Direct booked everything, and it was multiple thousands cheaper.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks cynicor… I was aware commissions were pretty low/zero, but it’s the volume discount, as you mention, that now rings the bell!

Many moons ago I know some agencies were getting up to 60% commission on things like travel insurance policies… still the same?

 

[serfty]

I thought I'd give a travel agent a go when I was looking to fly to Europe a year or two back. I was really shocked at how poorly they compared with just doing it myself. Much more expensive, and wanted to channel me to airlines that I told them I wasn't interested in. So, I guess that's where the commissions lay. Direct booked everything, and it was multiple thousands cheaper.

There are travel agents ... and .... travel agents.

If one you try is obviously no good, then search more.

There are quite a few that do not rely on shop fronts that are pretty good, generally relying on word of mouth.

 

[Cynicor]

So true. People who are on here will need an agent to match their specific needs, if they need one at all.
One who understands fare classes, upgrades and points as well as listening to your requirements. Tbh that should be the easiest part of it. I don’t want to sell the dodgy carriers anyway, as it will be more work later when they screw up.

There are travel agents ... and .... travel agents.

If one you try is obviously no good, then search more.

There are quite a few that do not rely on shop fronts that are pretty good, generally relying on word of mouth.

 

[Forg]

For those of us who maybe go on a trip every few years, there’s likely little advantage in finding a good agent. The basic stuff like getting to & from a major city, that’s easy. But once you start needing stuff that’s a little more unusual … that’s when you need a bit of creativity, an ability to book unusual stuff, and an ability to string together potentially-unusual options neatly.