How Much does a TA make off of a booking?

I'm not trying to be nosy, I am just curious since I frequently see travel agencies offereing substantial shipboard credit and other offers. How can they afford to do that?

I thought they probably made $100 or so off of a 7 day cruise, am I wrong?

The commission earned is 15% of the cruise fare not including the port fees and taxes.

When we had to make an insurance claim during the volcanic ash situation our TA sent us a copy of their invoice with RCI which showed the breakdown.

:eek: Wow! That is pretty darn good! Especially since my TA gives me NADA incentives. I just call her up and she makes the reservation and takes my payment. The only thing we ever got was a free ship tour and the ability to put a deposit down on a future cruise and get onboard credit from Royal not the travel agent. Nice but free insurance, onboard credit, bottle of wine, etc. would be nice coming from the agent. This will be my 3rd cruise thru her.

Kelly

I'm thinking that the TA's more than likely have to split the commission with the company they work for. And...not all of the cruise fare is commissionable.

I doubt any of them are getting rich.

It depends what type of customer you are ..

Not nearly as much as many people think. The main thing a good travel agent will give is service.

Unless they work on commission only they do not make the full %

They get a portion of it & still have bills to pay etc...

Some are on salary & do not get any of the commission

The OBC can come from the cruiseline as incentives for agencies that have a lot of bookings

The TAs are just raking in the dough... That is why so many are going out of business!;)

:eek: Wow! That is pretty darn good! Especially since my TA gives me NADA incentives. I just call her up and she makes the reservation and takes my payment. The only thing we ever got was a free ship tour and the ability to put a deposit down on a future cruise and get onboard credit from Royal not the travel agent. Nice but free insurance, onboard credit, bottle of wine, etc. would be nice coming from the agent. This will be my 3rd cruise thru her.

 

Kelly

So simply because you do buisiness with her you expect that she should give something back to you from her compensation? If you don't feel her service to you in doing the job she is paid for is satisfactory, then use someone else or book through RCI directly. Sorry - just don't understand why you feel she should give you some of her money based on how much commission she earns or the fact that you book through her.

Read the story on the main page of CC entitled "Carnival Bans Cash-Equivalent Promotions". Maybe the way of the future for your give backs.....

The amount that a TA makes varies by cruise line. Also be aware that they don't make it all. The agency makes a portion of it and if it is part of a franchise or a consortium there is an additional cost as well to them.

Keith

Many travel agents do not get any commission themselves; the agency gets it all and then pays the agent a salary/hourly wage.

I worked in the travel business for many years and that is the situation I was in - the agencies did not split the commission with agents - we were paid by the hour.

We now book on line or with the company. Our old TA told me she just couldn't afford to give every one of her customers even a bottle of wine. She was VERY good and only handled cruises.

Often it is the company giving OBC or something, not the TA, so you'll come back to the company.

The commission earned is 15% of the cruise fare not including the port fees and taxes.

When we had to make an insurance claim during the volcanic ash situation our TA sent us a copy of their invoice with RCI which showed the breakdown.

This should not be taken as a fact....

a) it depends on the cruiseline

b) it depends on the volume of sales generated and relationship they have with the cruiseline

c) it depends on how much they have to share with their company

From what I've read some are as low as 7% of the cruise fair (directly stated from a TA that was booking Regent cruises). So don't assume your TA is making a killing off of your business. Also remember that they don't get any commision for the airfare or hotels typically.

So simply because you do buisiness with her you expect that she should give something back to you from her compensation? If you don't feel her service to you in doing the job she is paid for is satisfactory, then use someone else or book through RCI directly. Sorry - just don't understand why you feel she should give you some of her money based on how much commission she earns or the fact that you book through her.

 

Read the story on the main page of CC entitled "Carnival Bans Cash-Equivalent Promotions". Maybe the way of the future for your give backs.....

First, did you see anywhere in my post where I said I EXPECTED my travel agent to give me something? Second, I NEVER said I felt her service to me was unsatisfactory. I just stated that I call her up and she books my cruise and takes my payment. I do not get any perks at all. Nada. Third, I said IT WOULD BE NICE if I received a perk from booking my cruises with her. There is nothing wrong with feeling that way. Many cruisers receive perks as a thank you for booking thru them. I have booked thru the cruise line themselves and have used online cruise companies in the past. If travel agencies do receive 15% commision on the cruise fare then that is really good. That would be why a lot of them do give perks to the clients. Try not making assumptions about people by reading one post and coming to your own conclusion. And I did read about Carnival banning/putting limits on the extras travel agencies have been a custom to giving to clients just to try and get their business. I think it's crap!

Kelly

This should not be taken as a fact....

 

a) it depends on the cruiseline

b) it depends on the volume of sales generated and relationship they have with the cruiseline

c) it depends on how much they have to share with their company

 

From what I've read some are as low as 7% of the cruise fair (directly stated from a TA that was booking Regent cruises). So don't assume your TA is making a killing off of your business. Also remember that they don't get any commision for the airfare or hotels typically.

And - from your point - what difference should it make how much they earn doing their job. (and why should that be basis for something coming back to the customer). That is determined by the cruiseline as to what is fair and reasonable for the services provided to the RCI customer by the TA. Your rate doesn't change whether you book directly through RCI or an agent. This is why I don't understand some of the comments (as I responded to earlier) that suggest that the customer should receive something of value back from the TA out of their own pocket as a result of them simply doing their job.

And - from your point - what difference should it make how much they earn doing their job. (and why should that be basis for something coming back to the customer). That is determined by the cruiseline as to what is fair and reasonable for the services provided to the RCI customer by the TA. Your rate doesn't change whether you book directly through RCI or an agent. This is why I don't understand some of the comments (as I responded to earlier) that suggest that the customer should receive something of value back from the TA out of their own pocket as a result of them simply doing their job.

I'm not sure why you quoted me and asekd this. All I did was state how commisions work. I didn't ask for anything, I was simply dispelling the statement that they make 15%.

I'm not sure why you quoted me and asekd this. All I did was state how commisions work. I didn't ask for anything, I was simply dispelling the statement that they make 15%.

Sorry - not trying to put any words in your mouth. Just taking off on your mention that they are likely not making a killing. I agree with this and just was continuing your info with my opinion as stated. I think your information is valid towards my opinion that TA's deserve whatever they earn and should not feel obligated to share it with their customers.

No other connection to your post. Sorry if it was misunderstood.

I personally do not feel it is any of our business what a TA earns in salary and/or commission.

:eek: Wow! That is pretty darn good! Especially since my TA gives me NADA incentives. I just call her up and she makes the reservation and takes my payment. The only thing we ever got was a free ship tour and the ability to put a deposit down on a future cruise and get onboard credit from Royal not the travel agent. Nice but free insurance, onboard credit, bottle of wine, etc. would be nice coming from the agent. This will be my 3rd cruise thru her.

 

Kelly

It looks like you need a new agent. My agent gives me onboard credit and other goodies every time I book through him. He also watches for price drop for me...can't beat that!

I know one cruise our TA made a whole $10 on one of our bookings. It was a very cheap 4 day cruise. I know she lost money on that one.

Our TA is part of a consortium. Sometimes she is able to put people into already formed groups to get the gimmees offered.

The TA earns commission only on a portion of a fare. The cruise may be $999, $1200 with taxes and port fees. The fare that the commission is based on may only be $700. For ex: $700 X 15% = $105 As a tax accountant this isn't as good as it sounds. Often TAs are self employed - so after federal, state, local taxes, self employment taxes, etc. - they may be left with $60 and that's before any expenses.

if the person asking for that info would willingly divulge his or her wages to anyone who is curious.

I really don't care what they make. I do care what I get out of the interaction.

We basically know what we want, so TA doesn't do anything more than process the reservation with the cruise line. Expect to get the price and cabin we request, that's it.

We buy future booking credits so we get an OBC from the cruise line.

Do see the TA often presents that OBC as though it is coming from the TA which really isn't true. Pointed that out to the TA, so she knows we are not stupid.

We have dealt with various brick and motar TAs over the years. Some have given us as much as $100 OBC for a 10 day cruise, on top of the cruise line OBC.

Don't really expect anything, that is why we purchase the FBC while on a ship. If we get on TA OBC great, if not we can live with it.

It looks like you need a new agent. My agent gives me onboard credit and other goodies every time I book through him. He also watches for price drop for me...can't beat that!

You are very lucky. We have booked 3 cruises with the same TA and never had any Onboard Credit or discount or perks of any kind. Someone mentioned you have to find a TA that does large amounts of Princess bookings.

I do have to say though that this recent Alaska cruisetour coming up, I had found a really good deal to switch to 1 day longer for a cheaper rate and she spent 2 hours getting that done for us between calling the airlines to change our flight to a day earlier to changing it with Princess and keeping our same cabin, and phone calls to me in between, making sure all was done correctly. We sent her a card with a little cash for that, because that got us 1 more day and saved us $875 even with the airfare being more from changing to a day earlier.

This should not be taken as a fact....

 

a) it depends on the cruiseline

b) it depends on the volume of sales generated and relationship they have with the cruiseline

c) it depends on how much they have to share with their company

 

From what I've read some are as low as 7% of the cruise fair (directly stated from a TA that was booking Regent cruises). So don't assume your TA is making a killing off of your business. Also remember that they don't get any commision for the airfare or hotels typically.

Hello, you may not be aware but this thread was originally posted on the RCI board before being moved to this section so at the time when I answered my information was correct with reference to RCI .

As previously stated we received a copy of the TA's invoice with RCI showing the breakdown, commission was based on 15% of the cruise fare, excluding taxes and fees.

Here in the UK we have used an online TA who give 10% discount on RCI pricing and another one who will beat that price again by an extra 1% which on a high value cruise can be worth it to them.