Sales Commission

[smeyer418]

The TA may be the client's "agent" but the cruiseline is the one that pays the TA...not the client.

Therefore its not the client's business how much the cruiseline pays the TA.

why? just because some one else cuts the check you shouldn't know? Its paid out of the money I send the cruise line not a separate fund. Its directly related to my payment. Since the person is my agent I am entitled to know. This isn't a moral issue and its not rude. Its not like I am at dinner and I ask what you are paid. You really give no reason other than that's the way it is. BTW it IS common knowledge that the commission is between 10-16% its not like its a state secret .

[mcclure2]

For me its like this: I am an agent, I continuously am learning, researching, and training so that when you come to me looking for a cruise for your parents 50th wedding anniversary or your honeymoon-I will know what cruise line suits you best just by asking your a few questions. I keep secrets when a husband wants to know where his wife has ran off to now (yes, it happens), and I have to spend hours fulfilling crazy requests such as a certain thread count on sheets, exactly what color is the bedspread in my cabin, filling out immigration forms, scheduling-canceling-and re-scheduling shore excursions, setting up tee times, and the best..."please make sure the cruise line removes the curtains, washes them and scrubs the walls before I board the ship"-basically all the things I'm not getting paid a commision to do. Just because you yourself may not demand a lot from me that doesn't mean the person before you or after you won't. We don't make a lot, what you see or figure is the bottom line isn't exactly what your agent is taking home-we get a small percentage of that and to be honest sometimes it's not worth having to deal with all of some peoples fruit loopy demands-we do it because we love the job. So please don't think you have the right to come in and tell us what you think we are worth-I don't come to your job and do that to you...

[resstation]

For me its like this: I am an agent, I continuously am learning, researching, and training so that when you come to me looking for a cruise for your parents 50th wedding anniversary or your honeymoon-I will know what cruise line suits you best just by asking your a few questions. I keep secrets when a husband wants to know where his wife has ran off to now (yes, it happens), and I have to spend hours fulfilling crazy requests such as a certain thread count on sheets, exactly what color is the bedspread in my cabin, filling out immigration forms, scheduling-canceling-and re-scheduling shore excursions, setting up tee times, and the best..."please make sure the cruise line removes the curtains, washes them and scrubs the walls before I board the ship"-basically all the things I'm not getting paid a commision to do. Just because you yourself may not demand a lot from me that doesn't mean the person before you or after you won't. We don't make a lot, what you see or figure is the bottom line isn't exactly what your agent is taking home-we get a small percentage of that and to be honest sometimes it's not worth having to deal with all of some peoples fruit loopy demands-we do it because we love the job. So please don't think you have the right to come in and tell us what you think we are worth-I don't come to your job and do that to you...

 

AMEN

[Colo Cruiser]

I have to agree with Toto, as usual. :D I'm in it for the price. I've been cruising long enough to know what I want and use a TA basically for booking and final payment. As long as I'm getting the best price possible, I could care less about what the TA makes. Hopefully, she will make a lot and stay in business for a long time with all her repeat business.

 

 

 

AAAAAHHHHH 6666 posts!! :eek:

[MszKitty]

why? just because some one else cuts the check you shouldn't know? Its paid out of the money I send the cruise line not a separate fund. Its directly related to my payment. Since the person is my agent I am entitled to know. This isn't a moral issue and its not rude. Its not like I am at dinner and I ask what you are paid. You really give no reason other than that's the way it is. BTW it IS common knowledge that the commission is between 10-16% its not like its a state secret .

 

The commission to the agent comes out of the cruiseline's pocket, not yours. You would pay the same price whether you paid directly to the cruiseline or thru an agent. You are not paying the agent, the cruiseline is. Therefore, you are not entitled to know. All you are entitled to is good service from that agent. In your theory, it would be ok to go to your employer and ask him how much he pays you.

 

As far as the commission...yes...the agency gets 10-16%, but the agent only gets a percentage of that. So the amount that agent receives is still no one's business.

 

Seriously...its nobody's business how much anyone one makes, whether it be a travel agent or a garbage collector.

[DGNY]

Considering that a TA is making a commission off how much I'm spending, I don't think it is so morally wrong to ask what that commission is (not that I have ever asked)...especially if the TA is recommending things that drive up the price / their commission.

 

Plus, since whether they make $5 or $5,000 off my purchase...since I don't know what their volume is, I will never know their actual salary. So, I don't know where that argument is coming from.

 

 

I really don't get what the big deal is.

[zacc]

I must admit this thread really has me confused. I have tried to look at this as a TA(which I am) and I have tried to look at this as a client-which I have been. The commission I make on a booked cruise is certainly between myself and my agency. The fact that the cruise line cuts a check to the agency makes absolutely no difference in this conversation.

If the OP had booked the cruise directly with the cruise line the base fare would have been exactly the same except the cruise line would have made the "commission." "Discounting" for a TA doesn't come from the cruise line....it occurs because the agency has either booked a block of rooms independently or through a membership or they are cutting into their commissions(what little there is).

 

As an agent I am just that...an agent. I am not in partnership with my client which means my books are my business. I have been asked to provide a service and for that service I receive x amount. And like many good TA's I provide my clients with service that is above and beyond. Not because of the money but because that is what I expect when I engage someones services. This is no different then any other purchase an individual makes. The grocery store makes money off of your purchase but no one asks them how much they made from that purchase....nor is it my business. I wanted something, they sell it, and I decided to buy it there.

 

And all those amenities some have posted about are not simply given to the TA's, rather they are earned based on cabins booked on a particular cruise. Those internet agencys don't give you anything other than what they have already earned from the cruise lines.....earned with your money....so you really aren't getting anything for nothing.

 

I'm fortunate in the sense that I book travel for the fun of it, not to put food on my table or keep a roof over my head. My clients keep coming back because they know I book every trip as if I were booking it for myself.

 

Guess I rambled a bit but a conversation like this can be very frustrating.

[Canadian_Commodore]

Just have to add....he won't be winning much if he's suing over our commission:eek:

 

No Kidding! and like you after this post I'm off of this thread as well.

 

For me its like this: I am an agent, I continuously am learning, researching, and training so that when you come to me looking for a cruise for your parents 50th wedding anniversary or your honeymoon-I will know what cruise line suits you best just by asking your a few questions. I keep secrets when a husband wants to know where his wife has ran off to now (yes, it happens), and I have to spend hours fulfilling crazy requests such as a certain thread count on sheets, exactly what color is the bedspread in my cabin, filling out immigration forms, scheduling-canceling-and re-scheduling shore excursions, setting up tee times, and the best..."please make sure the cruise line removes the curtains, washes them and scrubs the walls before I board the ship"-basically all the things I'm not getting paid a commision to do. Just because you yourself may not demand a lot from me that doesn't mean the person before you or after you won't. We don't make a lot, what you see or figure is the bottom line isn't exactly what your agent is taking home-we get a small percentage of that and to be honest sometimes it's not worth having to deal with all of some peoples fruit loopy demands-we do it because we love the job. So please don't think you have the right to come in and tell us what you think we are worth-I don't come to your job and do that to you...

 

Very well stated I couldn't agree more. You put it far better than I ever could have :)

 

I must admit this thread really has me confused. I have tried to look at this as a TA(which I am) and I have tried to look at this as a client-which I have been. The commission I make on a booked cruise is certainly between myself and my agency. The fact that the cruise line cuts a check to the agency makes absolutely no difference in this conversation.

If the OP had booked the cruise directly with the cruise line the base fare would have been exactly the same except the cruise line would have made the "commission." "Discounting" for a TA doesn't come from the cruise line....it occurs because the agency has either booked a block of rooms independently or through a membership or they are cutting into their commissions(what little there is).

 

As an agent I am just that...an agent. I am not in partnership with my client which means my books are my business. I have been asked to provide a service and for that service I receive x amount. And like many good TA's I provide my clients with service that is above and beyond. Not because of the money but because that is what I expect when I engage someones services. This is no different then any other purchase an individual makes. The grocery store makes money off of your purchase but no one asks them how much they made from that purchase....nor is it my business. I wanted something, they sell it, and I decided to buy it there.

 

And all those amenities some have posted about are not simply given to the TA's, rather they are earned based on cabins booked on a particular cruise. Those internet agencys don't give you anything other than what they have already earned from the cruise lines.....earned with your money....so you really aren't getting anything for nothing.

 

I'm fortunate in the sense that I book travel for the fun of it, not to put food on my table or keep a roof over my head. My clients keep coming back because they know I book every trip as if I were booking it for myself.

 

 

Again that was stated far better than I could have put. I book by clients as you do, like I was booking it for myself. Some people I guess just have some sort of complex in wanting to know everything about everyone else, but then won't disclose about themselves.

 

My last post on the thread.

 

Warren

[VegasPier]

As a real estate agent, soon to be the wife of a physician, do you know exactly what your physician makes? Granted you see the charges, pay the co-pays, but do you know what your insurance company has negotiated to actually pay the physician for the services you receive? It varies by the number of physicians in a group and how great their negotiating power is. If you are a self pay patient, does your physician charge you the rate they are reimbursed by an insurance company or medicare rates or somewhere inbetween? Do you know what their overhead is, how much their insurance rates are or what their employees make?

 

As a real estate agent, because a seller is willing to pay a 6% commission, do you realize that 3% goes to each agency, and then the agency keeps half of that, making my profit 1.5% less board memberships, E and O insurance, cost of gas for showing house/doing open houses, licensing fees, etc. A 6% commission these days is rare.......however I am more than happy to receive my 1.5%. Also, since commissions are negotiable between the seller and the listing agent, if the seller wants to pay less than 5% I have to receive written permission from my broker saying this is okay. So at the end of the day do you know how much your Realtor walks away with??

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh and for the sales where there is no money left at the end, neither agent gets paid, and notification of this possibility has to be upfront in writing on the listing, or else the selling agent can be sued by buyer's agent and their broker! Hows that for a fun time??

 

People who work for commissions deserve them. I can't imagine how a TAs commission comes into a lawsuit, as they are allowed to charge a service fee or a fee if you cancel your trip.

 

Laura

 

Laura,

 

That is a very nice story.

 

My wife was a real estate agent for 14 years.

 

Vegaspier

[cacy6893076]

So, perhaps the solution for the OP is to not use a ta, book directly online, then no money will be changing hands (other than the credit card payment that is made directly to the cruise line) that he needs to keep track of.....less worry=more happy.

[cacy6893076]

oops, almost forgot, would not have to worry about that pesky OBC or the bottle of wine, tray of canapes etc. provided by the ta either!

[MszKitty]

I must admit this thread really has me confused. I have tried to look at this as a TA(which I am) and I have tried to look at this as a client-which I have been. The commission I make on a booked cruise is certainly between myself and my agency. The fact that the cruise line cuts a check to the agency makes absolutely no difference in this conversation.

If the OP had booked the cruise directly with the cruise line the base fare would have been exactly the same except the cruise line would have made the "commission." "Discounting" for a TA doesn't come from the cruise line....it occurs because the agency has either booked a block of rooms independently or through a membership or they are cutting into their commissions(what little there is).

 

As an agent I am just that...an agent. I am not in partnership with my client which means my books are my business. I have been asked to provide a service and for that service I receive x amount. And like many good TA's I provide my clients with service that is above and beyond. Not because of the money but because that is what I expect when I engage someones services. This is no different then any other purchase an individual makes. The grocery store makes money off of your purchase but no one asks them how much they made from that purchase....nor is it my business. I wanted something, they sell it, and I decided to buy it there.

 

And all those amenities some have posted about are not simply given to the TA's, rather they are earned based on cabins booked on a particular cruise. Those internet agencys don't give you anything other than what they have already earned from the cruise lines.....earned with your money....so you really aren't getting anything for nothing.

 

I'm fortunate in the sense that I book travel for the fun of it, not to put food on my table or keep a roof over my head. My clients keep coming back because they know I book every trip as if I were booking it for myself.

 

Guess I rambled a bit but a conversation like this can be very frustrating.

 

 

BEST post yet!

[Buddy604]

I will occasionally tell a client my commission - especially when they are asking for free insurance, a large OBC, free shore excursion, etc. Especially when a short cruise, inside cabin, is booked (those wanting to rack up cruises for their "count"), our agency commission can be as little as $34. My cut of that is 30%. So to put up with all the belly-ackin", I earn a whopping $10. File a lawsuit over that !:cool:

Wow, you're making the big bucks! :D I get a bigger cut and yet still sometimes I gross $5-8 on a booking because often the deeply discounted flash fares end up being little more than the non-commissionable portion. I.e A $300 pp fare on a repo cruise with $225 in NCF.

 

Trust me, depending on the itinerary, the NCF can make quite a dent.

 

Do I do it for the money? No way! I just do it because I love it.