How to Earn Your Worth

What has doing business, staying in business and/or relearning how to do business during a pandemic taught you? Well the recurring undercurrent of a theme that I have noticed is that travel advisors should be charging fees for your services.

The Compass on VAX has an abundance of articles about from leaders across the industry sharing thoughts about why you should charge fees for your service, showing the value of your services and telling you how to make money. Here are three articles of many proving your value that you should read if you haven’t yet:

• How Does A Travel Agent Make Money in 2019 (FYI it’s good for 2020 and beyond)
• The Value of Travel Agents in a Crisis
• Are You Working For Peanuts?

Your value is so much more than you will give yourself credit for – believe me! You will most often earn commission with the suppliers you book. Often which supplier you book will be determined by that level of commission. If these past nine months have taught you nothing else, you deserve to charge fees for your services, because I’m sure your service has been VAST!

I’ve talked to hundreds of agents throughout my career and this is not new news to any of them. They have charged fees successfully for years and have been willing to walk away from possible sales when their clients scoffed, and yet most of them ARE top agents in the industry. I have also talked to hundreds of agents who are timid, shy and even scared to add a fee to a booking for fear of the client going elsewhere. Were any of those clients the ones you spent hours scurrying to take care of these last several months?

Maybe now you’re convinced and saying, “but BDM Beth, how do I charge this fee?” We developed Set Your Own Commission with this very thought in mind. In fact, this tool is one of the most adored for those that have discovered it and have seen the value in using it! I’m told that VAX is one of the only places you can do this.

Booking Administration is the double secret code name for Set Your Own Commission because we do not want your client focused on the word “commission” if they are sitting next to you as you book. Here you can see what you are earning for most suppliers you book on VAX and you can add to that amount by a percentage or a dollar amount. It is just that easy, and it will only appear as a line item if you decide that is how you want it to display. I’ve linked the training page above so you can learn more about it if this is a new tool for you.

I hope that this has convinced you to step out of your comfort zone if that has been holding you back and claim what is due you. If you are still nervous, start small and claim that $5 per booking until you realize that what you have to offer is worth so much more!

About the Author

Beth Kitzman is the business development manager for Trisept Solutions' Agency Channel for VAX VacationAccess. Beth focuses on nurturing business relationships and finding exciting, unique ways for VAX to support travel agencies. With over 20 years of experience in the travel industry, beginning with Walt Disney World then working for airlines and now focusing on travel technology, Beth loves using her education degree to find ways to educate and empower travel agents to grow their leisure travel business.