Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, a travel agent can come in handy when planning activities, lodging, and flights. If you’re looking to hire a travel agent to arrange your next trip, it’s important to know how much you’ll be paying for these services. This is especially true if your trip is on the more expensive side or if you’re on a tight budget.
In this post, we’ll explore how to pick a travel agent based on your needs and their cost. Of course, this shouldn’t be the only factor you consider when selecting an agent, but it’s important for many travelers!
How Much Can I Expect to Spend?
When you hire a travel agent on Guru, you pay an hourly rate. If they’re booking your travel and excursions for you, you’ll also have to pay for those. Most travel agents charge around $100 to plan a trip, not including the cost of the trip itself. With this in mind, be sure to ask for an estimate from your chosen freelancer before beginning your project. If they’re booking your travel for you, communicate your budget so they don’t book a trip you can’t afford.
How Do Travel Agents Make Money?
Most of a travel agent’s income does not come from their clients. Instead, they make commissions from hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, and other partner businesses through which they book reservations. Agents may offer you certain options based on your budget and how much they’ll earn.
Travel agents may also charge you a fee for the effort they spend planning your journey and vacation. This could be a flat rate or a percentage of the total cost of the trip. On Guru, many freelance travel planners charge by the hour for the work they put into your itinerary. Simply pay them through our website and the freelancer will choose how they’d like to receive their funds!
What to Consider When Selecting an Agent
Travel Agency Affiliates
Anyone can offer travel services on Guru, opening you to partnerships you might not otherwise have access to. When choosing someone to work with, ask them if they are an official travel agent affiliate with a host agency or if they’re a travel planner using the same tools you have access to on your own.
Those working with host agencies have access to industry training, deals with travel vendors, tools like cruise deck plans, and travel-specific software. There’s nothing wrong with working with someone who doesn’t belong to an agency, but know that in that case, you’re paying them for their time–not necessarily their resources.
Destination Familiarity
You’ll want to find out how familiar the agent is with the area you’ll be traveling to. Did they just read a few articles about it, or have they visited or lived in that area? It’s worth paying more for a destination expert as opposed to a travel generalist.
Some host travel agencies offer familiarity trips to help agents get to know the places they’ll be representing and selling travel to. Other times, a freelancer will have to visit destinations on their own time to better understand them. Either way, it’s a good idea to vet your freelancer based on their experience.
Prioritizing Collaboration
Lastly, it’s usually worthwhile to pay extra for a travel agent who will take your wants and needs into consideration instead of simply putting together their ideal trip. Communicate with the freelancer before you hire them to see if they’ll work with your list of must-haves. if you don’t have one ready, you should put one together!
Why Book Through Guru?
Working with a travel agent can alleviate a lot of stress when it comes to trip planning. When hiring a freelancer from Guru, you can review the testimonies from other satisfied clients so you won’t be going into your business partnership blind.
You’ll also be able to pay for their advice through a secure platform. If you’re not already registered as an employer, sign up on Guru today to find a qualified and reputable travel planner!
