Doran to charge £25 hourly fee

Doran to charge £25 hourly fee

CAMPAIGN for Real Travel Agents chairman Edwin Doran is to start charging his clients a service fee of £25 an hour from next month, if they do not go on to make a booking.

And Doran has urged other independents to follow suit in order to change the public’s attitude towards service fees.

Doran has built up a loyal clientele at his shop, Edwin Doran’s Travel World in Twickenham. He is confident they will accept the charges, particularly as the fee will be waived if a booking is made.

“I think this will actually sort out the time wasters,” he said.

“The less people pay for something, the more time they will take up.”

Doran publishes an in-house magazine and will use it to explain to his customers how remuneration for travel agents has changed.

In addition, he will write to his 182 top-spending clients to inform them of the move.

Anyone else walking into his shop will have the policy explained to them.

If the scheme is successful, Doran plans to start charging fees regardless of whether a booking is made.

“We will be forced to if the trend towards net fares continues because, as it stands, if people make a booking we’ll still be out of pocket,” he said.

However, he accepts that not all agents will be able to charge fees.

* See Cutting Edge, page 66