Case study: business agents

Case study: business agents

Business travel management company Bath Travel has started charging clients management or transaction fees from this week. Sales development manager Brian Forsyth and business travel management director John Plank explain the changes.

Client: Why are you charging me for something that we have not paid for until now?

John: Because we have had a large percentage of our earnings taken away by British Airways’ decision to pay zero commission to agents, we have to make up the shortfall to keep up the standards of service you are used to.

Client: So how will it work in practice?

John: We’re offering all our clients the option to use transaction fees or management fees. With transaction fees, we take the gamble because we charge you a fee payable at the point of transaction for a service, but we keep all the commission we receive. With management fees, we return all the commission to you, but this commission may go down or up as the year-long contract with us progresses. You pay us a pre-agreed amount per month for a year, then we come together to renegotiate.

Client: What’s to stop us from booking direct with an airline and doing the job ourselves?

Brian: In theory, nothing. But do you have the staff and knowledge? Could you really do it cheaper? Your expertise lies in your company, not in running an in-house travel agency.

Client: Isn’t this just another way for the travel industry to squeeze more money out of the hard-pressed corporate sector?

Brian: No, definitely not. As we understand it, the cost of air travel with BA will be decreased by as much as the agent would have previously earned in commission.