THE move away from commission payments
has caused confusion in the industry, BTI UK head of client finance Nigel
Bourke has claimed.
Bourke,
speaking at the Business Travel Manchester exhibition, said the lack of a
common standard in the market was creating problems.
“We
have variations on segment, management and transaction fees and these are all
related to the type of ticket issued, whether it be domestic, long-haul or
European,” he said. “I hope the industry ends up with one standard. This would
make things clearer for both the client and travel management company.”
Bourke
said the industry in Singapore had a fixed system of transaction fees that was
highly regulated.
Universal
Music director of international travel Tom Stone said transparency was another
issue as some travel management companies did not make it clear when they
charged for credit card fees and VAT on invoices.
Rail
companies were also criticised for the cost to the agent of issuing tickets.
Stone
and Bourke both said the cost for issuing a ticket regularly hit £50, making it
hard for agents to make a profit on any tickets sold.
Stone
said: “This is one area where the agent adds very little value. We do not stop
people booking rail tickets through our agents because they are full service,
but we do encourage people to book direct because it is much cheaper.”
Although
there was strong support for agents, the seminar’s participants agreed their
role had changed.
They said agents were now required to drive their
clients’ costs down rather than just make travel arrangements.