A “fear factor” among travel advisors selling leisure is one of the key reasons why few charge fees for service compared with corporate sellers in Australia, according to Maxim Travel MD Christopher Goddard.
Speaking on a panel session at Link Live on Sat, the senior corporate travel agency executive said there was still a misconception from Australian consumers that travel agencies in the leisure space are not a professional industry that should charge for their expertise.
“There’s still a misunderstanding from the client…who are saying ‘what are you charging me for if you’re not a professional’?
“I think that it is incumbent on us as an industry to raise our profile that way,” Goddard added.
During the same session, Mobilise Travel co-founder Hannah Moore said margin was another key difference between leisure and corporate advisors.
“Margins are very low on corporate travel and so it’s a volume game,” Moore noted.
Earlier this year, the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance released a report calling on advisors in APAC to be more assertive on fees.
