Should I pay travel counsellor?

[Flower246]

Hi,
Advice please: I engaged a travel counsellor to find me a holiday in the Balearics - she came back with some options, one of which I liked. I checked various websites to compare prices and found I could get it cheaper direct so I went back to the agent to see if she could reduce the quote but it was still quite a bit more expensive so I booked it directly. Now I feel a bit bad that she did the research but is not getting anything from it. Should I offer to pay her a bit of of a finders fee?
My friends say isn't just how things are, that it wasn't a particularly difficult request and that she should have been more competitive.
Thoughts please?

[SkyfallBrown]

Not at all, I don't see why they would be due their fee unless they deliver on something you were happy with

[mdh2020]

What is a travel counsellor anyway?

[BarbaraofSeville]

Hasn't the Internet made this sort of thing unnecessary? Most people could find a holiday in the Balerics without help surely?

[BritWifeinUSA]

That’s the reason she wasn’t competitive. Travel counselors don’t specialize in “bucket and spade” holidays but more bespoke travel, niche itineraries, etc. They just don’t sell the volume for the Balearics that would be needed for her to be able to get huge discounts from operators. Their goal is not to be cheaper, but to put together tailor-made customized itineraries that the average traveler wouldn’t know where to start with.

[Funf]

We had one who hounded us for the opportunity to find us a holiday then was about £400 more and was just giving us a package, if its something bespoke then perhaps its worth it but not for run of the mill, for us half the fun is in the planning.
Did she agree a finders fee up front? Was it something you could have found your self?

[Soontobe60]

Travel counsellor????
You mean travel agent 🤦🏼‍♀️, counsellor sound so twattish.

I often use a travel agent, and tell them what I'm looking for. We have a phone conversation whilst I'm online so I can see what they suggest. If they can't do it as cheap, I might book direct. The overwhelming benefit of going through an agent is that they cover you if something goes wrong. That's not always the case when booking each bit of a holiday online.

[Flower246]

Thanks ladies,
@Soontobe60 & @mdh2020 - Travel Counsellor is a travel agent made up of independent travel agents who work for themselves but under the TC umbrella, don't think she made up the title to sound pompous, lol! There are always loads of travel counsellors advertising on local FB pages.
@BarbaraofSeville - the internet is a double edged sword I find with these things. I loved researching & booking independent trips round India or Borneo and even camping trips, but for a cheap & cheerful in the Balearics, there were way too many options to trawl through and clashing tripadvisor reviews so just wanted help to shortcut the pain!
@Funf - nope, no finders fee agreed. I used her previously for a holiday to Mexico and booked through her. I could have found this one myself if i'd had the motivation or time.

[Funf]

On very important point, if you book direct with a credit card you have some protection, if you book via an agent you have very little as they are only an agent, we had a bad cruise with P&O the travel agent was rubbish and dint want to know the credit card went help as its an agent

[hambledon]

I keep wondering if travel agents would come back. I've been booking holidays online since it was first possible and I'm getting so fed up with it. It's so time consuming!

If they are hiring an agent/counsellor to save you time then it doesn't seem fair to complain if you can find the holiday cheaper, you haven't done the work of it.

[SJaneS48]

No - don’t pay. She’s in a profession (like mine!) where actually you can put in quite a bit of work but aren’t guaranteed a sale at the end of the day. You win some but you loose some! It won’t be the first time this will have happened and she will know how to roll with it.