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Agents Lie
ChrisCrossings · May 3, 2001

Q: I'm writing about the recent Consumer Reports survey that suggests almost half of all travel agents lie to clients when asked about the lowest airfare. I saw your commentary that dismissed the study, but I have another perspective.

I work for one of the three largest hotel chains in the country. I speak regularly with travel agents. They lie all the time.

I only wish I could tell guests who call me, "don't ever use a travel agent."

Agents lie about the cheapest airfares as well as the best rates at hotels. Unless a client gives a ton of business to an agency, they are looking out for themselves - to get the highest commission.

I have actually had travel agents tell me, "don't book the negotiated corporate rate, it's not commissionable. Don't book the group rate. Don't book the promo rate available. I've got to make a living, too."

I appreciate that agents have gotten screwed on commissions by airlines. However, if this is going to be the standard policy of travel agencies, then they should either charge their customers for the service or advise customers that they'll look for the lowest rate available - as long as they make the highest available commission.

I personally think travel agents need to face facts. Because of the open use of the Internet to check fares and travelers waking up and educating themselves on checking airfares and hotel and rental car rates on their own, this kind of behavior is not going to be tolerated much longer.

Don't you think that when travelers will find out they've been screwed their agents will lose the business?

-- Carrie Wells

A: I would exactly say that I dismissed the Consumer Reports study. But I did find parts of it troublesome. Making anonymous phone calls to agencies to ask for the cheapest airfare isn't the best way to shop for an airline ticket, and as I pointed out, I'm certain that many of the 840 agencies contacted by the newsletter didn't take the queries seriously.

In that sense, I think the survey was a cheap shot at the agency community that ended up tarring all travel retailers with the same brush. At the same time, however, the story makes a valid point about a travel agent's accountability. Who is the agent really working for? You? Himself or herself? Or the travel supplier?

I've been arguing for years that it's difficult to serve two masters - to say "I can find you the lowest price," but also "I can make the best commission for myself." The two rarely go hand-in-hand.

Worse, I think many agents have the chutzpah to collect a "service fee" from a client and then book an airline, hotel room or rental car that offers the top commission. To give a customer the impression that you're working in his or her best interests, only to turn around and do what's in your best interest, is inexcusable. "I'm just trying to make a living," doesn't work for me, just as it doesn't for you.

On the flip side, I've met lots of travel agents who not only talk the talk but also walk the walk. They're the kind of professionals who read this Web site or subscribe to my newsletter because they think principle is more important than profit. When I criticize the way the travel industry works, I go to great lengths to mention that these people are the exception.

Even so, there's a big credibility problem in the travel agency community, and nothing less than a sweeping change is probably in order. I'm partial to the financial adviser model. You have garden-variety financial advisers who take a commission from mutual fund companies, and you have fee-only advisers who take no commissions.

Not so long ago I made a switch to a fee-only adviser, and I'm very pleased with the results. I know that my adviser is always acting in my best interests because she doesn't take a commission.

That's not to say I wouldn't be getting sound advice from a financial adviser who takes a commission - only that I'm more comfortable when my "agent" works only for me.

Is such a setup possible in the travel industry? Among corporate travel agencies, it's been done for half a decade, but the idea has been slow to catch on among consumers. I think until travelers are willing to pay agents a living wage, they'll have to contend with lingering doubts about the advice they're getting.

It's an imperfect system. But then again, you're getting what you pay for.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on Thursdays. All e-mailed questions to ChrisCrossings become property of Ticked.com and may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. You may reach Elliott at chris@ticked.com. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.