Travel agent margins: what is reasonable?

Pollycat

Voyager2002 wrote: »

The fee is perfectly transparent.
The combined trip is worth (to me) the £550, although the added value as compared to what I could do for myself does not amount to £200.

So really, it's up to the potential travellers whether it's a reasonable margin or not.

CardinalWolsey

daveyjp wrote: »

£800 to £1,000 for 4 days work doesn't appear excessive to me.

It's not even that, really. If the cost of the base trip is £350, assuming that is for transport, accommodation, entrance fees - then it is likely that the "organiser" will also have to cover that cost. So in reality it becomes £1,000 - £350 = £650 for four days work (on the trip) plus possibly a couple of days upfront planning and organising - so let's say six days work. Just over £100 / day, or roughly £13/hour

That feels like very good value.

This is the problem with "transparent pricing" though. When you see how the full price of something is broken down, you baulk at the cost of some of the individual items. Which is why many people don't pay to reserve their seat on a plan, for example.

soolin

Don't forget as well that any payment the guide takes will be subject to tax and NI and probably some sort of professional liability insurance. It isn't (or shouldn't be ) cash in hand.