How Advisor Alison Ebbs Got Comfortable Charging Professional Fees

I have to admit, when I entered the breakout session at Travel Market Place Vancouver titled ‘Being Comfortable Charging Fees,’ I thought to myself, ‘Why is this still a thing? We’ve been talking about fees since the 1990s.’  

However, it was clear from the large audience attending the presentation by The Travel Agent Next Door independent advisor Alison Ebbs, a reluctance or fear to charge service or planning fees is indeed still a thing.

“Two years ago, I was in the audience when (long-time TMP Vancouver emcee) Geraldine Ree did a presentation on this very topic. I’m as surprised as you that I’m up here today,” said the Surrey, BC-based Ebbs.

She spent 10 years with a bricks-and-mortar agency before joining TTAND and going independent in 2019. Then came COVID, “which killed my fledgling career as a 100% commission-based full-time agent.” 

But during the couple of years away from the work she loves, Ebbs said she took away “pandemic silver linings” she describes as the ability to “rethink, reimagine, reinvent and restart.”

But despite a conviction that she brings value to her clients, Ebbs said there was still a block for her when it came to charging fees. 

“Even broaching the subject was hard. I grew up thinking that Herb Tarlek (a used-car salesman type character on late-1970s sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati), was a typical commissioned salesperson,” said Ebbs. “I had to figure out a way to be in commissioned sales ethically and morally.”

Part of the way she did that was by learning more reasons why the skills and efforts of professional travel advisors justify charging professional fees.

Here are a few that stood out for Ebbs:

Income Stabilization: “There can be dry months and strong months, but sometimes suppliers don’t pay commission for months even after final payment. With TTAND, service fees are in my account within two weeks. The fees can smooth out harder months,” Ebbs said.

Client Attraction: “Good clients expect to pay a fee for professionalism,” said Ebbs. “Think about that when you’re setting your fees. I once heard someone say, ‘If you charge a $20 fee, you’re going to get a $20 client.”

Time Saving Times Two: Ebbs told the advisors in attendance that charging a professional fee saves time for clients, who don’t have to do their own research, and for advisors, because they help weed out the tire-kickers who want to pick their brains and then book elsewhere. When potential clients approach with vague desires, Ebbs sends them a note asking for more details of what they’re looking for – along with a request for a credit card to cover her professional fee, half of which is processed right away, the other half when a booking is complete. With this approach, Ebbs said, “Everyone has skin in the game.”

Elevating the Industry: The more travel advisors that charge professional fees, the more the practice is normalized, Ebbs said. And people are used to paying fees for other professional services, so why should travel be any different?

Ebbs told the audience that she took a page from a fellow advisor’s book and dropped the term ‘Service Fee,’ replacing it with ‘Planning & Management Fee.’ “It’s a small tweak, but it feels less transactional, and that has made all the difference for me.”

She acknowledges that getting over her fear of charging professional fees has caused her to lose some clients. “I’m OK with that,” Ebbs said.