Nearly half of travel advisors — 46% — either never charge fees or rarely do, according to Travel Market Report's 2026 Outlook on the Modern Travel Advisor. The survey found 23% never charge fees and another 23% rarely do, while only 24% charge fees on all bookings. Another 22% apply fees only to complex or customized itineraries, and 8% plan to introduce them.

The numbers expose an industry still split on one of its most basic commercial questions: whether advisors monetize their labor directly or rely entirely on supplier commissions. That split has real consequences for how agencies price, how they compete, and how much unpaid work they absorb.

Why do advisors skip fees?

The advisors TMR spoke with offered concrete reasons rather than ideology. Most agreed that a disciplined client-vetting process substitutes for a fee, protecting their time without charging for it.

• New entrants set the habit early. Rosanne Rush, owner of Live Love Cruise Travel, started her agency in 2023 and initially believed skipping fees would attract clients. "When I made the decision not to charge a fee, I just decided to stick with it because people appreciate it," she said. A retired principal, she treats the agency as a side job and forgoes fees to "give back to people who help support my business."
• High travel prices change the math. Bridget Koester, owner of BCB Vacations, said fees would cost her business outright. "There are certain clients where if I charge the fee, they would not use my services," she said. "Prices have gone through the roof."
• Referrals beat one-off fees. "A return client and a person who shares that information with their coworkers, their mom, their cousins, is way more valuable than a planning fee," Koester said.
• Vetting replaces charging. Koester sometimes quotes a $100 fee during consultations, then waives it if the client books. "I only implement that if the consultation call goes in a way that makes me feel they'll go take the information and book direct," she said.

When does dropping fees pay off?

At least one advisor measured the result. Aubree Johnson, owner of Vagablonde Travel, dropped planning fees after her business grew — and says the move tripled her sales.

"In the beginning, I felt like it covered you until you were paid for them to travel, so I understood it at first," Johnson told TMR during a recent MasterAdvisor webinar. "But as I grew as an agent and as business started coming to me, I realized I really don't need to charge this agency fee."

Others found the opposite effect with lead volume. RacQuelle Major-Holland, owner of Major Adventures Travel, runs a YouTube channel with 43,000 subscribers documenting family cruises — a funnel that pays her directly and feeds client leads. She tested a $50 client fee but stopped after seeing "a dip in the number of leads that I was getting."

What holds the no-fee model together?

Vetting is the load-bearing wall. David D'Amico, owner of D'Amico Travel, said shoppers who take itineraries and book direct are rare enough that he doesn't worry — "but at the end of the day, you still have to weed out who your window shoppers are." Regional competition also plays a role: "Where I am, there are many travel agencies in our region, and they do not charge fees either," he said.

For some, the rationale is not financial at all. Rush described the work — booking weddings, honeymoons, milestone trips — as reward enough. "Yes, it's tons of work, tons of time, but I feel rewarded when I help someone," she said.

Koester framed the divide as structural freedom rather than a fault line: "The beauty of this industry is we can run our businesses the way we see fit."

With 8% of non-charging advisors saying they plan to introduce fees, the commission-only model may erode slowly — but the 2026 data shows nearly half the trade still sells its expertise at no direct cost to the client.