Don't understand your post. Why are you deducting these items? Am I missing something? Denny

Surely you ADD those items - ticket on departure and extra weight etc not deduct them.

Patka

Thanks for the replies, Although it seems I might of confused people on what I'm trying to Calculate.

I'm trying to do a basic costing from a Travel Agents prospective using First Choice as an example.

The Agents have to take out the "add ons" such as APD Tax , Fuel Charges, TOD's, extra weight , meals & transfers ect.. To get a Basic NET price.

From this "striped out" NET price, the agent can start the commission calculations. Once the commission is calculated (15% is a good round figure for a larger Agent group) we can then add back the "Add ons" to get the total agent cost of Booking.

Its been a while since I've done a First Choice costing so I was hoping an agent would give an up to date example.

Hope thing makes things a little clearer...

So Taking the another Example for a Barbados Hoilday with First Choice.

Screen Price is £900 per person based on 2 adults, departing in less than 4 weeks.

Total cost of customer booking would be £1800.

So to get stripped out NET price :

£900
-£40 Outside EU APD
-£65 Fuel Charge
-£15 TOD
-£20 meal
-£20 Transfer
-£15 Barbados Dep Tax
=£725 NET Price

Next the commisson price ie: the price the agent will pay before the "add ons"

Net com price
£725 - 15% = £616.25

Now we've got the Net commission price we can now add back the add ons plus any minimum booking fee (usually £25- £30 on long haul) to work out the total agent booking cost. (For simplicty I'm ignoring any commissionable Add ons in the calc)

£616.25
+£25 booking fee (min profit)
+£40 Outside EU APD
+£65 Fuel Charge
+£15 TOD
+£20 meal
+£20 Transfer
+£15 Barbados Dep Tax
=£816.25

£816.25 X 2
= £1632.5 Total Agent Booking cost.

So we can see there is £167.5 between the customer price and the Agent booking price in this example.

I was hoping a current travel agent could provide an up to date costing example with First Choice.

It would be great if also some one could say which "add ons" are also commissionable with First Choice.

Are you a travel agent? I can't see why you would want to do the above unless you were

Hi Sarah, I'm not an agent.

However I have done some work in cost analysis and pricing models.

I'm just trying to get an upto date booking cost analysis for First Choice to add in to a price model I'm working on.

It does puzzle me that you say I carn't see why people would want to do these calcs. Yes not everyones into price modeling,
However from a customers point of view, knowing basic agent costing can help achive some considable savings which is always useful.

I don't know about any other agency but mine definitely doesn't earn 15% commission on a First Choice holiday.

Its ok saying the information you're collecting can also be used to help customers save money, but please remember Businesses are out to make a profit!

lol 15% .... We could only dream?

So why does eclipse say we cut out the middle man and you save 15% or doesn't apply to first choice, because the difference is only £20 between first choice and eclipse these days. Not only that first choice and eclipse are the most expensive of all the major tour op now. I have been told this by agents I know and by doing different pricings. The best one was first choice £4800 and airtours £3200 I think, but everyother tour op was under £4000.

Just because Eclispe say they will cut out the middle man and save 15% does not mean the margins we work on are 15%.... It would be fantastic if they were!

I do agree with you, First Choice are expensive. I currently work for The Thomas Cook group (Going Places) and have often found massive discrepencies between the two brands!!

Thanks again for the replies,

Most of the larger operator chains have I've done costings for have 15% as a mean. Yes Independ Agents & some direct competition operators don't enjoy such favourable comm rates 8%-12.5% is more of the standard.

I agree ta2005, that profit is the life blood of any business & I did include the standard £25-30 per person in mark up on long haul.
On an typical booking of 4 people, thats £100 -£120 of core profit before any other comm rates are worked in to the equation which inflates profit even more.

When you calculate the total Volume of Bookings per month on a typical large Agent Chain. The figures on just a basic £25 come out very favourable indeed.

Caz, Just go into First Choice and ask for 10% off your holiday price, they can only say no.

Its far easier then messing about with figures!

I know from exp that that this discount can be applied.

And if they say no, try a Thomson shop, all the same company now!

Good Luck!

Perversely i'm not tring to book a hoilday
I just after the current basic agent costing break downs.
It might be easier to be a TUI phantom customer and have a good look on Viewdata myself as they work the sreen.

I just don't like wasting their time hence asking on here.

caz144 wouldn't it be easier to go into a first choice shop and ask them telling them its for project.

bang_it_tiger

I wasn't trying to say first choice gave travel agents 15% but how they mislead people. I used of worded it differently.

It beats me how people book with first choice when the other operators can be over £1000 cheaper for a family. Either they love first choice or don't shop around. Eclipse used to be by a few hundred pounds compared to first choice but now its about the same.

I wonder what would happen if somebody compalined to the advertising standards agency about this invisable 15% saving booking direct and the office of fair trading. Thomson and portland are the same, portland is sometime more expensive than thomson.

My favorite direct sell tour op used to be martin rooks, but was sold off when BA was privatised and sold to red wing holidays. The lack of compitition is down to companies floating on the stock exchange in the 80's then it became dog eat dog.

What we are now left with is a few major tour ops who have their fingers into every part of a holiday. Most of the tour ops have money invested in the major hotel chains, airlines and transfer and excusion companies. There is very little compitition now the merges of thomson/ first choice and thomas cook/airtours. Companies we see today who are a part of the other groups will disappear was thomson and thomas cook cherry picking what they want to keep and get rid of the rest. I expect the cost of holidays to rise mainly down to the lack of compitition.

Very true

Oh yes, I don't doubt that for a second.