Travel agents can earn from more than flights and hotels. Airport transfers, guided tours, attraction visits and food experiences can become part of the same client relationship. The commercial opportunity depends on what clients actually book, the agreed rate and the cost of servicing each reservation.

Commission and Net Rates: two ways to earn

Under Toristy’s Commission model, distribution partners typically earn 10–15% of the booking value. Toristy works with both Commission and Net Rate models. With Net Rates, you receive a supplier price and control your own markup and margin. Confirm the applicable terms for each product and your partner agreement before quoting a client.

Markup and margin are different. If a net rate is $80 and you sell at $100, your gross profit is $20. That is a 25% markup on cost and a 20% margin on the selling price, before payment charges, taxes and service costs. Keeping those calculations separate makes offers easier to compare.

A realistic earnings example

Suppose your agency completes 100 experience bookings each month at an average booking value of $150. At 10% commission, gross commission would be $1,500 per month, or $18,000 over twelve months. At 15%, the same booking volume would generate $2,250 per month. These are illustrations, not forecasts or guaranteed earnings.

Count completed, commission-eligible bookings rather than enquiries or cancelled reservations. Deduct refunds, charges and the time spent helping customers to understand your actual contribution. A smaller number of well-matched products can be more valuable than a large catalogue that creates unnecessary support work.

Build experiences into the booking conversation

Start with an arrival transfer, one experience linked to the traveler’s interests and an optional activity for a free day. Explain the meeting point, duration, inclusions and cancellation deadline. Give clients a short selection with a clear reason for each recommendation instead of sending an unfiltered list.

Measure what improves your agency’s revenue

Track the share of trips that include an experience, average experience spend, completed-booking commission and support time. Review results by destination and traveler type. Use the findings to improve the next recommendation rather than assuming every customer wants the same activity.

Toristy connects travel sellers with 130,000+ experiences and supports branded booking flows. Explore the travel agent booking platform, compare payment and commission guidance, or apply for an account.