Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
This is kind of a weird phrase, I know. And to be blunt, it was something my mother said to me related to guys. (get it?) But the concept comes up in conversations among travel professionals a lot. Travel professionals spend a lot of time, effort, and money to learn their trade. Time researching, taking classes, reading blogs and marketing information, industry updates and following news. Money to visit and learn about different destinations (not vacations, but think 3 days of visiting 10-13 hotels to understand their offerings, properties, clientele, etc.). Effort to put together customized itineraries for clients, to market themselves and their offerings, etc. Most travel professionals work on commission paid directly from the locations the book - hotels, resorts, cruise lines, etc. Many places, like small mom & pop properties, boutique hotels, etc. don't pay any commission at all, but people like them, so agents will the...
