Axe agent fams but pay commission promptly – hoteliers urged
An end to “indiscriminate” hotel fam trips for agents but prompt payment of commissions to the trade by hoteliers have been suggested to improve relations between the two sectors.
The formula has been put forward by Supranational Hotels managing director Niels Pedersen to form the centrepiece of a positive hotel-travel agency relationship.
He called for a end to the “love-hate” struggle that many hoteliers still appear to adopt towards agents.
Pedersen estimated that 30% of justified commission is never paid to agents for the basic reason that hotels do not sufficiently value the work of agents.
At the same time he believes that agency managers do themselves no favours by “allowing staff to apply for, or take up, indiscriminate educationals”.
He said: “Fam trips no longer pay because all the necessary information is on the web, and agency staff time is too valuable to waste on unproductive freebies.”
Pedersen added: “Too many hoteliers see agencies only as a necessary evil rather than as their partners who get the selling job done, and this can result in unpaid or delayed commission payments, and haggling over pennies.
“I doubt whether more than 15 or 20% of hoteliers acknowledge or appreciate that agencies act as their outsourced sales offices – training staff, marketing their services, and highlighting their hotels all on the basis of financial uncertainty and risk.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Marginal increase for New York City tourism in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments