Net Rates vs Commission for Travel Agents: Which to Offer

Net rates and commission are the two ways you compensate a travel agent for selling your trips. With net rates you give the agent a wholesale price and they mark it up; with commission you publish a retail price and pay the agent a percentage. Both work — the right choice depends on your market and product.

How net rates work

You quote a confidential net price. The agent adds their own margin to reach the client price. This gives agents control over their markup and is common with high-value, customised trips — but requires trust and clear rules about rate confidentiality.

How commission works

You set the retail price and pay the agent a percentage (often 10–15%) on each booking. It is simple and transparent, and consortia often expect it. Understanding consortia helps here — see the consortia explainer in our region cluster.

Which to offer

• Net rates — for bespoke luxury product and experienced partners.
• Commission — for clarity, consortia, and newer relationships.
• Be consistent, document terms, and honour them without exception.

Whatever you choose, lead with it in outreach — see /blog/cold-email-templates-for-travel-agents and the full motion at /blog/b2b-travel-sales-playbook.

Manage your partners in Karibu

Track every agent, their terms, and your conversations in one place. Compare plans on /pricing.