How do travel agents get paid?

It’s no surprise that travel agents don’t have a typical salary like most professionals out there. An engineer might work 8 hours a day and earn $50,000 annually, while a politician might work -2 hours a day and earn $500,000. Every profession works differently, and that’s especially true for travel agents.

A travel agent’s salary, after all, depends on your client base, whether you work part-time or not, whether you’re under a host agency, and a few other variables. With that out of the way, there’s still one important question to ask: How do you actually get paid?

Travel agents earn money through commissions on the trips they book for clients. The more trips you book, the more you earn. Commission splits also depend on the travel supplier. For example, you might sell Disney World tickets and earn 4% on top of the sale, but you could sell a Disney Cruise Line trip and earn 10% on the entire booking. Each travel supplier pays differently, and it also depends on the type of trip you're selling.

Many travel suppliers also treat agents differently based on how long you’ve worked with them and how much you’ve booked. For example, depending on your standing, Sandals Resorts can pay up to 20% in commissions - one of the highest in the industry. Cruise lines usually start around 10%, and depending on your performance, that number can go up to about 16%.

There are also seasonal deals and challenges that can boost your earnings. For instance, Carnival Cruise Line often runs promotions where, if you hit a certain number of bookings, your final commission increases by 3 to 4%.

Some travel agents also charge a “service fee” when planning a trip, so they don’t spend time putting everything together only for the client to book it on their own. Some of the top travel agents might do this, but it’s usually not a good idea when you’re just starting out.

Keep in mind that most travel suppliers only pay your commission after your client completes their trip. So yes, a lot of the time you'll be booking trips for 2026 and beyond, and that money won’t be available until a year from now. That’s one of the reasons why it’s important to build a solid client base, or have a second job when you're just starting out as a travel agent.

Another thing to remember is that, after earning your commission, that money might be split if you’re working under a travel agency. Some agencies ask for a 50-50 split, which is way too much. Others, like VacationLab, use a 70-30 split, with the travel agent getting the bigger slice. Depending on your standing with us, you can earn up to 80%... which is pretty awesome, considering you also get access to our dashboard, tons of free guides, dedicated support, zero fees and much more.

We hope we were able to help you out, and remember… more bookings mean more commissions, which means more $$$ in your bank account. Now good luck, and go build that client base!

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