Travel Client Faux Pas (and How to Avoid Them)
Planning a vacation should be exciting. Whether it’s a cruise, a theme park adventure, or a bucket-list destination, working with a travel advisor can make the entire process smoother and far less stressful. Travel advisors spend hours researching, planning, and managing the details that most travelers never see.
But just like any professional relationship, there are a few common client faux pas that happen in the travel planning world. Most of the time, they aren’t intentional, people simply don’t realize how the industry works behind the scenes.
One of the most common? Asking your travel advisor for onboard credit, gift cards, or gifts.
The “Extras” Conversation
When planning a cruise or vacation, travelers often see advertisements mentioning onboard credit (OBC), gift cards, or booking perks. Because of that, many people naturally ask their advisor if they can add those extras to their booking.
On the surface, it seems like a harmless request. After all, who wouldn’t want a little extra spending money for specialty dining, spa treatments, excursions, or souvenirs?
But there’s an important behind-the-scenes reality most travelers don’t realize.
How Travel Advisors Actually Get Paid
In most cases, travel advisors are not paid for the time they spend researching your trip. They are compensated through commission from the travel supplier, and only after you travel.
That commission is typically a small percentage of the base travel cost, not the entire vacation price.
For example, let’s say a cruise booking totals around $2,000. After the commission is split between the host agency and the advisor, the advisor might earn around $100 for that booking.
That $100 represents all the time spent:
Researching ships, resorts, and itineraries
Comparing room or stateroom options
Answering questions and offering recommendations
Booking and managing the reservation
Monitoring promotions and price drops
Repricing your trip when discounts appear
And here’s another important detail: every time your advisor reprices your trip to apply a promotion or discount, their commission usually decreases.
So when they help you save money, they are often lowering their own earnings in the process.
Why Asking for OBC, Gift Cards, or Gifts Is a Faux Pas
When someone asks their travel advisor for onboard credit, a gift card, or a booking gift, what they are essentially asking is for the advisor to give away a portion of their commission.
Using the example above, if the advisor earns roughly $100 on the booking, asking for $50 in onboard credit or a gift card means they are giving away half of the income from that trip.
In reality, that commission may barely cover a tank of gas and lunch after all the time spent planning the vacation.
So asking for extras from that amount can unintentionally devalue the work that goes into planning your trip.
A Simple Way to Think About It
Think about your hairdresser.
You sit in their chair while they cut, color, and style your hair. When the service is finished, you pay for their work and many people even tip because they value the time and skill involved.
Now imagine saying:
“Thanks for the haircut. Can you give me a gift card too?”
or
“Can you give me some of that money back?”
It would feel uncomfortable because we naturally understand that professionals deserve to be compensated for their time and expertise.
Travel advisors operate in a very similar way.
Not Every Advisor Offers the Same Level of Service
Another important thing to understand is that not every advisor advertising gifts or onboard credit is necessarily the best advisor for your needs.
Some advisors build their marketing around perks like gift cards or onboard credit, but that doesn’t always reflect the level of service behind the scenes.
For example, some advisors may:
Simply place the booking and move on
Not assist with dining reservations or special experiences
Offer little guidance on resorts, ships, or itineraries
Not monitor your reservation for price drops
Not reprice your trip when promotions become available
Not proactively apply discounts
In other words, the extra perks may come instead of the detailed planning and ongoing support that many travelers actually need.
A dedicated travel advisor often spends hours helping you design the right vacation, monitoring your trip for savings, answering questions, and making sure everything runs smoothly.
Those services provide far more value than a small onboard credit or gift card.
The Magic of Surprise “Pixie Dust”
Here’s the thing: many travel advisors genuinely love surprising their clients.
If an advisor sends a gift, adds onboard credit, or sprinkles a little “pixie dust” along the way, it’s because they want to. It’s a way of saying thank you for trusting them with your vacation.
Those gestures are meant to be unexpected surprises, not something negotiated during the booking process.
When they happen, they’re gifts, not part of the transaction.
The Best Way to Work With Your Travel Advisor
The relationship between a client and a travel advisor works best when there’s mutual respect for the time and expertise involved.
A great advisor does far more than simply click “book.” They help you:
Choose the right destination or cruise line
Avoid costly mistakes
Navigate promotions and policies
Monitor your booking for savings
Advocate for you if something goes wrong
Their goal is simple: to make sure your vacation is seamless, memorable, and stress-free from the moment you start planning until the moment you return home.
And that kind of service is worth far more than a small onboard credit or gift card.
Thinking about your next vacation?
If you’re looking for personalized planning, expert recommendations, and someone who will advocate for your trip every step of the way, I’d love to help design your next adventure. Let’s start planning.
