Sunshine Coast travel agent starts charging fee as influx of bookings continues

Sunshine Coast travel agents have had to start charging booking fees and are struggling to find staff to keep up with the workload as a flood travellers demand their services.

Travel agent Barbara Sheriff is having trouble finding staff for her Tewantin office.

Sunshine Coast and Noosa travel agents have been forced to introduce upfront booking fees in a bid to deal with the flood of demand for their services.

A spike in demand from locals for overseas travel has even forced some domestic travellers to be turned away.

Travel agent of 20 years Kim Rudd said she was “busy, it’s up, thank goodness” and charging an upfront booking management fee had become essential.

She was also particular about the bookings she took on.

“I’m happy to have a quick five or 10-minute phone call but if I am about to sit down for three or four hours of work putting a quote together, I charge the fee,” she said.

The travel agent said she had to manage her time carefully due to the influx of bookings.

Travel agent Kim Rudd during a trip to Swaziland before the Covid-19 pandemic. Picture: Contributed

She said Covid-19 flying and entry requirements for countries had also made the quoting and booking process more complex and she spent more time on hold to other travel companies because they were short-staffed.

The travel agent said her specialty was Africa and clients were also inquiring about Bali, the US, Canada and Antarctica.

Travel agent Kim Rudd at Niagara Falls.

Australia’s borders reopened in February, 2022.

The travel agent said it was still a “good stress” compared to the past couple of years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Noosa Travel owner Barbara Sheriff said she while was undergoing an extremely busy period – having spent 26 years at her Tewantin shopfront – her most pressing issue currently was finding staff.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms Sheriff had three staff members who were all busy.

Travel agent Barbara Sheriff is struggling to find staff for her office.

She now has one staff member and cannot find anyone else.

The travel agent said it was “frantic” in July, 2022, with bookings for the European summer.

She said the staff shortage was felt across the travel industry after people found other careers during the pandemic.

“Now there’s a shortage of qualified people,” Ms Sheriff said.

“We’ve been trying to find younger staff that we can train but I don’t know where everyone has gone.”

She said she was looking after her existing clients first but luckily had not had to move to “appointment only” like she had seen at other travel agents.

“Each office has to do what they have to do to get by,” Ms Sheriff said.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast travel agent starts charging fee as influx of bookings continues