Travel agents are paid a comission by the hotel or resort. The comission is not added on to your price, but rather paid by the resort or hotel out of the money you pay to them for your trip. The comission your agent earns is not usually very high, maybe 10% which their employer takes 50 to 60 percent of. Agents can reduce comimssions and pass the savings on to you, but considering that agents are usually paid on 100% comission and receive about 100 to 200 per sale, asking them to reduce their comission is essentially asking them to work for free. Often times agents can get you good deals due to their industry connections and their general savvy about the business.