Travel Agent vs DIY Calculator

DIY total cost is your DIY base trip cost. Agent total cost is calculated as: base trip cost + agent fee + expected agent price difference. Then the tool converts agent benefits into dollars: time value (hours saved × value of your time) plus your risk/stress reduction value, and computes net value = (benefits) − (extra agent cost).

If the agent is expected to secure a better fare (negative “expected agent price difference”), that can quickly swing the result toward an agent even with moderate hours saved. Conversely, if you set hours saved and risk value to zero, the agent must justify itself purely through price savings. For simple itineraries, the calculator assumes there’s less opportunity for agent leverage, so it requires a stronger net value to recommend paying for one.

Avoid entering a negative value for the agent fee, hours saved, value of time, or risk/stress reduction—these are treated as non-negative. If your “DIY base trip cost” is 0, the tool can’t produce a meaningful comparison, because DIY must represent a real baseline cost. Also note the calculator only counts the trade-offs you enter—hidden DIY costs like rebooking fees or lost nonrefundable deposits are only included if you reflect them in the risk/stress reduction value.

If your net value lands between -10 and +10, the recommendation becomes “Depends,” meaning it’s effectively a tie under your assumptions. If hours saved is 0 and risk/stress reduction value is 0, the agent recommendation will be driven entirely by whether the expected agent price difference offsets the agent fee. For complex or very complex itineraries, the calculator makes it easier for risk reduction to justify the agent, but it still won’t recommend the agent if the net value is strongly negative.