As the summer travel outlook improves, added fees are making a comeback

Ready or not, travel fees are poised to make a comeback this summer.

Some of them were inevitable. For example, last month most major airlines began reinstating penalty charges for some ticket changes. Yeah, I know — what took them so long?

Other fees may come as a surprise. If you’re visiting the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, for example, you will have to pay a $30 fee for its Visitors Protection Plan. It covers medical expenses and a medical evacuation — whether you need them or not.

Airlines, hotels and travel agencies, mindful that customers hated extra charges, wisely suspended many of them because of the pandemic. But they never stopped thinking about them or the much-needed revenue they provided. Now that people are starting to travel again, the industry is ready to bring back the fees — and then some.

The fees fall into two broad categories: the new ones imposed by countries on international visitors and the fees (new or reinstated) charged by companies such as airlines, travel agencies and vacation rental firms.

Government fees such as the one charged by St. Maarten for visitor protection are relatively new and not covered by insurance. Sanne Wesselman, a marketing consultant who lives on a catamaran in the Caribbean, stumbled upon the St. Maarten fee on a recent visit to the island.

"It keeps me from having to pay high medical bills in case I do contract covid here," she says.

Mohak Nahta, CEO of Atlas, an app that helps travelers complete visa applications, says other countries have new mandatory health fees. One of the best-known — because it affected so many U.S. travelers this spring — is the $50 to $70 charged to visitors for the Bahamas health visa. The visa covers basic medical expenses on the islands.

But what happens when the pandemic ends? Travel insurance experts predict that countries will institute a strict medical insurance requirement to offset the cost of providing medical care to tourists. Or they will keep a medical visa requirement, if they have one, even though the pandemic has ended.

More vacation rental companies have added security charges during the pandemic, according to Autohost, a company that provides guest-screening services for such companies. Security deposits on larger properties can run as high as $5,000, roughly double what they were before the pandemic. Damage waivers range from $25 to $50.

Travel agents are adjusting their fees, too.

TierOne Travel, based in Calgary, Alberta, is among those travel agencies that have seen commission revenue drop during the pandemic. In response, its travel advisers have doubled down on charges to travelers: booking fees, which range from $20 to $250, and change and cancellation fees of $40 to $100.

"These fees vary depending on the individual agent and the type of travel being booked, such as domestic flights, international flights, cruises and travel packages," says Shelley Ewing, TierOne’s CEO.

Ewing says most customers are willing to pay the extras.

With airlines reinstating fees, some agents will probably be encouraged to keep their new ones. Historically, once customers accept a surcharge, it becomes an industry standard.