It used to be that airlines (and hotels and rental car agencies) paid enough in commissions that travel agencies made good money booking flights. Southwest Air

It used to be that airlines (and hotels and rental car agencies) paid enough in commissions that travel agencies made good money booking flights. Southwest Airlines, for example, has never paid commissions. As sites like Expedia grew, many (all?) other airlines and hotels have reduced and reduced their commissions. For some people, there's still value in saying "I want to take a trip to x" and let the travel agent work out the details. But the travel agencies now charge a fee to the customer because they get comparatively little from the businesses.