Travel Fees

[Tom Edgerton]

The procedure with most agents is about the same, so I patterned after them.

I don't charge travel when it's within about 50 miles of home. If it's a client I like and they're maybe 2 or 3 hours away, sometimes I don't either.

When I travel, the client pays airfare, or mileage, and lodging. I don't charge for meals, as I don't think it's a good idea to nickel and dime them to death--buy your own toothpaste. I bill for travel when I get home, and submit receipts with the invoice.

I could see that tacking on a fee to all prices would accomplish the same, but it penalizes your local clients. Most potential clients know that travel is to be paid by them, and I've explained so in initial discussions that it's "standard practice in the portrait field." It helps if you've stated this policy somewhere in your literature or on your website up front, with your policy on framing and shipping, etc.

Many clients who have had the space and didn't want to put me up somewhere else have had me stay with them. I've made many friends this way. Retire discreetly and early, read a book and stay out of their hair, and make the bed in the morning.

Best--TE