RE: Why are hunts so damn expensive???
Costs for Booking Agents
In almost all cases, you will pay the same cost for an outfitted/guided hunt no matter whether you book direct through the outfitter or go through a booking agent. Outfitting is a business just like any other; and marketing and selling costs are included in the total cost of the hunt no matter which route you choose to go.
Some outfitters choose to do their own marketing which means they incur costs for magazine advertising, maintaining a website, having booths at sports shows like the SCI show in Reno, the Harrisburg Sports Show in Harrisburg, etc., and handling all correspondance. Others opt to have booking agents do their marketing for them for a commision. Regardless of the route, those marketing costshave to beincluded in the total cost of the hunt; and you will pay about the same no matter which way you go. (By the way, the booking agent fees probably average closer to 15% rather than 10%)
If an unethical outfitter with a booking agent arrangement tried to go behind the booking agent's back and discount a hunt by booking direct with a client, the booking agent would drop him in a New York minute.
One word of caution is in order when working with booking agents, however. I would only work with the larger outfits that have been in business for a number of years and have withstood the test of time. They are in it for the long run and have reputations to protect. All it takes to get into the booking agent business is an 800 number, a kitchen table, and possibly a website. While a top quality booking agent is worth his weight in gold, some little guys are in the business mainly to hustle free hunts from outfitters and couldn't care less about matching clients with good quality reasonably priced hunts. These are the guys to steer clear of.