Ask the agency if the speaker has a set travel allowance to cover air and ground travel to the event, and most speakers do. A travel allowance is a set amount that you pay to the speaker to book and pay for his/her own travel. Speakers like travel allowances because it gives them the opportunity to use their own travel miles/points, and they get compensated by the travel allowance. Speakers can also get better deals on air tickets as they tend to be members of different frequent-flyer programs. This helps clients because it can actually lower costs by 20-40%. They know what the travel costs are up front, and there are no surprise travel costs afterwards. A travel allowance for an east-west trip across North America is on average $1,500 – $1,750. A travel allowance for a north-south trip in North America is on average $1,000 – $1,250. For international events, you should ask the agency to negotiate a travel allowance.