It’s like BJ’s or Sam’s club. You buy in bulk to get a lower price per item. In the case of travel services, the savings are still passed onto the consumer though they do not get the “wholesale rate” negotiated between the Wholesaler and the Property.

Tour Operators are another form of Wholesaler.

Do they represent their customer, the person who pays the bill, or, do they represent the person who sells the travel?

If, as I suspect, they advertise as if they are an online travel agent, then, in traditional master-servant law, the servant must disgorge all profits earned that are not disclosed and agreed upon by the master. It is expected that the seller of travel is paying a commission to the agent making the transaction available – however – if you pay a fee to that travel agent – and it is a substantial fee [not $5] and the commission is not disclosed – that is a whole nuther ball game. Depending on the booking fee you paid – it is an open question as to whether the agent needs to disclose the profit to the master, i.e., the customer. Traditionally a 10% fee was credited by travel agents on the amount of the net fare. Those amounts have essentially gone to zero in most arenas except the cruise business.

If Ms. Chatterjee paid a $5 booking fee – then I seriously doubt she has much of a case – if she paid $20 or $30, then its a ‘nuther issue.

This is just business as usual. The fact that the customer was shown the bulk price doesn’t mean, he/she is entitled to them. Customer had previously agreed to a higher price, so if anyone graciously wants to refund it, well, but the agreement had been done with a higher price already.