I am new at the office and was told that when I am on vacation I need to ask another broker to cover for me ( listings etc ).

What is an example of the typical compensation for the broker that is covering for me for that week?

I would offer them a referral fee if they happen to handle an offer for you. I would expect at least 15%, and offer to return the favor to them if the need should arise. Get them a gift from your vacation destination or take them out to lunch as well. If you have several listings and they are generating a lot of calls, then you may want to offer up front compensation. Make sure you introduce them to your client(s).

I was just discussing this with another agent a few days ago. There are many of us in the office who will cover for each other just because. And we expect that the favor will be returned when we need it. We were bewildered that someone would want 10, 20% of our paycheck to take one hour out of their weekend to present an offer to our seller.
Buy them lunch, or load a month's worth of coffee on a Starbucks card, or pay a flat $250 fee if you have to go that high.
But if all you are asking someone to do is to present an offer should one come in in your absence, a percentage is outrageous in my opinion.
--A

Also your subject is about an open house... If you had an open house scheduled during the week you would be away, ask another agent, maybe someone new, in the office to hold it for you. It is a lead generation exercise for that agent. You shouldn't have to pay them to do it.
--A

Wow you guys have it good. In my office, the standard is 25-30% for on handling business while someone is on vacation. Of course, it's up to the individual agents, so it could potentially be lunch. I did vacation coverage for a team, they offered me 40%, but the clients didn't buy during the time I covered their business.

Open houses, at least in our office, has a line of people wanting to do them for the listing agents. There's no compensation for holding an open house, but the listing agents allows the hosting agent to keep all leads from the open house.

Wow, I was just giving a suggestion! Offer presentation is one thing, but "nursing" and being in negotiation with someone else's client is another. What if you end up spending an entire week going back and forth with the client and the other agent and/or the buyers. Running all over town getting signatures and whatever. Time is of the essence. What if you have 15 listings to cover and you get 3 offers on three of them while they are gone. Wouldn't you expect a little more than cup of coffee? I have someone that I offer 15% to handle my business while I am gone and visa versa and we are happy to pay it. We have each had to pay out 1 time to each other. It was around $600 I paid out, and well worth it to have someone you trust to take care of your business while you are away.

Yes, open houses should be freebies, it's lead generation. If anything, whoever is holding your open should pay you! Just kidding of course!

amplet, please don't take any offense. Obviously no one would expect to have an indentured servant while they are gone.
Here, we are not in a market where people are getting three offers on fifteen listings and needing to run all over town doing high-powered quickly-expiring negotiations. But if that happened, an agent would probably deserve a good cut of the commission.
Normally we are always available by cell phone so we would be handling our own negotiations by phone and asking a body back at the office to take care of the paperwork if something came up. That's where I'm coming from.
--A

Whatever you decide, make certain to get it in writing. See if your broker has an appointment of agency form. Ours is a really simple one page thing that basically says agent B will cover for agent A, and how, if any compensation will be earned. Also it has a spot to write in any other items that may need to be taken care of while the other agent is away.

Sorry UpscaleLV, no offense taken. I've had a tough day. I need a vacation, can you cover for me?

BTW, I turn my phone off on vacation and won't check my VM until I get to the Cabo airport on the way back. Would 15% be OK, I 'll be sure to return the favor! Maybe I'll even bring you back a really nice t-shirt or a "genuine" Rolex watch. ha ha.

The market here is still pretty good, even an occasional multiple offer.

I guess when I go on vacation, I want to get away. My assistant (Unlicensed, and my spouse), usually comes with, so I like to have someone I can count on to handle all details, no matter how small or large.

Don't forget, we all need a vacation sometime, enjoy it! Even if you just stay at home...

Thanks to everyone for the great information - very useful!!!!! This is a great site!