BelowTheCold.com
Warm Vacations
The Benefits Of Using A Travel Agent
Why wouldn't you use a travel agent? The truth is that there are many benefits to using a travel agent.
The first benefit is that it doesn't cost anything to call and use a travel agent. When you are planning a trip, you have lots of questions and need lots of information. Wouldn't it be nice to call someone who has lots of information about the place you want to travel to? That person is a travel agent! In fact, don't just call one travel agent; call lots of them. You never know what type of information you will get from each call.
The next benefit is that travel agents have access to flight information and reservations systems that are not included in most of the major online travel agencies such as Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, etc... A good example of this is that Southwest airlines doesn't release their schedule and reservation system to the online travel agencies. If your best option is s flight on Southwest, most online travel agencies will not let you know about it.
Another benefit is the knowledge about when the best time to book is. Travel agents have knowledge about when certain areas, flights, resorts, etc... go on sale. They also can offer special deals because they have agreements with distributors. One travel agent I know books half the rooms at a specific resort at a highly discounted rate each year. He then sells those rooms at a lower price that can be found anywhere else.
The bottom line is that it doesn't hurt to call a travel agent and it usually helps a lot. If you are planning a vacation, call a travel agent.
The first benefit is that it doesn't cost anything to call and use a travel agent. When you are planning a trip, you have lots of questions and need lots of information. Wouldn't it be nice to call someone who has lots of information about the place you want to travel to? That person is a travel agent! In fact, don't just call one travel agent; call lots of them. You never know what type of information you will get from each call.
The next benefit is that travel agents have access to flight information and reservations systems that are not included in most of the major online travel agencies such as Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, etc... A good example of this is that Southwest airlines doesn't release their schedule and reservation system to the online travel agencies. If your best option is s flight on Southwest, most online travel agencies will not let you know about it.
Another benefit is the knowledge about when the best time to book is. Travel agents have knowledge about when certain areas, flights, resorts, etc... go on sale. They also can offer special deals because they have agreements with distributors. One travel agent I know books half the rooms at a specific resort at a highly discounted rate each year. He then sells those rooms at a lower price that can be found anywhere else.
The bottom line is that it doesn't hurt to call a travel agent and it usually helps a lot. If you are planning a vacation, call a travel agent.
-
Comment by Nathan Andover on November 20, 2010 at 2:28pm -
The main downside is that sometimes you can run into some really bad travel agents. Their commissions are not very good and some of them work on a base salary. This means that they are not highly motivated to solve the issues or plan the vacation you are looking to take.
I had some really bad experiences recently. I contacted three different travel agencies so I could get three different quotes on the same trip. It was like pulling teeth. Usually in a sales situation, the sales people call you back and try to get the sale. IN my case, I had to call the travel agents back to see if they had found anything yet. All three of their proposals were worse than what I had found on my own.
I'm sure things are better is you find a knowledgeable travel agent who cares about what they are doing - and are being paid well - on commission, but I don't know if there are many of these types of travel agents left out there.
Comment
© 2012 Created by BelowTheCold.com.
You need to be a member of BelowTheCold.com to add comments!
Join BelowTheCold.com