2009-11-05

5 Reasons to use a Travel Agent

I was looking at Morgana Travel’s Website and found a really great case for using a travel agent as opposed to booking online. It was so well written that I will use it verbatum:

You can find the original at http://www.moragatravel.com/whyagent.php

5 Reasons to Use An Agent

1. Travel agents get amenities

In most cases, your travel agent can get you prices that are competitive with what you would find online. However, what you book online is almost always going to include less than what you will get when you book through an agent. Another way that vendors encourage travel agents to book their customers with them is by offering amenities. These amenities can be anything from a bottle of wine in your room or free breakfast to free room upgrades and special events or activities. Travel vendors tend to look for ways to give special treatment to people who have booked through an agency because they know that the best way to get an agent to recommend their product is to have one of our customers comeback from their trip happy.

2. Travel agents answer the questions you don’t know to ask

Half the fun of travel is experiencing something brand new. However, when you book through a faceless website or big conglomerate you learn a lot of things the hard way. Travel agents are perpetual students constantly taking online classes and many times even visiting firsthand to learn about the places they are sending clients. They’ll be able to help you not only with how to get there, where to stay, and what to do but also what to pack, when is the best time of year to go, what time of day to do what, and things to make sure to eat while you are there.

3. Travel vendors are more flexible with agents than they are with you

Anyone who has booked online knows that most of the time you have to take the non-refundable option in order to get the best pricing. In most cases this is not true for travel agents. Travel agents offer the opportunity for future bookings to a vendor. In exchange for that they are afforded much more flexibility in booking and payment terms. Not only can a travel agent hold space for an amount of time without and deposit, they can also make changes that an Internet traveler can’t make and in many cases they can get price adjustments if the pricing comes down between when you book and when you travel.

4. Travel agents don’t call customer support

When something changes or goes wrong with a trip you’ve booked yourself you’re forced to enter that dreaded abyss that is phone support. In most cases, travel agents don’t call this number. They have an account representative or a business development manager that answers to them when things change or go wrong. This person is compensated based on how much business the agency does with them so they are highly motivated to keep your travel agent happy. Not to mention the fact that you can go back to enjoying your trip instead of waiting on hold once you’ve called, emailed, or even text messaged your agent as you can rest assured you’ll be hearing back from them shortly with a solution to your issue.

5. Travel agents have firsthand experience

When you book on the Internet there is no real way to know exactly what you are getting. Descriptions are purposely vague. Photos can be distorted or chosen carefully to avoid undesirable items. User reviews are unreliable seeing as many positive reviews are obvious fakes and even the negative ones need to be taken with a grain of salt as they may only reflect an isolated occurrence. When you work with a good Travel Agent not only have they probably been to the places they are recommending themselves but they have established a trusting relationship the vendors they book for you and can usually apply a large amount of pressure to make things right if you are ever dissatisfied. Travel Agents know that they are staking their reputation and any future business on what they book for you and they take that very seriously.

5 Travel Agent Myths

1. Aren’t travel agencies going away?

Travel agencies still account for 51% of all travel sales in the US and preliminary indicators show that this number is actually starting to grow. Sure, the Internet caused a shakeout in the industry and many of the Agencies that were not able to adapt to the shift from being travel gatekeepers to trusted advisors on a complex industry have closed down. However, many agencies are not only surviving but thriving in the current world as Travel continues to become more complex every day.

2. Travel Agencies Charge all sorts of fees

In most cases the only difference between a Travel Agent and your favorite website or package dealer (ie: Costco, American Express, etc.) is that your neighborhood is upfront with you about their fees. The book yourself places still charge many of the same fees but they hide them in markups and fine print. It used to be customary for Travel Agents to get paid by the supplier in commission. That all changed several years ago when the major US airlines stopped paying commissions. Travel Agents still earn commissions on some things but not enough to stay in business without charging a fee for their service. Most people who use a travel agent will tell you that theirs is worth his or her weight in gold but all he or she will really charge usually amounts less than 10% of the cost of your trip. You tip your waiter more and your not trusting him with your precious vacation time.

3. Using the internet is just easier

It’s hard to argue that anything could be much easier than booking a trip at 11:00 PM on a Saturday in your underwear. Super simple, right? Unless you would like more information than what is provided in the 4 sentences and handful of strategically composed photos you are given. Or if you change your mind after you click “Book It” and want to make a change. Or if you arrive on your trip only to find that your flight/room/rental car has been oversold or a mistake has been made. Any of these things result in the dreaded travel purgatory of waiting on hold with some phone support person hoping that they will be generous enough to grant you a solution. Sure, you have to actually pick up a phone or send an email to get in touch with your travel agent and they’ll ask you lots of questions at the start to get to know you so they can make sure to find the right trip for you. After that however a short call, email, or text message and your agent is busy at work making sure everything is just right for your trip so you can worry about the important things like how many pairs of flip flops to pack.

4. This trip is too small to use an agent

It’s true you won’t get much benefit out of using an agent if all your doing is booking a quick flight to visit your sister for the weekend. It’s also true that your travel agent won’t make any money on a trip like that. Most travel agents however prefer to be your all purpose travel advisor and don’t mind booking trips like that for you on just an email. Your travel agent appreciates any opportunity to get to know you better as a traveller and the more trips they book for you the better they get to know you no matter if the trip is 11 days in the Mediterranean or 3 days in Bakersfield.

5. A Travel agent will pressure me into buying

It is true that some travel agents have been trained to be high pressure closers but these days those types of agents are going by the wayside. Successful travel agents depend on business and referrals stemming from the close personal relationships they painstakingly cultivate with their clients. No single trip is worth sacrificing the hours of effort it takes to get to know a client well enough to be their true trusted advisor. Even working on a trip that you don’t end up taking gives you agent ideas for trips to watch out for you in the future. So, have no fear of pressure sales and if you don’t feel comfortable calling or emailing your agent with even the smallest question you should find someone new.

What do you think? Do you still use a travel agent for your small bookings? Have you found that the time and energy saved using a travel agent is worth the benefit gained?