For this entry, I was prompted to write because of an interaction I had recently. A person came in and basically said “I want you to tell me what to do and where to go but I don’t want you to book anything for me because I will do that myself online.”
The internet is a great place for research. You can find almost anything you want or need to know online. In fact, for the situation above, I actually located three different blog entries from other online bloggers that do just what the person wanted. These blogs offered them suggestions of what they should see and where they should go for their chosen destination (all from a local persons perspective). This way I could still try to help them without losing too much time since they wanted to book everything themselves. I then offered to help them book any of the sightseeing or lodging suggested and asked they keep me in mind for future travel needs.
In the end, this person still decided to book everything on their own. When I asked them why, they stated it was because of AirBNB and a couple of other online only booking options they found.
As a travel agent working for a large agency, there are certain vendors that I can work with. Unfortunately, there are also other vendors that want you to book with them directly and don’t work with Travel Agencies. This is important to know because if your intent is to find bargain pricing by booking with one of these sites, I can’t do anything to compete with that. HOWEVER, if you want to know you are getting a fair price (maybe not the lowest possible price in comparison to the non agency vendors) you should check with me (or your current travel agent).
WHY?
- Because many vendors that DO work with travel agents will have promotions or incentives for you BECAUSE of the agency you book with that you can’t get online.
- These vendors may also be willing to work with your travel agent to offer price matching (there are certain criteria for this that your agent will explain).
- In Addition, at least with the agency I work for, all of the vendors we work with have been researched thoroughly to make sure they are reputable, honest, and reliable. This way if there are ever issues before, during, or after travel, we have contacts to work with to obtain a successful resolution for you.
- A Travel Agent can also offer advise and book other things you may not think about or be aware of like Travel Insurance (Many countries now require it), passport validity (passport shouldn’t expire until after 6 months from your trip return date), and much more.
SUMMAry
My hope is that after you read this post you will see that while booking yourself online may offer what seems like the best options, actually using an agent may be more valuable overall. There are some folks out there that are great with bargain hunting and finding the cheapest deal possible through an online only vendor. Kudos to you and keep doing what you do.
But for the folks who might have slightest reservations or uncertainty about online booking, may need advise in addition to booking, or want to know you book with a reliable vendor at a fair price, give your local travel agent a chance!
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