Why use a Travel Agent?
Did you know there are no extra fees to use a Travel Agent? There is only a small fee if you are booking air alone.
Because most of our agents have 30 years of experience, they really know what to look for. We know both parts—the airline and resort and cruise line that best match your needs, helping to ensure your vacation will be as seamless and stress-free as possible. Need to pivot your trip plans but don’t want to deal with the extra time, money and hassle of rebooking your flights and hotel rooms on your own? That’s where a knowledgeable agent can help you get your plans back on track.
“Working with an agent can give you peace of mind,” Johnson, President of Coastline Travel Advisors says, noting that they have relationships with companies in just about every country in the world and vetted suppliers in isolated places like Mongolia. For a far-off and expensive vacation, you’re never going to get that time back, he says, highlighting that it’s a wise idea to speak with an expert on when to visit and where to go or what to skip, so you don’t have to worry about logistics and other details.
The Benefits
One of the top incentives of turning to a travel agent is getting access to their expertise and industry connections, explains Christopher Elliott, a consumer advocate and journalist. “Time is money,” he says. Instead of conducting mind-numbing hours of research, agents who are members of larger consortia like Virtuoso have established industry connections and can help you negotiate with a big supplier for a discount, he adds. Richter echoes similar sentiments. “They work in large networks and have relationships with suppliers that you don’t have. Think, direct access. Speed dial access,” she says. “Some travel agents can enhance trips with perks and surprises,” she adds, highlighting that top agents have relationships with award-winning chefs, hotel managers and tour operators that booking sites do not.
You Won’t Have to Sweat the Details
As Richter puts it, “there’s the time factor.” Rather than researching on your own, a reputable agent can anticipate expenses and amenities to “help you avoid surprises,” she explains, pointing to meal costs, resort fees and tourism fees as added costs that can drain your budget. And if you’re planning a complicated trip or an international getaway to a far-flung locale, an agent can offer helpful guidance and point you to tour companies that best match your needs, Richter adds.
via:Take advantage
- You can reserve your trip with a low deposit and make payments with no interest.
- Your agent works for you, to help you with any delays or issues you may have throughout your trip.
- In offering more options and amenities, online travel sites have actually made it more confusing to figure out what they are selling, not less so.
- The explosion of restrictions and fees — many of which are not obvious to the casual travel buyer — further muddies understanding of the bottom line on any itinerary.
- The absence of popular airlines from major booking engines — the juggernaut Southwest being the most glaring — eliminates what could well turn out to be a specific traveler’s absolute best itinerary.
- The big online travel sites got too smart for their own good; by tidying up and repackaging all the data each according to their own assumptions about travel purchasing, they show us what they think we want to see, but not always what we really want to see. That is, by becoming “online travel agents,” rather than mere booking sites, they end up in competition with real travel agents, who can usually do the work better than computers can.
Our expertise will save you time, energy, stress and most likely money.
