Why You Should Use a Travel Agent
What is a Travel Agent?
Travel agents have been in business since the mid 1800s, but are more valuable now than ever. We are not only known as agents anymore, but also considered to be advisors since our roles go beyond just booking trips. Consider all of your destination, flight, and amenity options… now you need every detail of the trip from start to finish. That is where a travel advisor like me becomes your best friend! We do more than sell travel, we provide guidance for every step of the process from booking to your return to ensure that you receive the best overall experience.
What do Travel Advisors do?
As advisors, we dedicate a great deal of time to continuing our education, earning certifications, and conducting research in order to curate the right travel accommodations for you. We study every aspect of the travel industry including safety measures and the ins and outs of insurance policies to make sure all advice is relevant and up to date for your ease. In addition, most of us have travelled or are currently traveling the world to obtain firsthand knowledge of the best locations and suppliers to fit every traveller’s desires.
Saving You Money
As your advisor, I do not charge you any fees in addition to the cost of travel accommodations. While I may assess a fee for research depending on size and length of trip, this fee goes towards the total cost once you decide to secure my services.
I know, I know. There are plenty of booking sites that will “guarantee” you the lowest price on the market. However, in most cases, you will pay less working with an agent than booking on your own. As agents, we have the inside scoop on the latest deals and spend a lot of time building industry relationships to offer the best deals possible. An industry secret that I’ll share with you is that booking engines do not always offer the best deal. The relationships I mentioned translate to discounted prices, VIP upgrades, and other perks at no additional cost. If you thought an upgrade was not part of the plan, think again and just ask me about any perks!
Group Travel
Travel agents can save you even more money by bundling flights, hotels, and other accommodations. Nobody in your group will have to serve as the event planner and everyone can relax and enjoy the trip will I organize the logistics. We can find flights for all members of your group catering to all individual needs whether it is budget or time. We can book room blocks, and spell out any documentation needs.
As advisors, we can make recommendations and save your group from arguments. Let’s face it you love your family but everyone has different ideas of a good vacation. Say two people want to go water rafting and two people want a spa day but the group wants to stay together. That’s where a knowledgable agent comes in to advise you of alternate locations or even a resort with both activities.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Working with a travel agent can help you avoid common mistakes from forgetting important paperwork to staying within tourist zones because there are many ways to ruin a trip. Here are other mishaps that can turn a beautiful vacation upside down:
Not looking up Visa information
Overbooking your Itinerary
Relying too heavily on guidebooks
Exchanging currency at the airport
Not researching local culture and climate
Booking complicated flights to save money and wasting time
Your certified travel advisor will be coordinating your trip from start to finish, and combing out all the fine details to ensure that you have the best experience during your travel.
Get Started
If you are not familiar with advisors or have never used one, now is the perfect time! Take the stress off of yourself and let an expert advisor do the planning. Fill out this form for a free consultation with me, your new travel advisor.
