Should You Work With a Travel Agent?
I get two common questions as a travel agent:
1) Why should I work with you when I can book my vacation online ?
2) How does it work when a travel agent books a trip for you?
Below I break out the facts and you can decide for yourself if it's something that works for you!
1) Save time - Did you know that at a MINIMUM people can spend at least 10 hrs planning a week vacation to one destination? Add multiple stops, accommodations and tours and increase your planning time! My clients are busy and I find that most don't have the time nor do they want to do the research. I work with them to find out what they love and I put together a vacation for them.
Some of my clients do like to do the research and that is great! Do your research to determine where you want to go and what you want to do. I then come alongside them and we work together to pick accommodations and tours that they love.
For bucket list trips that you are only going to do one time, there is real benefit in working with a professional who has contacts in the areas you are traveling to help ensure a seamless trip and to make sure you don't miss any must see stops. There are many ways you can see the Colosseum or the Louvre but I work with my clients to find the tours that best fit their needs.
2) Customer Service - When my clients work with me, they get one number. They have access to me for questions before, during and after a trip. Hopefully, no one ever has an emergency, but life happens. If so I am there to walk them through any issues while traveling. For those that are traveling internationally, this is a huge comfort! Not to mention, anyone who has spent any time on hold with customer service companies, can easily see the value in that!
3) Expertise - I have travel partners around the world who work for tourism boards, cruise companies and resorts. I am always monitoring news and events in various destinations and I talk with those that have been on the ground to see what it is really like in a destination. Additionally, I travel to resorts multiple times a year to stay up to date on how destinations and resorts are changing and evolving. I work with my clients to match up their wants and needs with the best destination and accommodations. We live in an online world and we have all looked at reviews before buying something. What I find challenging with reviews is that what is a 4 star restaurant for one person may be a two star for someone else. Everyone has different expectations of what they want an experience to be like. It is my job to learn about each client to make sure their expectations line up with the right experience.
4) Comparable Rates - One of the biggest misnomers is that people will think they will pay more when working with a travel agent. I work for my clients to put together the best vacation for them based on their wants and travel budget. I work with multiple hotel and cruise line brands so I will recommend what is best for my client.
Often the packages that are available to me are comparable to what you might find in a on-line site. For complex itineraries there may be a small planning fee but that isn't always the case since I get paid by my suppliers. For example, I get paid directly by the cruise line and the cost is the same if they booked directly through them or me. So when you work with me, you get my knowledge, expertise and service for no additional cost! How amazing is that!
If you are wanting to travel, click on the button below so we can get started planning your trip right away!
Happy Traveling!
Tammy
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