Investing in using a travel agent to help you book your trip can help you get lower rates, upgrades, better accommodations, and peace of mind for your travel adventure. You should think twice before you book your next trip on your own. Paying at the outset for the services of a travel agent may mean that in the long run, you save on time, money, and aggravation – and have more time to enjoy your Fair Go Casino login Australia while you’re trekking the outback.
According to a survey published in the Travel Market Report, people are going back to using the services of a travel agent for their travel needs. In 2019, 13% of vacations were booked through travel agents, up 8% from just one year previously. The new breed of travel advisors focuses on making their clients’ travel experiences better, safer, and cheaper to get more bang out for their buck.
It doesn’t pay for everyone to use a travel advisor. In many cases, it makes more sense to book your travel and accommodations on your own using the companies’ websites and your credit card. But sometimes, booking with a travel agent makes the most sense.
What services can a travel agent deliver?
Upgrades and Amenities
Booking through a travel agent is a great way to get upgrades. Many transportation and accommodations companies give preference to bookings that come through travel agents when upgrading basic bookings to better ones for no additional cost. Travel agents have special relationships with the hotels and transportation companies with which they work on a regular basis. This means that those companies are much more amenable to giving special deals to the travel agents than they would be to giving such deals to individuals who book on their websites.
The same goes for amenities – travel advisors’ relationships with vendors mean that they can get you a lot of amenities that you wouldn’t be able to get otherwise – free breakfasts, on-site free parking, a welcome wagon in your room with cocktails or wine, complimentary Wifi, etc.
Someone on Your Side
Travel companies are wary of getting on the wrong side of a travel agent because that’s where most of their good business comes from. Business travelers and VIP travelers generally book through travel agents, which means that the travel agents are taking care of the bookings for travelers who are staying for longer periods of time and booking more frequently.
For that reason, travel advisors are important advocates in the travel business. While an individual can barely get someone on the phone to discuss a reservation that’s been canceled or needs to be rearranged, a travel agent knows just who to call to take care of such issues.
A travel advisor is much more effective in getting a flight rebooked or compensation for a canceled hotel room when sickness or another issue forces a change in plan. Long before travelers are able to contact a service representative, a travel agent can smooth over most situations.
Up to Date Travel Info
Travel advisors make it their business to get the latest updates on travel destinations. In addition to helping you plan your trip so that you can get the most out of your visit, the travel agent can make sure that you know all the updates about the most effective and efficient ways to travel within the country, what sites you may want to see and how to maximize your time.
In addition, the last two years have demonstrated that now more than ever, it’s important to have an advisor who can guide you through the new bureaucracies of pandemic travel. While many countries are lowering their restrictions, experience teaches us that new restrictions can arise at a moment’s notice.
In addition, most countries still have guidelines for entering, including vaccination requirements, PCR/antigen tests, entry forms, and other requirements. Your travel agent receives these updates and passes them on to you, so you know exactly what you need to do to enjoy free movement during your journeys.
Compare and Contrast
If you’re one of those people who enjoy spending hours on the Internet comparing the different options for your travel and accommodation, go for it. If, however, you have better things to do with your time, rely on your travel advisor for that type of information. Travel advisors help you save time and money by doing your planning for you.
A travel agent can help you find options that fit your budget and meet your interests. They have ideas that you may not have thought about regarding where to go and what to see. The network of travel advisors means that they can guide you to find things that you might otherwise have missed – sites, experiences, etc. That way, your time is focused on your trip.
In summary
A travel advisory network can help you save money on your booking, get upgrades, and add amenities to your reservation. A travel advisor isn’t always needed – if, for instance, you’re preparing to book at a budget hotel or chain, you won’t need help. Those places don’t have relationships with trip advisor networks.
But if your trip involves multiple stops, air travel that demands that you make your connections, or other unknowns, having a travel agent who has your back can make the difference between a successful trip and one that makes you wish you’d stayed home.
