| Why should I use a travel agent to book my trip | | | | offer their clients. By using an agent, you'll be able |
| instead of booking it myself on the internet? This | | | | to take advantage of these resources. |
| is a question I had to answer recently for a | | | | 3. The travel agent advocates for you should |
| potential client with whom I was speaking to for | | | | something go wrong on your trip. |
| the first time. As a travel professional, I get this | | | | Let's say you have booked a flight and hotel |
| type of question a lot. | | | | online on one of the highly-advertised travel sites. |
| In this article I will reveal to you how I answered | | | | Bingo! You're all set. Or are you? |
| this question and how you can benefit from using | | | | You check your confirmation and realize that you |
| the services of a professional travel agent versus | | | | booked the wrong date. So you call customer |
| booking your own travel online using a travel | | | | service and you wait and wait; then finally you |
| search engine. | | | | get a customer service representative who then |
| 1. Save time. | | | | tells you that there's a fee to change your |
| Sure you can spend hours, days, even months | | | | reservation. Okay so you pay the fee, after all |
| researching destinations and going from website | | | | you don't have much of a choice. |
| to website in order to plan your own travel | | | | The day comes for you to catch your flight. You |
| itinerary, but why would you want to do that? | | | | get to your destination, but your luggage does |
| Time is a precious commodity that we can never | | | | not. The airline has lost one of your bags. So |
| get back. While you are spending all this time | | | | you're stuck again with a problem, and call |
| doing research and going from website to website | | | | customer service again. You get to your hotel to |
| to see if you can get a better deal, you could | | | | rest from your long day, and find that your hotel |
| have more easily picked up the phone to have a | | | | room isn't ready. Here you go again. |
| travel agent do this research for you. | | | | Now I'm not implying that a travel agent could |
| Professional travel agents are trained to do this | | | | have prevented all of this, but as a member of |
| because it's their job. A travel professional can do | | | | the travel industry, travel agents have special |
| all the research, coordinate all the logistics, and put | | | | relationships with travel vendors. A complaint call |
| together a complete itinerary for your trip in a | | | | or letter from a travel agent is more likely to get |
| fraction of the time you can do it for yourself. | | | | an expedited response than a letter from you, |
| 2. Use the agent's knowledge and resources. | | | | because of the agent's relationship with the travel |
| Travel agents are trained travel professionals. It's | | | | vendor. |
| their job to know the ins and outs of popular | | | | I know what you're thinking. You think that you'll |
| travel destinations. Although there is a ton of | | | | pay more to use a travel agent. It's an incorrect |
| information on the internet readily available to the | | | | assumption to think that using the services of a |
| public, travel professionals have first-hand | | | | travel agent will be more expensive than booking |
| knowledge of many or most of the destinations | | | | your own travel online. Although some agents |
| you may choose to visit. | | | | charge a service, the benefits of using a |
| Secondly, travel professionals often have | | | | professional travel agent far outweigh the risks of |
| resources to inventory, special offers, and | | | | not using an agent. |
| discounts available only to travel professionals to | | | | |