Common Misconception and Myths of Travel Agents.?

Question

There are several misconceptions and myths of Travel Agents that people believe are true. I just want to clear the air on this even if no one is listening =)

Several years ago online sites undercut agencies prices in order to gain trust of consumers "Online cheaper, Travel Agent more expensive". Well it works, I hear it all the time.

Over the last year I have stumbled accidently across scernarios comparing TA with Online. These are with actual clients of mine.

1st example: Last Dec. I was out for 3 weeks with Influenza type A. Which if anyone has had this knows how badly it knocks you out. You can't return to work until the coughing stops so you are no longer contagious. I was out for 3 weeks. On week 3 I was telling co-workers that they could forward client emails and I could respond from home. They were swamped in the office and email forwards were delayed. I was doing a wedding group of about 40 people and the resort was only 104 rooms......continued.....

This couple getting married notified there guests not to delay in booking. This one woman emailed me Mon. and I unfortunately didn't get the email until Wed. I responded to her with the rates, unknowing she had already booked with Orbitz. This is her first email I received from her.
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I am sorry to hear about your flu- sounds like you need a little vacation yourself! Well, here is my deal... since I didn't hear back from you, I started to get worried about not getting a reservation. I looked up a number of travel websites and Azul just wasn't coming up on any of them, so I finally found the vacation on Orbitz's website. And we just booked it because I didn't want to not get a room. However, there is a difference in price between you and Orbitz. I am kicking myself for not waiting 2 more days!! I endend up paying $4,134 for the both of us the 7th-14th out of chicago. And that is just the superior room! Email continued.....

If I would have kown I would have rather went through you and paid the extra to get the deluxe room. If you have any suggestion as to how I can go about with a cancellation with orbitz, please let me know, and I will book the trip through you. I will also try to call the customer service line and see what I can do. If you think there is a chance I can cancel (you may know more about these people than I do) then go ahead and save us a room.
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I spoke with orbitz, and told them that I was not told about the non refundable tickets... Anyways, what I will do is cancel the hotel portion of the trip, and keep our airline tickets. That way I can book our hotel room through you. I called orbitz earlier I definately let them know I was upset about all the miscommunication that went on. I spoke with a superviser and he said he would allow me to cancel the hotel portion of the vacation without a penalty. So everything is going to work out fine. Email Continued..

Thank you so much for all your help Pam! I really appreciate it. For my husband and me, we are going to basically get a free room upgrade- the final price here is about the same as what we would have paid to stay in the superior room at Azul. We are very happy.
You're good-- you can do the job even in bad health!
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Fortunately it did work out with her. My price was $300.00 dollars lower. She meant by getting the a higher room for the same price. She just got a smaller Superior GV room, however paid the same price with me for that room to get a deluxe larger OV room.

Now you ask, how do agents make there money. If you book directly through a vendor such as Apple Vacations or any airlines vacation Package Company you pay the same exact price. It's just when you book it through them directly they make more money, because they don’t need to pay an agency commission. A lot of agencies charge a small service fee because we do a lot of..........

Searching to find you the best prices.

We also ask you several questions to determine what we feel is the best destination, hotel, etc. for you. Anyone can look at a hotel picture and say "Ooo that looks nice". In all reality some hotels/brochures DO touchups. We can indicate what it REALLY is like.

If you have problems with your trip because we all know problems can happen even if all is planned perfect. You have a go-to person. Not an 800 # with Orbitz or Expedia.

Those little questions that we all have, you can just email or call us and just like that you will have an answer to your questions.

We can properly advise you of travel penalties and believe me we know "you are never going to cancel". Fact is people don't book travel TO cancel. It is only in the event of an emergency.

Most people also don't know that medically most of you are not covered internationally. Reason being not everyone travels internationally so how would it be fair to raise premiums..

for those of you who never go outside the country. I know insurance is more money to spend, but trust me it can really be a small price to pay considering in 8 years I have several stories on what "can" happen. We don't make commission on Insurance and don't charge service fees because we just so highly recommend it! I think I am personally more passionate with insurance because I had a sister who 6 years ago got in a severe car accident in a desolate area of Costa Rica. She and her husband had to be airlifted to San Jose. She broke 16 ribs, 40 stitches in her head and a huge gash on her leg which is now a scar. Her husband sustained a compound fractured leg. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's where the bone breaks through the skin. We also had to wire down money and I had to speak with the US Embassy to work on her NOT getting kicked out of the private hospital for reasons of "money". If she had insurance this wouldn't be an issue at all.....

Most people are medically covered about 50 - 100 miles into Mexico, which what is that Tijuana? Things such as this, you won't find so easily online.

Example 2: A client of mine who wanted to track airfare costs, but was going to book through me asked if they could look online and track there. I said I don't know; let’s look as I don't book that way. We have no control of the record then. So went to www.nwa.com and pulled up the exact same flights why they were at my desk and online they were 70 dollars higher per person.

What online providers has done is not raised the cost on everything, but on enough things that there are several of you people out there who ARE paying more and not even knowing it. The first woman, had I never emailed her (which I would never not email a client) she would have never known she was paying 300 more than she had to. Think about that.....now do you think Travel Agents aren't worth going to? I know there are several of you out there who do..

who do know the value of travel agents and you go through them yourselves.

I have been in travel for 8 years and have been to Europe, Asia, S. America, Caribbean and Mexico.....we travel for a living 1/2 of the year. Is it a perk, well sure. But in our travels it only makes us better at what we do.

Now like any profession there are good, bad and just downright lazy travel agents. It is up to you to determine one you like, trust and know that they are experienced and most importantly honest with you. Nothing is worth than a TA that says it's a nice place JUST to make it a quick and easy sale. Hey I don't do that and you want to know why, because I don't want my clients coming back and being upset with me! At least if they go against my advice I can say I'm very sorry you had a bad time, but I did try and warn you not to stay here. It's a cover your butt sort of thing which not ever agent does.

I don't know the answers to all questions, but if I don't know the answers..

which I will indicate to you and find out the answer. A bad agent will blow smoke up your you know where in hopes that you will never know the difference. These agents you turn around walk away and never look back! Every agent has there strengths and weaknesses. I joke about how I am Domestically Illiterate. I do mostly international travel, except for the frequent just cut/dry airline tickets and hotel reservations.

So yes if you want to possibly avoid paying a small Service Fee you could possibly get it lower online. But I have been doing this enough years that I know that my experience, knowledge and expertise is valuable. Some have asked me "Are you worried about online making travel agents obsolete". The answer is no absolutely not. There are always going to be people out there who know and respect the benefits of what we do. This is our job and find a good agent and they can and will treat you right. We will do anything and everything we can to make your holiday..

memorable, perfect (to the best of our ability), affordable within your budget (within reason) and all around no hassle to you!

I don't know about you, but my time is valuable and I can't imagine some of you out there who spend HOURS online researching trying to say a buck. Saving money is great, but time is worth more to me. Let an Agent do this work for you. You will be happy in the end that you did.

Most agents to can price match if you find something online, but prefer not to book it on there. However you can't just throw a figure out and we match it.

Travel Specialist - 8 Years and counting
Honeymoon/Destination Wedding Specialist

Answer 1

Thanks for the info.

Answer 2

It is more expensive to use travel agents/agencies. It is much better to check out the prices on your own. After you know how low you can get flight's, hotel rates, meals and etc....then contact the travel agency to negotiatie the fees. That will ensure the best deal!