Many people think that the Travel Agent is outdated. I promise you, we aren’t! I’ve been a travel agent now for five years, working in the travel industry for about eight years. I’ve seen every experience you can think of when it comes to booking travel. I’m here to tell you, even if you don’t use a travel agent, I HIGHLY recommend never using a third party booking engine. (But really, show some travel agents some love! We want your trip to be just as memorable as you do!)

WHAT? I thought Expedia, Cheap Tickets, Priceline, Etc were all the rage? I thought they got me the best price?!

Wrong.

• You’re paying for a travel agent you aren’t even getting —
  •  Did you know that when you book a hotel direct with the hotel or with a third party site that you are paying for the travel agent’s fee? Well, you are. Travel agents make their money on commission. This commission is already factored into the price whether you book with a travel agent or not. So no, you aren’t getting it cheaper by not booking with a travel agent. In fact, you are missing out on great deals only travel agents get! Which brings me to my next point. But before I get to that, think about this: Something is wrong with your hotel room or flight. If you had a travel agent book it for you, then you have someone there by your side to vouch for you. Travel partners take travel agents seriously, They want our business. They want our clients to keep coming back. They also like to throw in special perks and amenities just to make the agent and their clients happy. It truly is a win-win for everyone involved. Believe me, a third party site is not going to stick up for you the same way your local travel agent will. You’re just another number to them.

   

• You’re missing out on travel agent only booking sites–
  • Remember how I said travel agents get special perks? This is true for when we actually book the trips as well. Not only do we get specials and add ons that are for only travel agent bookings, we also have sites that don’t book to the public. I’m constantly finding flights cheaper on consolidators and hotels cheaper on travel agent-friendly sites. For example, a coworker of mine was going to a destination wedding in Antigua and showed me some prices she was given for the room and flights. I quickly went to my travel agent site, priced the same hotel for about $400 cheaper and she was more than happy to save the money and know that now I have her back if anything were to go wrong. My only disclaimer to using a travel agent is make sure they are reputable. Do a little research before choosing.

   

• Overbooked & Bumped…
  • Did you know that when you book with a travel agent, you won’t have to worry about the hotel or flight being overbooked and getting bumped last minute? It’s true! Third party sites always overbook hotels and planes and I guarantee you will be the first one bumped! I recently went against my better judgement and booked a new years hotel through a third party site, simply because I couldn’t find the same hotel anywhere else. To my horror, when I called the day of to confirm my room, they told me they didn’t have a booking for me because they were overbook and the third party site should have never booked me in the first place because they’d been sold out for THREE MONTHS prior to me even booking. Let’s just say I was not a happy camper. Luckily, I found another hotel a bit farther away but what if all the other hotels had been sold out too? I don’t even want to think about this scenario. I can say with full confidence I’ll never make the mistake to go against my better judgement like that again.

Booking travel is fun for some and a hassle for others. Maybe you’re okay with booking it yourself. That’s great. But since a travel agent is free (they only make money off commission) it is still worth your while to double check the price you got with the travel agent. Who knows, maybe he or she can get you a better deal, whether that’s an upgrade, a better price or a special add on. You’ll get something out of it and you’ll be helping a small business owner keep their business alive. A win-win for everyone!

If you have questions about any of this, please feel free to comment below or reach out to me on social media! Please share this post with your friends and help me spread the word.
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