They save you money
Travel agents who have been in the business long enough have access to rates the internet will not offer you. Think about it this way, giant corporations have corporate rates for their employees with built in discounts to save costs for company travel. The same is true for travel agents. Their rates for hotels are at least the same as the internet, and often better. Which leads me to my next advantage of using a travel agent.
Added perks!
Many agents have built relationships with hotel chains or cruise lines and may have built in perks that are automatically included in the overall rate. Typically their rates are better than the internet, but even if they are the same, having these perks automatically saves you money. Another one of the big travel agent benefits is that we sometimes are able to negotiate a room upgrade for a better view or a bigger room prior to your arrival! We can also help with better airfare, transportation and special perks:)
They aren’t just for people who don’t like to plan
A few friends have said to me “but I love to research and plan my trip myself.” I get this, I really do. But understand that by calling a travel agent who specializes in where you’re vacationing, you both can get excited about plans together. It’s like having a conversation with a dictionary when you love to talk about words! They will guide you, brainstorm with you, give you food for thought and allow you to do the research in a more fun and informative way. Also, let me say this – if you are googling parts of the world, airfare or hotel costs those companies are putting cookies into your computer. They know you are interested in going there. So guess what? The prices will go up after a while. Sneaky, but true. So while you’re researching you are costing yourself more. Research to your heart's content, and then call the travel agent, have a fun brainstorming session and let them make the arrangements, put their expertise to use and save you money!
Travel insurance
Travel is expensive. And if you’re traveling without your children, then you may have a nervous panic attack that if one of your children gets sick just as you’re catching your flight you won’t be able to go and you’ll be out the money. A travel agent can help you book travel insurance so this doesn’t happen. My typical insurance runs $150 or so. Is it wasted if you go? Yes. But do you feel more secure knowing you would not be out thousands of dollars if one of your kids got sick? Yes. A travel agent can arrange all of this for you.
You can’t VIP yourself
A travel agent actually told me the phrase “you can’t VIP yourself.” I love it! It’s perfect and explains perfectly why you need to use a travel agent! If I called ahead and said “Um, hello hotel, I really want you to be nice to us when we get there because we don’t get to take vacations often, and oh I would love white wine in the hotel room when we arrive with strawberries…they would think I was the world’s most obnoxious person! But a travel agent can and happily will do this for you! A travel agent will make special plans for special events. They will take care of you while you relax and enjoy your vacation.
