Often I get asked the question, why should I use a travel agent when I can book myself online?
You could book yourself online, but a better question might be, … if you could have someone give you professional advice and do all the work for you and you end up paying the same or less, why would you book travel yourself?
Here are some reasons you may prefer to use a Travel Adviser or Travel Professional.
Save Time
How long do you spend finding the right vacation for you online? The average person may visit over 30 websites, and can spend 10 -20 hours researching a vacation, before making the decision to buy! What’s your time worth? Quite often a short conversation with a professional can help narrow down the many options based on your priorities and save you hours of online searching and they can even do the research for you and present you with the best options for you! As a travel professional I have access to all the main cruise and travel vendors and can search them all much quicker than my clients can themselves. Have you ever had to wait on hold trying to speak with a cruise line or travel company? A travel agent is your personal travel assistant and can take care of everything for you. I wait on hold so my clients don’t have to!
Save Money
Won’t I pay more if I use a travel agent? While some travel agencies do charge fees I recommend you find one that doesn’t. Most travel agents make their money off commissions. They can offer you the same exact price and promotions you would get if you booked directly. In fact, I love it when I can get my clients either a better price, or something extra that they would not receive if they booked directly. Quite often my network has exclusive promotions with the cruise lines and other travel vendors due to the volume that we do. Once I had a client book an inside cabin on a cruise and the very same day I was able to offer her a balcony cabin for a lower price and a FREE specialty dinner! I had another client ask me if I could match a price which of course I could and we also had a additional promotion of bonus On board credit. It’s not always drastic but my clients will never pay even a dollar more and in most cases they will be better off value wise.
More reasons to follow but for now, long story short, if you want to spend more time and more money feel free to book travel yourself, otherwise find a good travel agent. If you don’t already have one consider giving me a call!
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