03/11/2018
Are Travel Agents Still Useful and Why?
1) They Are Educated and Have Personal
Experience
They can give you insider tips and advice, using
their education and personal experience to
guide your vacation decisions in a way that
provides you with the best vacation possible for
you and your hard-earned investment. They
have access to the personal feedback from
hundreds of clients, and their own personal
travel agent network, to provide insights you
can’t get on TripAdvisor or other social media
sites.
2) They Have Clout
Many travel agents develop personal
relationships with individuals at the companies
they sell. They leverage these relationships to
get you things you can’t get on your own. That
“sold out” room or the connecting rooms you
want for your extended family trip when the
online sites say they aren’t available. They also
have exclusive entrée to experiences you might
not know are available to you.
3) The Fixer
In addition to getting you more on any particular
trip, they can step in and fix things when your
trip goes awry. The average consumer books
one or two trips per year, typically with different
travel suppliers, so they have little or no
leverage when things go wrong. The travel
agent is constantly selling a particular supplier
and has the leverage to fix things, even when
the supplier isn’t directly at fault. Travel
suppliers value the travel agent’s business much
more than any individual traveler. They will step
up to make things right or simply to make sure
that traveler, and their travel agent, are happy.
4) Cost-Savings
The best travel agents have unique access to
benefits that can save you a lot of money and
provide you with a better experience: free room
upgrades, spa credits, food and beverage
credits are just a few of the things that agents
can get, that you can’t. Add in hard-to-get
restaurant reservations, exclusive or priority
access to attractions, added amenities, and you
will have a lot more value for your travel dollar.
(Ever wonder why the couple in the cabin next to
yours got champagne and you didn't? They
probably used a travel agent)
5) Time-Savings
Instead of searching blindly on the Internet for
hours, days, or even weeks – depending on the
complexity of the travel plans – you can have an
expert do the research for you, with your
personal needs in mind. They do it for every
component of the trip and very often do it at no
cost to you.
6) Safety Net
If anything should go wrong during your trip, you
can rely on them to assist you. A travel agent
will suggest and arrange alternate travel
arrangements, help you to deal with any travel
emergency you may have, and put you in touch
with the right local people to answer your needs.
7) On the Cutting Edge
They are on the cutting edge of what's new:
Travel agents are the first to know about a new
resort, cruise ship or tour. They have
relationships with their best travel partners who
keep them informed as to the latest and greatest
offerings they have. So if you want to travel on
the latest and greatest, agents are the way to
go!
8) You Pay the Same Anyway!
More than 98 percent of hotels are parity priced.
That means the cost is the same whether you
book it yourself or have the travel agent do the
work. Some travel agents even have websites
that feature the same inventory, bookable in real
time, as Expedia and Orbitz. The customer gets
the best of the high-tech world, in a high touch,
environment. This parity pricing applies to
virtually every travel product.
9) You Get Matched Right
If you call a cruise line directly, they won’t tell
you that their competitor is a better fit for you
and your travel needs. Since travel agents sell
everything, they focus on your particular needs,
making sure you are matched up with the right
one.
10) An Ongoing Mutually Beneficial
Relationship
A good agent is like a good mechanic. Once you
find them, you’ll never want to give them
up. Travel could be your biggest discretionary
spend in any given year, along with your limited
time, so you want to make sure it’s done right.
When they make that happen, you’ll want them
in your inner circle moving forward.
By Mark Murphy
Published July 28, 2015
