Why use a travel agent?

Is there any benefit to using a travel agent over booking directly through a resort or DIY online? Just curious.

Re: Why use a travel agent?

Sometimes they are able to get better prices than if you do it yourself.

Re: Why use a travel agent?

Lots of reasons! I can speak from experience with Disney, but a lot of this is true other places.

1) Using a travel agent is FREE to you. The hotels and resorts (and even car rental companies) include a commission in the fee they charge. If book direct, you still pay the fee, but all you get id your booking. With a travel agent, minimally you get support and guidance along with your booking but sometimes much more.

2) A good travel agent will check for deals for you and change your reservation to reflect them. For Disney, if you call directly without a discount code, they will usually NOT volunteer one, whereas a travel agent has access to all discount codes, will check them all for you, and will continue to check for discounts even after you book. This means that usually you get a better price and that's WITHOUT having to do all of the research yourself.

3) Perks - We used a travel agent for our Sandals Honeymoon. We got a spa credit, a dinner on the beach and a flip cam for FREE. Sandals is a place where the commission is pretty high, so don't expect that for everywhere, but you can often get special booking deals.

4) Knowledge - You're working with someone who knows the destination inside and out. For Disney specifically, you should work with someone who has graduated from the College of Disney knowledge. Sandals and others have similar training programs. A good travel agent is dedicated to learning more and more about the resort. You're going to be able to learn from their advice, from big things like the best time to travel and the best restaurants to little things like how to "crown" Cinderella, where to get free pixie dust, or which captain to ask for on an island tour.

5) Planning/Itineraries - Especially for complicated places like Disney, a good TA will make suggestions for you and even a detailed itinerary for each day. You can also count on your TA to book dining and excursions for you, saving you the time of researching it yourself and spending hours on hold on the phone.

6) Building a relationship - good travel agent will get to know you and your family to make the best suggestions for this trip AND future trips. if you enjoyed the diving in Antigua, she might email you when there is a good deal for St. Lucia and tell you about the dives there. If you're adults travelling to Disney World she might tell you when a deal comes out for the food and wine festival. or at the very least, the next time you come to her, you have someone who already knows your preferences.

Basically booking direct you get a booking, booking with a TA, you will either get the same price or a better one, and you'll get help, advice, and someone to share your excitement.

Re: Why use a travel agent?

Well I think it depends on where you are looking to go, what kind of trip you are considering. I would consider using a TA if I was going to say Tahiti or Europe but not to go to California or DC or Boston.

I think if you are going somewhere like Europe where you are unfamiliar with the hotels, the city etc a TA is very useful in guiding you to the best hotels that are in the areas you want to be in (ie. safer areas or more popular areas).

They can sometimes get better rates for certain trips than booking directly through the company.

For example some cruises - you get some extra perks (free insurance, or things like additional on board credit or bottles of wine in your room etc).

They are also helpful if you are going someplace that requires some more work/planning and have a busy lifestyle. They can make your reservations for you, guide you and help you make some trip itineraries etc. Some trips take more preparation than others do - some people don't want to read guide books, or research online. They just want to say I want to go to X and have everything taken care of for them so they just have to show up.

On the other hand - for places you have been before where all you need is say a hotel - i.e. washington DC or something like dutch wonderland. You are probably better booking yourself.

I think they are good for more of the exotic and larger vacations. It is important to find one that is knowledgeable about where you want to go though.

Re: Why use a travel agent?

A travel agent is useful when you can't find the info you need on line! A rare case but it does happen.

We have used a travel agent ONCE, when booking our honeymoon in Italy. She was very knowledgeable about the area we were visiting and recommended some great hotels and got us a few perks along the way. This was also way before I knew how to use travel sites for reviews and advice!

I am considering calling her again because I would like to take the kids somewhere for spring break and I everything people on here recommended is already booked or is incredibly expensive. I know she knows the Caribbean well and also knows which resort are child friendly. Me, I have no clue!

Re: Why use a travel agent?

I agree with the above. Are you good at researching yourself and are you comfortable with traveling in general?

My husband and I travel all over the place and have never used a travel agent. I'm very specific about the types of hotels we stay in and do tons of research on my own. If you're not into that or don't have the time to research I could see how an agent could be helpful.

ETA: I also think in the age of tripadvisor, cruisecritic, and very country specific sites like IndiaMike make booking everything on your own so much easier.

Message edited 2/26/2012 1:56:39 PM.

Re: Why use a travel agent?

I havent really used a travel agent in the past for smaller trips, but mousesavers makes a good point in saying that using your travel agent for small things, if they're commissionable builds the relationship and means they might work harder for you next time you have a bigger trip.

Re: Why use a travel agent?

For most of our clients it comes down to knowledge, time, and pleasure. If you need the knowledge your agent has, don't want to spend your time researching your destination or dealing with the myriad things that go into planning a successful vacation, and don't enjoy the planning part, then use a travel agent.

If you have the time, the knowledge, and enjoy it, then a travel agent isn't for you.

We have some clients that hand the entire process over to us, some that like to participate a little, and others that only want me to be the one to make reservations at the hiney-crack of dawn so they don't have to but have provided me with an exact list of what they want.

Your relationship with a good travel agent should be what you need from it, whether that's hand-holding or simply convenience.

- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008

Did you book your vacation through Disney and now you’re overwhelmed? We can help!

Re: Why use a travel agent?

well, IMO, if your going anywhere within the continental US, then I would not use a travel agent. However, we went to Europe for our HM and stayed for one month. We used a travel agent to help us get around and we are glad they did so that we didn't have to have that headache

Re: Why use a travel agent?

Can anyone recommend a Travel Agent? (If it's allowed). Looking to book a trip to the Caribbean. Want to use a TA so I can possibly book a package and pay it off over time.

Thanks!