The Useful Travel Agent
A tale of two trips:
In 2015, I spent hours planning and coordinating a solo trip to Scotland. Since I was traveling alone, I wanted some sort of air of spontaneity, but at the same time I had to balance it with making sure I was in the right place and the unpredictable nature of Scotland's fall/winter weather. I made myself timelines, looked up train schedules, bus schedules, hotel reviews, restaurant reviews, plus I needed to make sure I made it to the museums, historical sites, and saw some of the things I went there to see. Despite a very rough landing, due to the said weather, I just made it into Scotland before the airline had to shut down those flights for the day. I had to skip some of the islands I wanted to see for fear of becoming stranded by 70 mph winds or fog. But, overall, the trip was an amazing success and I had an awesome time. I loved every hotel I stayed in, even the sketchy one I booked last minute in Oban, which made the locals laugh. But, I spent many, many hours curating the trip I wanted to have in the weeks before I left. It was planning that trip that solidified my desire to switch careers to become a travel agent, something I always wanted to do, but was always told it was not a viable career. I am here to tell you differently. Travel agents still provide useful services, despite the cheap mass travel websites. Let me tell you why.
Fast forward to last spring, my husband and I were going to take a trip with some friends to a resort in Mexico. We went with the cheap mass travel websites, booked the trip, then later decided we wanted to extend our stay. But, alas, who was there to help us? These sites are not known for their customer service. They are not there to make this trip run smoothly. They are there to sell you a "deal" and move on to the next person. Our friend attempted to extend our trip, their customer service agents (because at this point several were involved) cancelled, re-booked, messed up our flights, and it was stressful and he spent hours on the phone. If we had booked through a travel agent it would have been taken care of without the hassle, without the problems, without the prospect of us having to drive to Mexico because they had cancelled our flights and for some reason inexplicably had trouble booking us on another. It most likely would have been the same price if not cheaper with additional perks had we went with a travel agent instead of the mass market website. Lets face it, they are fun to look at, but they are not fun to deal with when it comes to executing a trip that you spent your hard earned money on. What it seems to boil down to is this, do you want a tailor made fit for your trip, your vacation, your experience? Or, do you want a mass produced experience, with ill fitted details and the sense of being totally alone if something changes or goes wrong?
As far as the DIY trend that has swept the nation the past decade, I get it. I am married to a DIY person, from cars, to kitchens, to bathrooms, to investing money, he thinks he can do it all. There is a sense of satisfaction in doing it yourself. But there are some benefits to letting professionals handle things and there is a reason to sometimes let professionals do the work. The new era of travel agents is here and we are looking at your experiences, your needs, your travel wants as a holistic adventure. We want to provide you with every detail you need. Some of these are important, like avoiding confusion about where you can and cannot go, what travel documents, passports, visas, etc... you need for certain locations. One thing that many DIY travelers forget is that agents are directly connected to travel suppliers. We have access to different deals, different perks, upgrades, and often times better prices that the customers are not always privy too, even if you are looking at a discount online site. An additional benefit is that travel agents are real people, around to help from planning, to execution, to post vacation experiences. Plans change, weather issues arise, things happen. Travel agents are an invested partner in your plans, not only does that add a sense of security but we can help personalize your trip. We are not just looking to make a sale, but a relationship. For us, creating a trip specifically designed to suit your personal needs is our goal, not simply making a mass marketed "deal" from an online discount site. Your experience is too important for us to play around with and your relationship with us is more than just important, it is crucial.
Creating unique adventures or experiences for you is my goal. These seldom arise from the mass market online discount sites with their over-loads of information and little to no help if plans change. If you are like me and love to research the heck out of where you are going, you can still do that, but with the added knowledge that you have a partner who can steer you away from bad hotels or restaurants, unsafe areas, or let you know the best options for transportation, which sites to see, and what you might need on your trip. This is how we can make extraordinary travel experiences ordinary. Travel should never be out of reach or an anomaly and a travel agent is just the sort of person who can help make your travel dreams a reality. They can help you travel on your terms.
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| One of the many "storms" encountered in Scotland |
Fast forward to last spring, my husband and I were going to take a trip with some friends to a resort in Mexico. We went with the cheap mass travel websites, booked the trip, then later decided we wanted to extend our stay. But, alas, who was there to help us? These sites are not known for their customer service. They are not there to make this trip run smoothly. They are there to sell you a "deal" and move on to the next person. Our friend attempted to extend our trip, their customer service agents (because at this point several were involved) cancelled, re-booked, messed up our flights, and it was stressful and he spent hours on the phone. If we had booked through a travel agent it would have been taken care of without the hassle, without the problems, without the prospect of us having to drive to Mexico because they had cancelled our flights and for some reason inexplicably had trouble booking us on another. It most likely would have been the same price if not cheaper with additional perks had we went with a travel agent instead of the mass market website. Lets face it, they are fun to look at, but they are not fun to deal with when it comes to executing a trip that you spent your hard earned money on. What it seems to boil down to is this, do you want a tailor made fit for your trip, your vacation, your experience? Or, do you want a mass produced experience, with ill fitted details and the sense of being totally alone if something changes or goes wrong?
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| The trip ended up being awesome because it was with friends, but we almost didn't make it! |
As far as the DIY trend that has swept the nation the past decade, I get it. I am married to a DIY person, from cars, to kitchens, to bathrooms, to investing money, he thinks he can do it all. There is a sense of satisfaction in doing it yourself. But there are some benefits to letting professionals handle things and there is a reason to sometimes let professionals do the work. The new era of travel agents is here and we are looking at your experiences, your needs, your travel wants as a holistic adventure. We want to provide you with every detail you need. Some of these are important, like avoiding confusion about where you can and cannot go, what travel documents, passports, visas, etc... you need for certain locations. One thing that many DIY travelers forget is that agents are directly connected to travel suppliers. We have access to different deals, different perks, upgrades, and often times better prices that the customers are not always privy too, even if you are looking at a discount online site. An additional benefit is that travel agents are real people, around to help from planning, to execution, to post vacation experiences. Plans change, weather issues arise, things happen. Travel agents are an invested partner in your plans, not only does that add a sense of security but we can help personalize your trip. We are not just looking to make a sale, but a relationship. For us, creating a trip specifically designed to suit your personal needs is our goal, not simply making a mass marketed "deal" from an online discount site. Your experience is too important for us to play around with and your relationship with us is more than just important, it is crucial.
Creating unique adventures or experiences for you is my goal. These seldom arise from the mass market online discount sites with their over-loads of information and little to no help if plans change. If you are like me and love to research the heck out of where you are going, you can still do that, but with the added knowledge that you have a partner who can steer you away from bad hotels or restaurants, unsafe areas, or let you know the best options for transportation, which sites to see, and what you might need on your trip. This is how we can make extraordinary travel experiences ordinary. Travel should never be out of reach or an anomaly and a travel agent is just the sort of person who can help make your travel dreams a reality. They can help you travel on your terms.
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