Is using a travel agent worth it? 5 reasons I book with an expert
I am a millennial, and there was a time in my life when going to a travel agent seemed about as anachronistic as renting a videotape or calling the operator to connect a phone call.
Back then, I figured that everything from flights to hotels to theme park tickets was available online at the best rate, and without paying a commission. I thought travel agents were for people too lazy to do their own research, and besides, wasn't the planning half the fun of the holiday?
Then I made friends with someone who'd worked in the industry, and they clued me in to some of the perks of working with an agent. You don't have to book an hour-by-hour itinerary, but if you're smart you can take advantage of their resources and knowledge. Here's how.
1. Flight complexity
Generally speaking, a travel agent isn't going to be able to get you a better price on a flight than what you'll find on SkyScanner, Google Flights or airline websites. What they can do, however, is line up flights in different ways.
Booking multi-day layovers and multiple round-the-world-style flights can be difficult online, but is no problem for the professionals. Want to spend three days in Kuala Lumpur on your way to Paris, flying the same airline on the same ticket? Get your agent to sort it.
Fancy a stopover in Kuala Lumpur? Ask your travel agent.
2. Hotel pricing and perks
Flight prices might be rigid, but accommodation is where a travel agent can find you a better deal. They have access to separate booking platforms that in many cases have better pricing on hotels, and they'll potentially get you access to perks and upgrades that would normally only be available to reward program members. Even online travel agencies like Agoda and Expedia can save you money if you book your hotel as a package with your flight.
3. Suggestions and experience
Even working as a writer in the industry, it's difficult to stay across all the latest developments in the world of travel. And when you're planning your own holiday it's easy to get tunnel vision. This can be as simple as suggesting the ferry instead of the bus. Or a whole new destination: who knew Ljubljana was only three hours from Venice?
Here's another example. A few years ago, the cheapest flights to Europe were through Colombo in Sri Lanka. To sweeten the deal, there was a complimentary hotel for the layover. But a travel agent told me he'd recently had a client stranded there due to aviation fuel shortages. I went through Hong Kong instead, and he still got me the stopover.
Beautiful Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, is just a quick trip from Venice.
4. Security
Luckily, I don't have the personal experience to back this one up – but one of the key benefits of using an agent is you can rely on them if things go wrong. Large operators, such as Flight Centre, and even some smaller ones, provide 24/7 support, which means you don't have to be the one to lose your cool at the check-in desk when there's a mix-up. They can also help with changing and re-booking, and often offer travel insurance, waived cancellation fees and lost baggage tracking.
5. They can do as much or as little as you want
I enjoy researching a destination, and I love playing things by ear when I get there. But when it came time for my honeymoon in Thailand, I went to an agent.
They sent me various options, but in the end all I got them to book for us was a Sydney to Bangkok flight with an enormously discounted hotel included. Did I ask them to book our internal flights? No, because they were just as cheap online. Did I ask them to plan our activities? No, because I didn't like their elephant safari suggestion. Did I feel locked into a holiday someone else had planned for me? Not at all.
Originally published as Is using a travel agent worth it? 5 reasons I book with an expert
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