Use a travel agent or not - We did and let me tell you why!

[John]

Let me start this with saying I am not an agent and my agent does not know I am writing this!

I hear this alot "we would never use an agent or we dont need one", for those of you who think an agent is nothing more than a travel secretary, you need to read this!

Ok, I hear a lot of people tell me they found a great deal online and I have found several myself. We have purchased everything from weekend trips to vacation homes online and have been very satisfied. Although we always give our agent on opportunity to find us a better deal. And she has in most cases!

It's not always about the "savings" or the "preceived savings". Any time you travel out of the country you should have someone looking out for you and your best interest. Last thing you want is a bargain buy to go wrong, you also need someone "who has been there and done that".

I am not saying "dont look online for great deals" what I am saying is do your research, once you are happy with what you think is the vacation for you, then consult your agent...Our agent likes the fact that we do this, it helps her know what we are looking for and price range. She then always seems to find a better deal on a better trip to a better place. She saved us from a huge mistake last year on a trip, everything looked great online - just to find out that the property ownership was changing and the offering was not as good as the online brochure presented.

But you say, Disney does a great job when booking directly through there site, why use an agent? Well, what do you do when you've missed the departure time? What happens if your flights are cancelled? What happens when you miss the departure time in another country? How do you recoup any losses? What happens when you loose your personal documentation? How do you know about the special thing offered by the locals that Disney may not tell you about? You know what I do? I call my travel agent.

We have changed our trip halfway through, we have found secret savings and better/cheaper food thanks to our agent.

People tell me agents are expensive - "bull", let me explain why. Not only for the reasons listed above, but also for the saving tips they should give you about the trip. Our agent saved us over $1700 on our Disney trip, just by suggesting an minor change in date, Atlantis excursion tip, and a few other thing she would kill me if I put in writing.
So did she make a commission on me? I hope so, I still saved money and had the piece of mind that someone "has been there done that" and was a phone call away if I did something stupid (and I did a few). Thank you Terri for all your assistance with all our trips.

Be picky when you search for an agent, not all are equal or willing to be as helpful as "Terri".We chose our travel agency because they have several agents that travel quite often.

In the end the commission an agent makes probably will not pay them for the service they provide. Especially for me and all the "bull" I put mine through.....LOL

[Taswira]

EXCELLENT advice! My profession as a wildlife photographer leading photo safaris in Kenya and Tanzania combined with my lifetime of experience and love of Disney led me to become a part-time travel agent and consultant for specialty and adventure travel and Disney. I became a College of Disney Knowledge trained "Disney Specialist" and Disney Cruise College trained cruise specialist. I recently gave up my TA work because it was not as profitable as it used to be, so I am not trying to sell anything here - LOL. I book most of my own travel directly with the vendors, for a variety of reasons, but I know the industry well. For the majority of people I always recommend a good travel agent and advise them to never "search the web for the lowest price and book it." As you pointed out, that's asking for trouble. A well-established, proficient, reliable travel agent who is certified in your area of travel is the safest and wisest choice.