Why You Still Need A Travel Agent

Last year, a good friend took an international trip with a two-stop flight itinerary. Afterwards, he reflected on how beat up he felt when it was over: "Adding that third airport into the mix seemed to add a ton of extra travel this year; it was rough."

I asked how he booked the flights. He said that he'd used one of the big travel booking sites, and that the itinerary he purchased was the best combination of duration, flight times and price he could find. My response: "Next time, call my travel agent first. You'll feel a lot better when it's all over."

The following year, he did just that, and the agent came up with options that he could never have found himself using a single booking site -- specifically, a short and affordable Southwest flight that put him in an airport with countless options for direct flights to his final destination. What would have been another expensive, six-flight endurance test was replaced by a far less demanding trip.

Many travelers are discovering the following:

·  In offering more options and amenities, online travel sites have actually made it more confusing to figure out what they are selling, not less so.

·  The explosion of restrictions and fees -- many of which are not obvious to the casual travel buyer -- further muddies understanding of the bottom line on any itinerary.

·  The absence of a number of popular airlines from major booking engines -- the juggernaut Southwest being the most glaring -- eliminates what could well turn out to be a specific traveler's absolute best itinerary.

·  The big online travel sites got too smart for their own good; by tidying up and repackaging all the data each according to their own assumptions about travel purchasing, they show us what they think we want to see, but not always what we really want to see. That is, by becoming "online travel agents," rather than mere booking sites, they end up in competition with real travel agents, who can usually do the work better than computers can.

·  Despite being "smarter" and more comprehensive than ever, the typical travel booking experience has way too many dead ends. Whether it be the inability to get seats together, or disappearing fare sales, or the inability to lock in a fare for a short time, booking online is like being trapped inside a bad video game with countless trapdoors and false exits.

Choosing a Travel Agent
To deserve your loyalty and money, a travel agent must provide a service that is better, faster and more affordable than you can do yourself -- or naturally you would, in fact, do it yourself. When searching for a travel agent, I suggest asking the following questions:

·  What are the fees? This will help you figure out for which types of travel you might need help, and for which it will be worth the investment of time to do it yourself. See below for more on fees.

·  Is the agent comfortable working entirely by e-mail? Part of the point of having a travel agent book your trip is that you are freed up to do other things while the itinerary research is taking place. As such, you need a travel agent with whom you will not have to sit on the phone while she's researching your trip, or to have to make multiple phone calls to nail down the flights or hotel that you prefer. She should be able to do all of this by e-mail, with response times measured in minutes or hours, not days. My own travel agent has come to expect nearly instantaneous e-mail replies from me in return.


Choosing the Right Travel Agent

·  Is the travel agent open to suggestions from you, the customer? For example, if you go out and find a decent fare and flight combination, but for whatever reason want some of the services a travel agent can provide, does he check into the flight you suggested or simply ignore your input?

·  Is there a 24-hour solution line you can call if you get in a jam? For example, say you're flying on a Sunday night red-eye from west to east, and your flight is delayed or canceled. Is there someone you can call at 10:30 p.m. to try to get you on the best next flight, or at the very least into a convenient and affordable hotel? Note: Not all travel agents provide this service, so if you find one, consider yourself lucky.

Then as you go along, watch out for the following:

·  Does she always lead off with a very expensive itinerary? If this describes your agent, does she have a good reason, which might be the absence of upgradeable seats, aisle seats or a too-tight connection? If not, she's not really meeting our primary criteria of doing the job better, faster and more affordably than you can do it yourself.

Before I call my travel agent, I almost always check fares myself very quickly on the Web. This way I can figure out if there is a flight or hotel I can book easily myself. It also gives me an idea of the going price on the route. I briefly worked with an agent who always quoted me a very expensive fare, as if money were no object for someone who could afford to use a travel agent. The truth is that now and then I can't afford not to -- and I would appreciate it if my agent was on the same page.

·  Does the travel agent suggest truly awful itineraries? For example, I once tried to work with a travel agent who insisted on showing me international connections that required an overnight stay at the connecting airport. This would require me to collect my bags, clear customs, go to a hotel, get back to the airport, check in and check bags again, pass through security again, and then repeat the customs and bag collection again at my final destination airport.
When I objected, I was told "it's really not that bad." Multiple check-ins and customs lines are not that bad -- really? It sounded like the agent had never been to an airport -- or worse, assumed I had not, and thought he could get away with selling me a nightmare. If you are being shown too many ridiculously complicated itineraries, it's probably time to find a new agent, or book the trip yourself.


Many of us do not charge a fee because we earn our money from the travel providers - look for a good one, I'd like to recommend us, but even if you don't use us, shop wisely.


Remember two things:


First, if you book on your own on the web, you are on your own - there is no one to call when you have a problem.


Second, your best friend may not be a travel agent, BUT, a Travel Agent can be your best friend!