Using Travel Agents

[sengsational]

A British couple hopped into the UBER Pool car with us in Manhattan the other day and when I asked, he reeled-off this long and complicated trip they were doing. I asked how he managed to get all of the logistics aligned and he mentioned "Trailfinders", which I jotted down and researched just now. It looks like it caters to the British isles, but it got me thinking...maybe that's an approach I should explore.

Usually, I put together everything myself, directly booking with each provider, whether that be for transportation, lodging or for touring. But that's kind of a pain, to research each thing.

On the other end of the spectrum is to go to a all-inclusive tour operator, residing at your intended destination. You pay, and you get whatever packages they offer. Trying to compare one tour operator to the next always put me off of booking this way. It seems impossible to understand what you'd really experience, and based on the big price differences, 10 days in at "X" location could have quite a range of experiences.

But from looking at this example British travel agency site, it appears to have "formulas" for various kinds of travel, all over the world:

• Attraction Tickets
• Bear Viewing Experience
• City Break
• Coach
• Cruise
• Cruise Holiday
• Cycling Holiday
• Disney
• Family Holiday
• Fly Drive Holiday
• Group
• Lift Passes
• Multi Centre Holiday
• Pathfinders Safari
• Private Tour
• Rail
• Safari
• Safari Cruise
• Scenic Flight
• Self Guided
• Small Group
• Small Group Safari
• Solo
• Stopover
• Unmissable Experiences
• Wilderness Experience
• Winter Holiday

For instance, I went into "Fly Drive Holiday" and "New Zealand" and they will help you book an RV, and I imagine, make sure that you fly into the right place, have a hotel for the first night, if that makes sense, make sure you have transportation possiblity to the RV pickup, give you an idea of routes and places to stay and see, etc. That's kind of speculation, but it seems like what a travel agent would do. Having that kind of "packaging" would be worthwhile. Even if I have the time to do it, maybe I don't have the patience to do a good job, and it would be easy to "blow it", making the idea of "hiring a consultant" in the form of a travel agent a good idea.

I just wondered if there were any travel agents that members here have used that they're happy with. They'd have to have pricing not to far off from what I could do myself, and they'd have to add real value (background knowledge and experience in the place I was visiting).

[Rianne]

AAA travel agents are free with membership. We've used them several times in private sit down offices. They have all the info from self guided to bicycle tours, to just plain hotel prices in European cities. Our AAA agent went through all kinds of options about going to Czech Republic. They don't mind if you drop in for information and don't book anything.

My older brother used them to book an extravagant river cruise (not Viking). Was a 5 star experience with business class airfare. AAA agent did it all. His wife is handicapped and AAA agent took care of everything, no need for a single phone call. She also helped us plan a trip to the West for a month by SUV.

[brett]

We seldom use TA's. Many of the good ones have left the business. Declining vendor commissions and increase in self serve web sites.

We find that many TA's are nothing more tan ticket bookers. There seems to be fewer experienced, well travelled agents.

A few years ago we were challenged to find a good TA who specialized in Africa.
When we found one her prices were too high. We obtained the name of a tour company in South Africa and dealt directly with them via Skype and email. Better info, better pricing. They did a first rate job for us. Other than that, we have travelled extensively over the past five years and have made our own bookings online.

We did book a trip with a TA in Britain. We called her and she was very good. Much better than the run of the mill TA that we have spoken to in our area. It was much easier to deal directly with her even though she was in London.

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I'm curious what info the responses will yield.

Personally, planning and researching a trip is half the fun for us. We usually do all bookings ourselves other than cruises.

However, we're also willing to throw some dollars at some good expertise and knowledge. The problem I find is that I don't think travel agents get paid a lot so most generic travel agents will likely have limited on the ground experience and knowledge even if they get discounted industry pricing to sample. They may be able to pass along feedback from previous bookings.
The other thing is that being in the industry, travel agents likely have a better line on travel news and deals that doesn't necessarily trickle out to the public at large.

We always use a travel agent when booking a cruise because they have a bit of purchasing power that they can pass along to us via extra perks. However, I haven't come across one that can provide the breadth of knowledge one can glean off the Cruise Critic boards where you can get answers from cruisers with a zillion sailings under their belt.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YVRRocketSurgery Personally, planning and researching a trip is half the fun for us. We usually do all bookings ourselves other than cruises. <snip>We always use a travel agent when booking a cruise because they have a bit of purchasing power that they can pass along to us via extra perks. However, I haven't come across one that can provide the breadth of knowledge one can glean off the Cruise Critic boards where you can get answers from cruisers with a zillion sailings under their belt.

If I were to book a cruise on one of the major lines I'd find a good TA who had enough clout to get me a room upgrade, on-board credit, etc. but the 3 cruises I've taken are with UnCruise, which uses small ships (under 100 passengers) and isn't into deal-making AFAIK. I do get discounts as a repeat customer.

Other than that, I do all the planning myself and thoroughly enjoy it. The reference to CruiseCritic points out another reason TAs are an endangered species: consumer review sites. I have over 250 reviews on TripAdvisor and posted here and on FlyerTalk about my day trip to Greenland from Iceland. I'd guess that most travel agents don't have much better information on Greenland than we can get on the Internet, and I've never been steered wrong by hotel reviews on TripAdvisor.

[Bamaman]

We seldom use travel agents except on cruises. The info available online makes it so easy finding out own trip details. We use Booking.com and Trip Advisor customer evauations and comments before making decisions.
There are some great European travel agents that specialize in places like Ireland and Scotland--self driving trips staying at B&Bs. One is Trjpmasters.com.
One 7 day Ireland trip earlier this year including flights , car and rooms was $1100 per person.
Happy trip hunting!

[Scrapr]

We did a Euro trip earlier this year to pick up a Volvo. Volvo pays for your trip and 1 night. The agent we used (Volvo's) was very good. I bet the first talk we went at least an hour. Then a couple more that went about that long in total. This was just the flights. I took care of the rest of the lodgings, trains, etc. 3 weeks, 6 cities and 10 hotels. I was nervous as all heck that i got us into a city on the wrong day and the hotel says...Oh you booked for tommorow!.

I'd pay a little bit for some help there. I've never joined AAA. But that might be worth a shot. Next trip is going to be simpler though. I used Trip advisor pretty much 100% with a spreadsheet

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett We seldom use TA's. Many of the good ones have left the business. Declining vendor commissions and increase in self serve web sites.

My wife dabbled in it about a dozen years ago. At the time you could still make some semblance of a living selling cruises and tour packages; the days of earning commissions on flights and hotels were pretty much gone by then. I suspect these days they are mostly gone for cruises and tours, too.

That said there is still a niche market for concierge services for people who just want a professional to make the arrangements for them. The difference is that the traveler mostly pays the fees now, rather than the business.

[meierlde]

What killed the travel agents was the decision by a lot of corporate folks to move to employees booking trips domestically online. When I retired 12 years ago the only travel agent use you made was for international trips, and it may be less now.

[audreyh1]

I remember by 2000 the airlines made a huge push to get customers to book directly online and bypass travel agents. I thought this was a big factor in killing the travel agent business.

[brett]

We always use a TA for booking cruises. All we require is booking. We have already selected the cruise, the ship, etc.

Our online TA gives us a rebate in the form of on board credits equal to 8-12 percent of the commissionable fare. Booking direct wire thr cruise line foes not yield any such benefit.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I remember by 2000 the airlines made a huge push to get customers to book directly online and bypass travel agents. I thought this was a big factor in killing the travel agent business.

The hotels did that, too. I think you got 500 extra loyalty program points for booking through their site. That quietly disappeared.

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Just had to chime in about Trip Advisor. I use it and appreciate the info overall but you do have to wade through suspect reviews that are either fake, have poor or not up to date info, or have unrealistic expectations.
I feel I have to compare ratings and reviews across multiple review sites, travel guides, travel boards/forums, travel shows, and blogs. I can see that being a chore to some but I find it helps me prep for the trip.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman ... There are some great European travel agents that specialize in places like Ireland and Scotland--self driving trips staying at B&Bs. One is Tripmasters.com. One 7 day Ireland trip earlier this year including flights , car and rooms was $1100 per person. Happy trip hunting!

I love tripmasters.com as a free research tool—it’s not the fastest site, but plug in dates and destinations and you can see hotels and flights with pricing. We ended up using the company for a trip to the UK earlier this year because of the pricing, but initially just researched with it.

[kcowan]

We use our TA to sort out complexity. She booked flights to Berlin and a rental car in Paris and hotels in Reims, Beaune and Annecy. We just used booking.com to schedule a hotel in Sisteron and we added a day to our Vrbo in Nice. The TA adds value whenever she can. If we can get a cheaper price, she will try her agency system to see if she can beat it.

We found her through a referral from some frequent cruisers locally.

[pacergal]

WE have done both, plan and book ourselves and used TA. We have a locally owned travel company that has been in business for decades, each TA has a travel area specialty. The times we have used them, we have better deals than what I can put together myself, I think they have access to different packages than what is advertised, or something.
I still research, plan and price each vacation, then call the TA to check their pricing. Usually very close.
Sometimes I really enjoy the planning, sometimes I just want to call and say this is where I want to go--figure it out! Lol

[tmm99]

I wonder if TAs would help in booking a trip from Toronto to SF and then stay a few days in SF and fly from SF to Tokyo? Using online websites like travelocity and Expedia, there is no way I can book a two-legged trip or get a discount. (Or maybe there's a way but I am just not aware of it?) I don't need lodging help.

Never mind. I just looked and I do see a multi-destination option.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I love tripmasters.com as a free research tool—it’s not the fastest site, but plug in dates and destinations and you can see hotels and flights with pricing. We ended up using the company for a trip to the UK earlier this year because of the pricing, but initially just researched with it.

That looks like a good site. Similar to trailfinders in that it has packaged itineraries. Looks like maybe less of an emphasis on guided tours, but I like that they've got the packages.

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 I have over 250 reviews on TripAdvisor and posted here and on FlyerTalk about my day trip to Greenland from Iceland. I'd guess that most travel agents don't have much better information on Greenland than we can get on the Internet, and I've never been steered wrong by hotel reviews on TripAdvisor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by YVRRocketSurgery Just had to chime in about Trip Advisor. I use it and appreciate the info overall but you do have to wade through suspect reviews that are either fake, have poor or not up to date info, or have unrealistic expectations. I feel I have to compare ratings and reviews across multiple review sites, travel guides, travel boards/forums, travel shows, and blogs. I can see that being a chore to some but I find it helps me prep for the trip.

I've used tripadvisor some. To me as well, it's a bit of a chore to get anywhere with it, though. If you have a general plan or a set of activities you want to book, it can be helpful to narrow down options. But sometimes I don't know what I don't know, so going there is premature. To start out, I need a generally workable plan. So getting from the germ of an idea to all logistics sorted...that's what I have a problem with.

For example, some folks we met on a cruise had a daughter in Australia and went they on a caravan (RV) vacation there. They mentioned a few things they did, and I thought it would be cool to do something like that. But digging through the logistics of flights, lodging, "hiring" the RV, and what to do, where to stay...all of that got the best of me and the plan withered. Trying to do it myself, I found myself "in the weeds" with too many details, too many choices, not enough information to make an informed decision, so the trip never happened. BTW, the "informed decision" part could be remedied by my lowering my standards to "good enough", or taking more time to filter through hundreds of reviews and travel blogs, but I'm not comfortable with either of those.

Maybe, and I'm exploring myself here a bit, it's because if I handle all of the details and then it results in my not having a good time, there's no one to blame but myself.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational I've used tripadvisor some. To me as well, it's a bit of a chore to get anywhere with it, though. If you have a general plan or a set of activities you want to book, it can be helpful to narrow down options. But sometimes I don't know what I don't know, so going there is premature. To start out, I need a generally workable plan. So getting from the germ of an idea to all logistics sorted...that's what I have a problem with.

TripAdvisor is more useful for specific reviews, although I do glance at the top 20 say favorite sites/activities at a given location so that I don't miss out on something I might really like.

For our European travel planning the Rick Steves books and online travel guides have been invaluable for helping us choose locations and main things to see/do. Also good for travel logistics. Hotels and restaurants I tend to choose independently. Location is the main criterion, and I browse several review sites to choose.

[Osprey]

I like to use trip adviser for research. Last year, after researching our trip to Maui, we booked flights, hotels and some excursions via AAA. The prices were better than we saw on line. While on the trip, there was a mix-up with our helicopter flight and the company went out of their way to make it up: rebated us a discount, front row seats for rescheduled flight, free video of our flight, t shirts, videos of Maui. I believe that using AAA made them go the extra mile to make us happy without us making a stink about the inconvenience.

I'm planning a trip to Ireland now and am doing the booking myself as AAA had limited options. I'm using the Rick Steves book which is helpful along with trip advisor.