While booking a flight seems easy enough, the pitfalls are many and the outcome maybe disastrous! Here are five great reasons why you should use a travel agent.
Need to book a flight from Halifax to Vancouver—and you’re on a tight budget. No problem! Why bother going through a travel agency? While it’s fairly easy to organize a domestic return ticket, a trip abroad or one with several stops, requires more care in planning. Who wants to have the one bad experience it takes to be convinced of the benefits of using a travel agent?
1. Using a travel agent saves you time
Sure, you can search the Web yourself for flights, hotels, activities, car rentals and train tickets, provided you’ve got lots of time on your hands. However, comparing hotels, airlines and itinerary options in a country you’re not familiar with can be a little tricky. And of course, you don’t want to learn just how tricky it is when you’re standing before a hotel receptionist who doesn’t have your reservation. You can save lots of your precious time by letting a travel agent organize all the details.
2. You can travel with more confidence
One of the benefits of using a travel agent is the protection provided by his or her agency. Most agencies offer after-sales service that allows you to get help if something goes wrong during your trip. Doing business with an agent also lets you avoid having to deal with unexpected events such as an airline strike or flight cancellation.
3. You’re more likely to have a mistake-free trip
When making online reservations, one second of inattention can cause a disastrous mistake, such as an error in the dates or flight connections. Some errors can be easily corrected, but others are sometimes irreversible and costly. By using a travel agent, you ensure that all the bookings will be done correctly.
4. You will get personalized advice
You have a large family? You’re planning a group trip? You want to travel with your elderly parents or go to Africa for a month? A travel agent can advise you according to your desires and needs. He or she knows how to negotiate group rates and book reliable airport-to-hotel transfers.
5. You'll benefit from your agent's expertise
A travel agent knows the good hotels, knows which airlines are reliable, and can estimate the time needed for a layover in any given airport. In other words, one of the benefits of using a travel agent is that you avoid unpleasant surprises. You’re less likely to end up with a hotel that looked good in the photos but smells like mildew in real life.
Don't be fooled
It’s a modern-day myth that it costs more to go through a travel agent. Most of those enticing Internet holiday prices are just the beginning; the various fees and taxes add up quickly, and sometimes you don’t see them until you’re at the very end of the booking process. A travel agency is usually able to get the best prices because they have negotiating power with their suppliers, and they know all the tricks of the trade.
