There is a thread on Linked In in the Travel and Tourism members only section asking about whether you should book your travel through the internet or online.
This excerpt is from one of the responses posted a few days after the question was posted. The writer has responded to some previous responses and really makes some excellent points. I've highlighted ones that really are key to why people should book their vacations through a travel professional.
Let me know what you think............
"I am in the travel industry (not an agent) and very interested in all your observations. You have made several points that I think I can address for those people who are doing more than a 'point to point' airfare. Firstly your comment Jonni about how Travel Agents market themselves is a great one as marketing ones 'travel' skills has been one that has always demanded alot of training. Hence many consumers think all travel agents are the same!. However...consider this... an exceptional Travel Agent needs only 'word of mouth' marketing to be successful as his/her customers are assured of the best value and return from every trip ready to book another. These agents will often charge a service fee instead of earning commission and believe me, you won't pay any more overall than you would have done when the prices were higher including commission (of course, previously this had to be passed on to you the consumer and included in the airfare!) A good travel agent is all about relationships and not paying lip service to that honor. Understanding your customer really well is critical and then the depth of the search (time) to customise your itinerary via the utilisation of their enormous resource of buying options. So,even if she/he includes a service fee, due to this 'depth of search' their customers can honestly be assured of the best value prices around.
Relationships within the travel industry have changed enormously with airlines, tour operators and hotels ever since these operators have needed to sell direct. There is very little commission (if any) given to agents by anyone today which, believe it or not works better for the agent because the can now work for their client and be totally unbiased. Many Travel agents are agents for YOU now....top consultants have always done this. I have lived and worked in the travel industry in the UK, Australia and the USA and you would be amazed how often I am asked for me to recommend a good travel agent in ALL countries, so consumer behaviour is (almost) the same everywhere....we all want to be looked after, to have our travel expert really understand us and for those of us who are time poor, it can be a WOW experience...
and Steve, its not just upmarket itineraries you can get help with...its upmarket experiences! for this reason, I never do my own plumbing! "
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1 comment:
This is a interesting article.. I agree that as far as travel agents go and I have a Excellent one if I must say so.. All I do is pick up the phone and call Mindy and give her ideas and she says ok will check out things and from there she researches everything and then we trade emails and if need be a phone call.. Travel agents like Mindy are a pleasure to have and I dont know what I would do with out her. I may book a local thing here and there but when it comes time for me to travel Mindy is the young lady for me. I am very comfortable with her and I know she has the skills and the know how to get the job done.. A good friend turned me on to her a couple of years ago and since then I call her and email about going here and their, plus I tell everyone about Mindy.. I dont need to sit around and worry about travel plans when I have the greatest agent around.. To sume it all up.. Mindy has the traveled extensively and she knows her business and she bonds with her clients once you book with her you will never go anyplace with out her..
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