In the age of endless booking options, deals and discounts you may wonder why would I use a Travel Advisor?
Many think using a travel professional to plan and book their travel is a bit of an old school idea mainly used prior to the internet era. With the ever-growing availability of options and ease of booking, now more than ever is the best time to utilize a travel professional.
Ultimately you’re hiring a consultant with significant experience and industry knowledge to curate a vacation experience specific to your desires and needs.
Here’s the short version:
- We have promotions and perks you won’t get booking yourself or directly through the supplier – Our company negotiates directly with the suppliers for rates and benefits you won’t get elsewhere
- There’s no charge for our services -Pay the same price (in many cases LESS) and receive FREE Travel Agent support + perks
- Have ONE real person to talk to when you have questions- There’s no call center here- Just us available by phone call, text and email
- Don’t spend your time doing the ‘dirty work’ We sit on hold for hours so you don’t have to!
- We’re a one stop shop for ALL things travel
- Commissions are built in to ALL travel, so where you book determines WHO you give the commission to (Yes, even when YOU book 3rd party websites yourself or book directly with the supplier, THEY keep the commission). By booking with us you’re supporting small business & helping us make our dreams come true!
- We have the answers to the questions you don’t know to ask-Due to our extensive travel experience, we know how to best prepare you for your travels
Let’s cover a few topics:
The Experience
A hotel is a hotel is a hotel. Well, that’s just not true.
There are over 700,000 hotels and resorts in the world (thank you google). How do you know which one will create the experience you are looking for?
Travel professionals are constantly exposed to resources, training, and webinars to learn about the various travel experiences available to their clients.
Many of which are not readily available on 3rd party booking sites (You don’t know what you don’t know). Travel professionals understand the industry at a significant depth. Not all brands are alike- they all put emphasis on different experiences and aspects of vacationing.
Here is an example- Did you know there’s a resort line that offers many ‘clothing optional’ spaces without really…coming out and saying it? Now depending who you are- this could be a good or a very bad thing.
No work required
Let’s face it- we all live VERY busy lives. Some of us don’t have the time, the patience, or the clarity to find what we’re looking for in the endless sea of options (analysis paralysis).
Travel professionals do the work for you. All the research, all the sorting, all the planning with your interests in mind. Travel industry professionals have the resources at their fingertips, many of which you would have to spend hours on the internet finding.
Experience & Know How
Since travel professionals love to travel themselves, they have a multitude of real life experiences and knowledge. Many eat, breathe and sleep travel. This industry is their focus day in and out- with that focus you’re bound to know a thing or two.
Also, many TP’s have visited and experienced your location of interest, so why not take advice from someone who can give you the experience you’re looking for?
There’s a lot that goes into designing the perfect vacation experience, allow a TP to put their experience and knowledge to the test.
Options, Options, Options
The travel professional industry has a ginormous network of resources, vacation packages, tour companies, and specializations. All of this meaning more options for you. There are options & ideas available to TP’s that the internet isn’t going to think up.
A few examples: Private yachts, wine focused river cruises, Harry potter themed tour of England, Antarctic expeditions and more.
3rd party booking options
Let’s take a moment to talk about the most common way of booking- 3rd party sites.
When you book with these sites you are not booking directly with the hotel/ rental/ airline. You have to abide by the 3rd parties rules which are normally VERY strict. If you need to make any changes- GOOD LUCK.
I have personally lost a lot of money, here are a few personal examples:
- Don’t quite get what you THINK you’re getting
- Inadequate room descriptions- Some things tend to get lost in the translation. Ex. I stayed at a beach front hotel in Daytona beach and paid EXTRA for the OCEAN VIEW room- What I really got was a full view of a hideous building and about 2 inches of beach and water.
- I couldn’t even get a receipt- I booked a hotel from a 3rd party company which ended up giving me a crazy member’s rate (?). At check out the hotel couldn’t even provide me a receipt because of the 3rd part company refused them to do so. So if I had any discrepancy I would have to deal with the 3rd party. Once again…good luck.
- Reviews are misleading- Many 3rd party companies have different review scales- Some out of 5, some out of 10. I’ve personally walked into a hotel and walked right out (some have heard this story). The hotel was NOTHING of what it was portrayed to be (no free parking, the place was a dirty dump and smelled like cat pee) and I had to fight and fight with my 3rd party company to ultimately lose. IF I had booked directly with a TP, my outcome would have been much different.
It’s a Service
Ultimately travel professionals are present for you from conception to completion.
They are a resource, a point of contact and they go to bat for you.
They are creative minds with the ability to fabricate and customize experiences. They are collaborators whose purpose is to help you experience the joys life has to offer.
