Buying Airline Tickets Online Vs Travel Agent __FULL__
Gone are the days when you had no choice but to go down the road and ask an agent to look up flight schedules! Indeed, many travelers prefer booking their flights, hotels, excursions, and other activities directly online with a credit card.
buying airline tickets online vs travel agent
First of all, know that a travel agent could potentially cost extra. While travel agencies generally make most of their revenue from the other side of the transaction, taking a commission from hotels and airlines, there can be a fee that you pay for their services.
I remember being on my first trip to Barcelona which was booked with a travel agent. We arrived at the hotel, and it was completely below our expectations: no air-conditioning, non-functioning wifi, and a generally unwelcoming atmosphere.
And during my career behind the front desk at various hotels, I was on the receiving end of many of those calls. Believe me when I tell you that hotels are eager to please travel agents and will always try to make things right for those guests.
Despite the above differences, booking your vacation online can often yield very similar results to using a travel agent. In the end, both travel agents and independent travelers can access the same things to book, after all.
This will be true whether you pre-pay for the room or not, and will still be the case even if your travel agent pre-pays the room and meals. The hotel needs a guarantee that you will be able to pay for things such as charges to your room and other unexpected fees.
In very few circumstances, a travel agent will send gratuities to the service provider in advance. But this is uncommon and it should be made very clear to you. Therefore, whether booking online or with a travel agency, you should still carry a bit of cash.
After reading this point, you may already have some ideas about what the pros are when it comes to using a travel agent. The truth is that booking with a travel agent is not an outdated idea and can be a great choice for many reasons.
If you are headed to somewhere exotic and less traveled, information can be scant and trustworthy vendors can be hard to find; but your travel agent has already done the research and learned by doing.
Travel agencies can access behind-the-scenes airline systems which show them the last seats to be sold and even lower fares than the public can see. As for hotels, they can book with travel agent rates which could be lower, provide more perks and amenities, or have other advantages.
I told you above about my experience working in hotel management and how we treated travel agent guests. Two specific examples that come to mind were American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts guests, and Virtuoso guests, who were always to receive special attention.
By booking online, you can get reward tickets or stays and make sure you find the best uses for your points and miles. This can be a seriously lucrative strategy when you consider the credit card bonuses that can be had nowadays.
When a travel agent books your arrangements, it may be more difficult to make changes along the way if you feel like it. Booking online can allow you to do so as you go, or just book flexible things to give you that freedom.
At the end of the day, certain travelers or certain types of vacations would be wise to choose a travel agent over booking online. Sometimes, an expert should be involved in making the trip exceptional.
The most discerning traveler often books with a travel agent for several reasons. First of all, they may not want to go through the trouble of planning the trip themselves, and therefore hire someone to take care of that.
In that case, a travel agent is a good investment. You can be sure that your trip will be meticulously reviewed, and if there is a problem you will have someone to fall back on to help fix it. The best travel experts will recommend the right travel insurance as well.
On the other hand, it makes a lot more sense to book online in certain situations. Remember that you can find all the same airlines, hotels, and activities as travel consultants and can therefore make an amazing trip on your own.
Those of us who have explored every corner of Kayak and Booking.com should have no problem booking online and avoiding a travel advisor; unless you fall into the category of a luxury traveler or have a unique destination.
There was a huge rise in the number of OTAs and suppliers smartened up, doing things like having contracts where OTAs were not able to offer prices lower than what the traveler could find directly on the brand site. They stopped offering premium commissions, and some vendors (like Southwest) even refused to sell their inventory on OTAs. (Does this sound familiar? Airlines did the same thing, cut commissions to travel agents in the 90s).
Surprise! There are taxes and fees that might sneak up on the purchaser when they get to the checkout of an OTA. With travel agents, the full cost to clients is transparent at the time they are quoted the price. (Enough said!)
Travel agents, who are not governed by algorithms, have the experience and ability to analyze the options in front of them, filtering through them quickly in order to build group packages that maximize value and save money for their clients. Yet another reason to use a travel agent vs. booking online.
So we made an infographic that walks you through the data. You can print it out and post it above your office desk to use as talking points when your clients call and ask why they should use a travel agent vs. booking online. Better yet, just send it directly to your client and save yourself a lot of talking.
Travel agents save clients money, but the benefits of booking with a travel agent go way beyond. Travel agents also create high-value travel over OTAs because (the living, breathing, talented humans that they are) are able to advocate for clients when things go awry.
Travel Market Report published an article, "What We Did for Love: Tales of Travel Agents Who Went the Extra Mile," in May 2019. It recounts stories of travel agents like Linda Schreiber, who pulled her bride out of a hurricane-riddled Cancun to the safety of home and rebooked the 70 other guests for the following month. Or Valerie Gossett's warm fuzzy in our Travel Agent Chatter podcast who coordinated with her BDM to have her client's father, a 90-year-old retired colonel, celebrated and honored for his service on his last cruise with his family.
Travel agents are able to leverage their relationships with vendors in order to provide the best customer service possible to travelers. So not only will the traveler save money, but they can travel with the peace of mind that a travel agent can help them out in a bind if they transfer hotels, switch rooms, or re-book a flight.
Today, travelers are more likely to start their trip planning process by researching destinations online, and then head to an online travel aggregator to make the bookings themselves. A recent survey has shown that 41% of travelers now prefer using online travel agencies or aggregators to book hotels, with a further 29% booking direct, and just 29% using a traditional travel agent.
However, using a travel agent still has some unique benefits. Travel agents can find you exclusive fares, offer specialist expertise, and help you plan and coordinate your trip. Even today, many people seek them out for a more personalized travel experience.
Clearly, there are many perks to using a travel agent, but there are also some seriously convincing arguments for self-booking on a consumer travel site (like Booking.com, Expedia, or Airbnb). So which option should you choose?
Are you planning a big trip soon? Before you start packing your bags, you need to figure out how to book your airfares and accommodation. Thanks to the internet and online booking technology, you no longer have to hire a travel agent, but does that mean you should always book online? In this article, we will look at the pros and cons of both options!
Travel agents are brokers who help travelers find the best accommodation, airfares, transport, and activities. Travel agents can book everything for you, from flights and hotels to concert tickets and more! These travel experts can also advise on where to go, where to stay, sights you need to see, and more. They can use their skills and relationships with hotels and airlines to plan an incredible trip for you.
After cruising through this article, you should now have a pretty good understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of using travel agents to book online. We recommend you contact several travel agents and see what offers they have and then compare them with the online booking prices and choose the best!
Is it cheaper to book flights online or with a travel agent in India or elsewhere? This is among the top queries travelers have and the answer is a very surprising one. Booking with travel agents is often cheaper than booking online as they have access to awesome money-saving deals. Privy to secret airline prices, travel agents book scores of air tickets each day and will be able to easily tell you if the flight price you found online is a reasonable one. This is one of the topmost benefits of booking flights through travel agents.
Despite the rise in travel websites or apps, majority of people still consider booking international flight tickets through travel agents. Comment below and share your thoughts on what you think about these benefits.
In most cases, travel agents try to offer you the cheapest flight to your destination. This is because they go through different websites and have contacts with airlines, travel agencies etc. that offer them the best deals.
Online booking platforms and on-the-go apps are considered a convenient way to find the best flight, hotel and rental car options. However, travel agents are still a thriving industry. Choosing a travel agent instead of booking online even has distinct advantages in many cases.
Comparing trip details in multiple browser windows can be time consuming and frustrating. A travel agent does this research for you, presenting you with just a few options based on what is most important to you. Your travel agent will also read all the fine print of the trip you book, saving you time and possibly hassle later on. 041b061a72