Articles about resurgence in travel agents

I think there has always been a place for travel agents...for the reasons given. Some just don't want to research or don't have the time to do so. Also, with a growing number that don't use books, then they don't know what to research and just squirrel all over the Net.
However, as agents often get subsidized by the companies they use, 'out of the box' is not my thoughts for their expertise.
I use one for cruises...to do the cruise line liason work for me....but I learned years ago that agents don't understand my travel style and recommend above my budget. Too cookie cutter for my taste, but I often suggest them to others.

Honestly if a travel agent does not charge you a fee for their service and does not have 24 seven coverage for issues walk away. They cannot make enough to live off of the commissions anymore. The good ones are the boutique people that are charging a lot of money. The others are pushing what gets them free trip.

I have three friends who are “travel agents”. all of them have full-time jobs so your travel comes after that and their kids and family They are all travel agent so they get free trips to places like Disney. Actual knowledge of travel is negligible. If a customer has a difficult question they call me. During the Delta meltdown last week, I got calls from two of them trying to get me to help them figure out what to do about their clients!!!

Most of the good travel agents didn't disappear. They just don't deal with consumer clients.

Many travel agents specialized in business travel. Corporate execs, celebrities, and the like don't book their own travel.

Carol, lately I've seen many hand-written, misspelled signs at street intersections, advertising courses for "travel-peneurs" to learn how to be travel agents, emphasis on free travel. I thought that was a scam that died out years ago.

I have nothing against TAs - more power to the real ones. But I was reacting to the widespread belief that they were a thing of the past, done in by the internet and savvy young folks.

I am someone who has used a travel advisor for years. She does charge a fee. It is not outrageous for the amount if work she does. Part of the reason for fees are time wasters. Those who want her to research all the options, present choices and then go book everything in their own. No one wants to do all that work to not get something out of it.

My advisor knows me really well. She doesn’t sell one particular company. She sets realistic expectations for destinations so her clients aren’t disappointed. She has also found some lovely accommodations for me in remote destinations.

I do still book some things myself, but she often has discounts that aren’t available booking on your own.

I will also say that when the world shut down in 2020, I was 5 days out from an Egypt and Jordan trip. My advisor was the one spending hours on the phone dealing with all the cancellations and insurance. There were numerous companies involved. I didn’t have to do that. She wasn’t getting paid for that either because commissions only come in once the trip is taken.

Everyone is entitled to book travel as they see fit, I only post this to show that travel advisors can have value and shouldn’t be outright poo-pooed or dismissed for those who prefer using one.

I think the demand is more for a travel consultant, for which you pay them for their time. The big issue with finding one, is finding one with the expertise in the country you want to travel and is in tune with your style of travel. Anyone that offers to plan a trip for you anywhere in the world, is probably a bad choice.

Commissions on hotels and airline tickets are almost nil, and I am not so sure I would want to stay in (and pay for) the hotels that might offer a commission to people who book. I know one trip an agent (back in the days when agents sold airline tickets) offered to find us hotels, but all their recommendations were business chains located way outside the city center.

For me, I like the planning part, the research, so no problem. Also, where I live the agents are only selling the all-inclusive packages, the cruises, and package tours, all travel that has zero appeal to me. I suppose if I could find someone who had an in depth knowledge for a place I have not yet been, then I might be game.

When taking cruises (and we've taken a bunch) an experienced TA is worth their weight in gold. But for other things, we prefer to deal directly with the hotel / airline / car service. Just my opinion. To each his own.

I see a lot of people traveling now that have plenty of money and are willing to pay for the convenience of someone else booking for them. It's reflected in the increase in bus tours at sights everywhere. I'm glad travel agents can make a living and I'm (mostly) glad people are traveling.

The good side with people using agents to book their entire trip, sans personal planning, is you can still avoid crowds by avoiding the tour bus hours (roughly ten to three) at busy sights.

I don't use a travel agent at all. I know my own preferences infinitely better than the best travel agent. That's especially true of my value preferences (how much extra I'd pay for certain extras). Why pay them to book me into hotels, sights and tours they think I'll like when I can pick the things I like myself?

Brad

I think it is a good idea for many people to use travel agents. Many people who post here have major problems deciding itinerary and a myriad of other questions mostly stemming from knowledge deficit, anxiety, and indecision. Of course, when they post they get many replies which to me only adds to the worry of where, what, and when. More choices. So I think guidance from a travel agent would help those types of people.

TC, why do you think experienced TAs bring value with cruising? Is it simply the discount or on-board credit they offer, or does it go beyond that?

RJ, Over a period of years we were were sometimes given small on-board credits, and one time a shore excursion. But, their value goes beyond that. Having one who has a good relationship with the cruise line(s) offers a lot of advantages such as: getting the particular cabin one wants, arranging specialty restaurant reservations, and basically having someone do most of the work (after we've done research on our own) and just having one bill. They usualy know about special deals, and save us a lot of time by make all the arrangements via direct phone lines -- we don't have to wait on hold and put up with getting handed off to another customer rep. everytime there's something we request that requires more than cookie cutter service. The real key, in my opinion, is finding one who is experienced, has traveled a lot, has good people skills, and really looks after the client. There are some who just don't have enough knowledge to do a good job. And some just go through the motions and really don't have the interest of the client in mind. Unfortunately, most of the really good ones are reaching retirement age, and a lot of the younger ones (not all by any means) seem to be lacking good customer service skills.

Edited to add: We've dealt with the same agent for years, and it's a person to person relationship -- one where we can sit across the desk from each other if we need to. No way would we ever use an online agent or do business with someone we can't deal with face to face.

We use a travel agent sometimes, depends on the trip. When we went to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel we used our TA. Whenever we go to Disnsey or on a Disney cruise we use a different, younger TA. She alerts us to upcoming deadlines and books what we need, such as the Snow White dinner at the Ft. Wilderness Lodge for our November trip. She sits on the computer ready to pounce so we don’t have to. She arranges the transportation to and from the ship, etc. When we cruise we are usually 15+ people and I don’t want to deal with it all.

I may be mistaken, but I've always thought that TAs have very little knowledge of or experience with train travel in Europe. As that was my preference for solo travel for many years, a TA would have been superfluous. Maybe things have changed in the last 5 years?