Let's say you have all the time in the world, you don't mind a couple headaches, and you want to plan a full vacation yourself without any help from a travel agent. Sometimes, you actually don't need a travel agent. If you need a ticket on short notice, if you're making a very short trip and you don't really need to make a big production out of it, etc…
However, there are a number of things that a travel agency can offer you that you won't be able to get anywhere else. The reason for this is simple: travel agencies are offered a lot of great deals.
The reason for travel providers to offer great deals through travel agents is that it is simply in their best interests to keep these agencies in business. When the travel agencies are offering great deals, they stay in business, when the travel agencies stay in business, the travel companies' stay in business. It's really as simple as that.
A travel agency collects commission out of the actual cost of the tickets and reservations and so on, and does not charge an additional fee for their services. And so, you can expect a fair deal with nothing tacked on.
What you will find almost exclusively through travel agencies would be…
Customized Vacation Packages
This is the main draw, to be honest. A good travel agency will provide you with hotel, dinner reservations, a rental car and even some live entertainment in an all-inclusive package. And of course, this is all offered at a hefty discount (again, it's the discounts that keep travellers coming back to their favorite travel agencies).
Even if you're only saving, say, five percent here, ten percent there, twenty percent in the other place… it adds up. Say a general package would normally have you paying two hundred for a hotel, five hundred for airfare, and three hundred for a rental car. Well, twenty or so percent off of a thousand dollars is a couple hundred bucks, and that's something of a conservative estimate. By knowing when to book and how to get great discounts, you might be surprised just how much you can save by booking a full package with a travel agency.
For corporate accounts, many travel agents will maintain a customer profile for individual travelers that are customized to the company's travel policy to manage compliance with the corporate rules and to streamline expense reporting. The individual also benefits because they can save to their profile a preference for seats, hotel and car rental, corporate discount numbers, airline frequent flyer numbers and other pertinent information to assist with the booking process.
A Well Advised, Well Planned Trip
A good travel doesn't just hold your tickets til you need them. A good travel agent will recommend a number of vacation options to you advising you on which hotels come recommended, places to avoid (because of crowding or crime, etc.), and even, on certain occasions local customs. The best travel agents aren't just travel agents, they're also travel experts, and can help you get the best trip, and get the most out of that trip.
Many traditional bricks-and-mortar travel agencies now have full-service web sites so that you can get the best of both worlds: convenience of self-serve online booking with the benefit of walking into the office or talking to a real person on the phone when you need it. Each trip is unique and there are times when you may want to sit face to face with a knowledgeable travel consultant (like when you are planning you're once-in-a-lifetime dream vacation). For the standard weekend or business overnight, you may want the ease of online ordering.
Exclusive Reservations
Not always, but sometimes, a travel agent can actually score you discount tickets for sold out live shows, famous restaurants, and exclusive resorts, which may have been all but impenetrable were you to just show up with a suit and tie and ask to be let in. It sounds snooty, but some resorts don't even accept unsolicited telephone calls. A travel agent may serve as your foot in the door for the most exclusive of exclusive destinations. Plus, getting tickets or reservations at an exclusive spot at a discounted price; that's nothing to complain about, either.
The main thing about going through a travel agency is that they make everything a lot easier, and sometimes, they make things that seemed impossible into something that becomes completely accessible and well within your means. The very best travel agencies should dazzle you with their near magical ability to produce great deals seemingly from thin air. Of course, more realistically, you can expect them to save you a lot of money and get you where you want to go!
Source: http://www.ArticlePros.com/author.php?Mike Cole
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