Why It is Beneficial To Use A Travel Agent
As a consumer, you can definitely agree that planning and booking a vacation yourself can prove to be stressful and at times mentally exhausting. You can spend hours online searching for destinations, hotels, and tours for sightseeing. Not to mention searching through the countless booking engines to compare the prices of one to another. After a while, this process begins to induce a migraine. That is why many are turning to the use of a Travel Consultant or Agent.
Unfortunately, the line we hear all to often is,” I didn’t know Travel Agents still exist” or “I thought the internet put you guys out of business”. Yes, many individuals are using the DIY approach with the use of online booking engines. But there are things that the do it yourself method does not offer. Here are four reasons why you should use our services and why we are beneficial to you.
We save you time and money.
A common misconception is the using a travel agent is more costly. But many do not realize you actually get more for your money when using our services. We have had so many clients who swore they found the best deal possible only for us to show them a cheaper option. We have countless arrangements with different vendors and tour providers to give you the best bang for your buck.
And let’s face it, you can waste countless hours searching for information on a vacation idea, and those are hours of your life you will never get back. Now in days, we have so many things that demand our attention and have more priority than looking up vacation spots.That’s why we do it for you. You just tell us where and when and we fill in the blanks for you. We want you to have a fun time planning your vacation.
We are human
We don’t know about you but we hate, hate, hate having to deal with automated systems and spend 10 minutes of a phone call pressing 1 for english, waiting on hold while listening to elevator music, then finally being able to speak to a representative. And 9 times out of 10, they don’t honestly care about what you want or need. They just want you out of their call queue. However we do care. We care that you want to make your 25th Anniversary with your spouse special. We care that the only time you can travel is the summer because you have 3 kids but you need an inexpensive option. We care about our clients..period.
We have the knowledge and experience
When you want to go to Florence, you have to first search for what hotels are in a nice central location, you have to search for what are the best things to sight see. However, it is our job to know that information and to give it to you. Anyone of our agents can name 3 of the best hotels for a destination off the top of our heads adn tell you what are the best things to see and what is worth your time.
We are here in case of an emergency
We can honestly tell you from experience 1 in every 7 clients has a travel emergency while on vacation. This can range form their flights being delayed for 7 hours to having a family emergency while they are over seas and needing to fly home early. It can be a huge hassle to have to deal with a representative who is making life more difficult than it has to be especially when you are already stressed. It is our job to take care of any inconvenience you experience while on your vacation. We figure out how to get your luggage delivered to your hotel as promptly as possible when the airlines lost it. We deal with the hotel when you booked a Deluxe room and you received a standard room when you checked in. We are here to make your travel experience easier.
Reasons Travel Agents are better than the Internet
New Study Finds Travel Agents Save Consumers an Average of $452 Per Trip
Positive Results Released for May 4 National Travel Agent Appreciation Day
Alexandria, VA, May 2, 2016 – New research from The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) proves that travel agents save consumers time and money. Consumers report that travel agents save them an average $452 per trip, and four hours in travel planning. Perhaps most importantly, consumers said that agents help them avoid costly mistakes. The independent study, “Best of Both Worlds: Quantifying How Travel Agents Save Consumers Time and Money,” was funded by Carnival Corporation and conducted by market research firm TNS Global. Detailed findings of the final version of the survey will be available on ASTA.org by May 30.
“We couldn’t hold back the good news, and that is that travel agent usage is at its highest level since we began commissioning independent consumer research three years ago. At this point, consumers have tried it all. They’ve booked online, they’ve gone direct, and they’ve used a travel agent. This study dispels the myth that booking direct with suppliers or spending hours online yourself gets you a better deal, or gives you a happier travel experience. Consumers told TNS Global that if you want a better travel experience, use an agent,” said ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby. ASTA is releasing the results in honor of National Travel and Tourism Week May 1-7, with a special focus on Travel Agent Appreciation Day, Wednesday May 4. “We want to say ‘thank you’ to our members all over the globe for all you do every day to advise and protect your customers,” Kerby said. In addition, ASTA’s sister brand, the National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA), is declaring the month of May “National Travel Consultant Month.” Congratulations to all NACTA members. More information on that can be found on NACTA.org.
Key preliminary findings in the ASTA survey include:
· In the past 12 months, nearly half of consumers polled (47%) booked travel through supplier websites, followed by 25% on online travel agency websites, and 23% through travel agents. That 23% was the highest share in the past three years. · When looking back on their past travel experiences, almost two-thirds (63%) said using an agent makes their overall trip experience better; 69% reported that agents save them time in planning and booking; 66% said agents help them avoid costly mistakes, and 64% say agents find the better deals. · The key reason consumers who haven’t used an agent in the past 12 months say they went that route: “I want to do it myself.” · Travel agents lead other booking channels in selling river cruises, and tie online suppliers for selling ocean cruises and tour packages. Agents also scored well for selling all-inclusive resorts and travel insurance, nearly tying with online suppliers. · The top reason cited by consumers who have not used an agent in the past 12 months of why they would consider it is if the agent can save them money (47%), followed closely by if the agent can find better deals than online websites and if the travel agent can help the consumer avoid mistakes.
10 Reasons Travel Agents Are Better Than the Internet
By: Matt Meltzer
While you might put travel agent right up there with VCR repair man and video store clerk on the list of jobs that have gone the way of the Yellow Pages, there’s a reason you still see them wedged into strip malls between your dry cleaner and the new VaporZone. Turns out that — even in a world where everybody coordinates their own vacation plans — travel agents account for about one-third of the travel industry’s revenue. Seriously, in 2014. Who knew. Not only can they do things the Internet can’t, but they also still collect a lot of their fees from vendors, which means… best part, they don’t even charge you! Which is why we’ve compiled these 10 reasons you might want to go old-school and let a travel agent plan your next trip.
1. They know whether you’re actually getting a good deal.
Since 90 percent of the airline tickets you buy are for a domestic flight to see your parents, your knowledge of the relative value of a flight to London is, how shall we say, limited. A travel agent, however, books, like, 74 of those a day and will know immediately if the $600 whatever website told you is a “smoldering price” is actually reasonable.
2. Travel agents know where to go in a city, or know someone who does.
If you don’t happen to be headed to one of Thrillist’s 30 cities, it helps to have a reputable resource available who knows the best restaurants, dive bars, or cockfighting arenas without having to sift through a thousand ridiculous reviews about how the waitress didn’t bring the table enough bread. Since they book trips all the time, TA’s know this stuff like the back of their hands. And if they don’t, they’re one call away from getting you an answer.
3. They’ve got your back when it comes to flight delays/cancellations.
Try calling a website when your flight gets cancelled and the line to rebook stretches through the terminal. Even if you get through to the airline directly, they still don’t have a clue who you are. Call your travel agent, though, and they’ll get you squared away on another flight while you get squared away at the airport bar.
4. They can actually get you seats together, on the same flight, for the same price.
Rather than spend a week on a group text trying to coordinate your big Splashin’ Safari Water Park Summer vacay, only to book your flights separately online and find you’re all sitting next to different people who clip their toenails (and paid different fares), a travel agent can get your entire group the same ticket price, with seats together, on the same flight.
5. They can get you VIP status without being a VIP.
Restaurant supposedly booked for months? Yeah, that’s no issue for a travel agent. Need a table at the hottest club in Sioux Falls? They’ve got more promoters on speed dial than a South Beach swimsuit model. Thanks to the relationships they maintain across the tourism industry, they can also score you tix to special tours, private tastings, and other events the Internet doesn’t even know about. Or, if it does, has hidden so deep it’ll take you hours to find out about them.
6. And speaking of hours on the Internet, TAs do all the research for you.
Websites don’t seem to understand that when you say “search nearby airports,” it doesn’t mean “I’m totally fine with being the guy who asks my roommate for a ride to an airport 75 miles away so I can save $45”. Travel Agents know your airport preferences, and won’t tease you with cheap flights that involve leaving and returning to airports that’re in different states. Unless you want them to.
7. They get better prices, first
That $49 one-way flight your email update indicated was a “fresh new deal” was actually available to your travel agent last week, because they have better relationships with airlines and wholesalers. Which also means their prices are… ready for this… usually better than online. Especially for complicated or premium fares.
8. They do more than book flights.
That African safari looks like a great time, but you do realize it requires a lot more legwork than just pressing “Buy Now” on the roundtrip ticket to Kinshasa, right? In addition to visas, you’ll likely require a series of semi-crippling inoculations before you go, too. Unsure where to go for either visas or shots? Well, lo and behold, guess who can set both of those up for you?
9. They have Southwest’s prices too.
Fun as it is planning your flight, calculating baggage, seat selection, and water fees, then repeating the whole process on Southwest.com to seeing if it’s cheaper, a travel agent can do the comparison shopping for you. And he or she can do it with any other airline that doesn’t play the online search engine game.
10. No-hassle 24-hour changes
“Non-refundable” on your online reservation — be it a flight, hotel reservation, Duck Tour, whatever — usually means you have 24 hours to make changes without penalty. Most people don’t realize this. Yes, even a “non-refundable” airline ticket can be changed. The only catch, you have to actually call and deal directly with the airline. Or, instead of spending hours on hold listening to “all agents are currently busy”, you can let your travel agent happily fix the ticket. Your call.
Why It is Beneficial To Use A Travel Agent
As a consumer, you can definitely agree that planning and booking a vacation yourself can prove to be stressful and at times mentally exhausting. You can spend hours online searching for destinations, hotels, and tours for sightseeing. Not to mention searching through the countless booking engines to compare the prices of one to another. After a while, this process begins to induce a migraine. That is why many are turning to the use of a Travel Consultant or Agent.
Unfortunately, the line we hear all to often is,” I didn’t know Travel Agents still exist” or “I thought the internet put you guys out of business”. Yes, many individuals are using the DIY approach with the use of online booking engines. But there are things that the do it yourself method does not offer. Here are four reasons why you should use our services and why we are beneficial to you.
We save you time and money.
A common misconception is the using a travel agent is more costly. But many do not realize you actually get more for your money when using our services. We have had so many clients who swore they found the best deal possible only for us to show them a cheaper option. We have countless arrangements with different vendors and tour providers to give you the best bang for your buck.
And let’s face it, you can waste countless hours searching for information on a vacation idea, and those are hours of your life you will never get back. Now in days, we have so many things that demand our attention and have more priority than looking up vacation spots.That’s why we do it for you. You just tell us where and when and we fill in the blanks for you. We want you to have a fun time planning your vacation.
We are human
We don’t know about you but we hate, hate, hate having to deal with automated systems and spend 10 minutes of a phone call pressing 1 for english, waiting on hold while listening to elevator music, then finally being able to speak to a representative. And 9 times out of 10, they don’t honestly care about what you want or need. They just want you out of their call queue. However we do care. We care that you want to make your 25th Anniversary with your spouse special. We care that the only time you can travel is the summer because you have 3 kids but you need an inexpensive option. We care about our clients..period.
We have the knowledge and experience
When you want to go to Florence, you have to first search for what hotels are in a nice central location, you have to search for what are the best things to sight see. However, it is our job to know that information and to give it to you. Anyone of our agents can name 3 of the best hotels for a destination off the top of our heads adn tell you what are the best things to see and what is worth your time.
We are here in case of an emergency
We can honestly tell you from experience 1 in every 7 clients has a travel emergency while on vacation. This can range form their flights being delayed for 7 hours to having a family emergency while they are over seas and needing to fly home early. It can be a huge hassle to have to deal with a representative who is making life more difficult than it has to be especially when you are already stressed. It is our job to take care of any inconvenience you experience while on your vacation. We figure out how to get your luggage delivered to your hotel as promptly as possible when the airlines lost it. We deal with the hotel when you booked a Deluxe room and you received a standard room when you checked in. We are here to make your travel experience easier.
Phone: (321) 821-0830
Email: info@myamoretravel.com
