18/01/2020
Just FYI, as a REAL travel agent, I DO NOT send people to timeshare or vacation club presentations - EVER - and I AM NOT limited to pre-packaged trips - like, here’s a trip to Jamaica that I can sell you - it leaves on this date, comes back on this date, stay at this resort...because I AM NOT a member of a travel club!
The travel I book for my clients is FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE. I AM NOT limited. I can book with ANY vendor that works with ANY agency, and it’s rare to find one that doesn’t (and even then, we have options) - and I can book ANYTHING with a ticket:
Flight
Hotel
Resort
Rental car
Vacation rental (like VRBO)
Cabin in the mountains
Cruise
Excursion
Tour
Concert ticket
Sport ticket
Helicopter flight
SCUBA trip
CITY tour
TRAIN ride through Canada
You name it!
AND - you’re not limited to only certain “brands” or vendors - go wherever you want, stay wherever you want.
This is the “new-school” travel agent - the best of both worlds - travel agent-meets-technology!
It’s just like the old-school travel agents, but without the overheard that caused THEM to have to charge fees ABOVE the commission that’s ALREADY built into the rates.
My overhead is $2/day, because I work from home - or wherever I happen to be in the world - so I just get paid the commission the vendors have budgeted of what THEY ALREADY charge YOU - no matter how you book!
I get paid by the VENDOR - not by YOU. My services to you are completely free - AND we don’t mark up ANY rates! The rate I quote you comes straight from the supplier/vendor. I also don’t try to only put you somewhere that pays me - they ALL pay me - so my goal is to get YOU what YOU want.
I am LICENSED and BONDED. I network with tens of thousands of other agents. I have multiple CERTIFICATIONS and take CE classes each year, as well as continued training throughout the year - my choice to do so. And I attend conventions, vendor events, workshops - at my expense - to help serve my clients better - again, my choice, because I want to be the best.
I travel! I know a lot about some places, and the ones I don’t, that’s where that network of other agents comes in.
A travel agent will get you the BEST DEAL, within your budget (the BEST deal is not always the CHEAPEST deal). We save you time - you can certainly research the trip if you want to, but you don’t have to spend days online going down rabbit trails, trying to find the best deal - studies show people are OVER that.
I get my clients perks and upgrades almost every time I book a trip for them - the online agencies won’t (and those are travel agencies online, by the way - those sites you currently book through).
I will BE THERE for my clients if there’s a problem. The online agencies won’t be.
And did you know the online agencies you now book through OVERBOOK? Just like the airlines! They know some will cancel. That’s why I booked a trip with Travelocity before becoming an agent to Cancun, Easter weekend, got to the hotel and found out they were full. My husband and I were both standing in the lobby of the hotel we were SUPPOSED to be staying in, on our phones - he was holding for Travelocity while I tried to find another room - in Cancun, on Easter weekend (also March, so Spring Break month), at the last minute - and Travelocity never answered.
That doesn’t happen if you use an agent - if we book a room for you, we confirm it, and YOU HAVE A ROOM.
Agents also offer ADVICE - not just a cut-rate price. If we haven’t been where you want to go yet (and suppliers make it VERY easy for us to come visit their properties so we can learn all about them) - we have agent friends who have. I had no clue when I planned our first trip to Belize (online) what I now can share with clients to make THEIR trip even better.
Sure! You can keep doing it yourself, thinking you’re SAVING money - or you can support a local small-business owner and let them book it for you - even if you have already found what you want. You’ll get much better care/service from an agent than if you book online - AND it won’t cost you more - just makes sense to me!
Hashtag in the comments below, or PM me, and we can talk about your specific needs.