why use a travel agent

DH and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer. Neither of us have ever been to Europe. We decided against an organized tour and want to organize our own trip. Having said that I really feel we should go through a travel agent, while he thinks we can just book everything online. He thinks a travel agent will just rip us off and try to book everything for us.

What advice can you give me on this subject. Am I crazy? Why use a travel agent when so much information is available online?

Re: why use a travel agent

We used a travel agent to book our 2 week Europe trip this summer. He did our Eurorail pass, metro cards, hotels in each city, transfers to and from the airport and got us some great deals on hotels. It was so easy to do. We've also made a few slight changes and additions to our trip which he was able to do right away. We also leave copies of our passport and itinerary with him. In case of a problem the travel agent will be able to help us out.

I book domestic trips myself but I like having the expertise of a travel agent for big trips. HTH!

Re: why use a travel agent

We just got back from 12 days in Italy. I planned it as a surprise for my husband's 30th birthday, and with the help of a couple of good travel books (I highly recommend Rick Steves and Frommers) and the help of girls on here and LIW, it all turned out awesome. I did it all on my own and was terrified at first, but feel I learned so much from reading the books and truly understood each city by the time I got to them. For hotels, definitely check out tripadvisor.com - I only stayed at very highly rated hotels (based on customer reviews) and they were all great.

Any questions, let me know!

Re: why use a travel agent

we usually plan all our own trips, but used an agent for our HM. Thank goodness we did. Right before we left, our second leg hotel BUMPED US! Yes - we had no room. The travel agent worked for days getting us another room in a comparable hotel - and it worked great - we didn't have to do a thing.

and you don't have to pay for them - the hotels give them a commission from the rate.

Re: why use a travel agent

i used to have the same mentality as you until i got to my current job...a consortia of travel agents and travel suppliers.

the benefit to a TA is (1) their expertise and (2) the assurance that they're available to help you if something goes wrong. If you book a hotel on hotels.com let's say and you get there and there is a problem with your reservation, what do you do? You're not going to be able to get someone at hotels.com to help you. but if you work with a TA, they're in your corner to help you when you need it.

TAs can also give you insider tips and such that you likely won't be able to find online. For the company that I work for, our TAs (I am not one) have special connections and can get you access to things that would otherwise be impossible to do. And, when you work with a TA from my company, you get special perks and amenities at your hotel that other TAs cannot get their clients.

Can you tell I handle my company's PR???

check out www.virtuoso.com.

Re: why use a travel agent

we used to book all our own trips and still do if they are small, but i found a TA helped us with info, got us better prices, and everytime, I do the leg work and get the best price (without telling them) they always beat it by a lot! so were hooked on TA now

I thought how could they make $$ if i'm not paying more, but somehow it works out.. now for HM there was a hotel we really wanted that they could not book for us, and when we went home and checked it out online it still had a few rooms left (none of which we wanted anyway we wanted a different area of the hotel) so they've made me a believer, and they do all the work!

Re: why use a travel agent

I usuall never use a TA. But, for our Honeymoon, I did. Best decision ever. When I had a problem with our room, i sent her an e-mail, within minutes we were upgraded. Because our TA sent so much business to this resort, and had a personal friendship with the General Manager, we were treated extra special. Alot of upgrades and freebies.

Re: why use a travel agent

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TAs make their money via commissions paid to them by the hotels. they can neg. better rates, sometimes through tour operators (ie - Go Go) and then can give you a better rate. The hotel pays them for getting your business (usually it's about 10%)

However, airlines in general don't pay a comission so in order to make $$$, some TAs will charge you a fee for booking air. Just FYI.

Message edited 1/22/2008 9:41:05 AM.