What Does A Travel Agent Do?
In this day of age it’s easy for anyone of us to jump on the computer and find the best deals and book our own travel. Thanks to companies such as Hotwire, Priceline, and Orbitz, we really have little need to contact a travel agent to get ideas for our next vacation and purchase our airline tickets.
So why do travel agents still exist? Believe it or not there are still some old fashioned people out there that book all their travel through a travel agent. Are they really saving any money? Probably not- but they are saving the time and hassle of looking for the best deals and some travel agents do get better deals on certain packages. They have created relationships with their vendors to be able to do so.
Some travel agents specialize in certain areas. For example, my work uses a travel agency to book all of our business travel. With so many people traveling so much of the time, it just saves the agency so much money to contract out travel arranging. Other travel agents specialize in setting up complex group tours, such as cruise packages for a club or alumni group. Others just specialize and know so much about specific destinations that they are a great source of knowledge. It would be like going to your friend who has been on an African Safari and asking them for advice on places to stay and things to avoid.
Travel agents can be quite useful in other ways for example, arranging passports and visas, recommending vaccines and medicine for foreign travel, and help with currency conversion. Some people may opt for a travel agent if they are dealing with a stressful situation such as the loss of a loved one, and would rather not spend time booking the trip and instead focus their attention on planning the funeral. Most celebrities use travel agents to book their trips because they can take care of all the details including making sure transportation is there to pick them up curbside, getting extra security at their hotel, and shutting down an entire restaurant so they can eat a private meal.
Travel agents may seem like an old and outdated job, but there really is still a need for them in our society. Would you use one to book a quick weekend getaway to Vegas? Probably not- as there is quite a few resources out there for that location. Would you use one to book a complex backpacking trip through Southeast Asia? There’s a definite possibility.
Tags: Travel agent
February 27th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Having just finished booking a 2 week trip to Europe (Swizterland, Germany and the UK) I am torn between whether or not to use a travel agent…
We work through one here at work, and they are great for booking flights, but IMHO not so great for hotels… (of course, it could be just our particular agent who doesn’t seem to listen) I have had to cancel and re-book my own hotels numerous times; putting me in a hotel that does not offer internet or have a business center while I am on a business trip does me no good. I end up spending all day at a Starbucks mooching WiFi.
I agree though, if I were going to Africa, or somewhere for pleasure – I would consider using a travel agent, until my wife realized she could book the trip online for cheaper.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:43 am
good post. cuz, honestly, i did wonder what the point was with travelocity so accessible and moving more and more towards and all-in-one trip planner.
do travel agents use things like travelocity? or do they have some kind of uber super secret travel agent network that does essentially the same thing but us mundane, non-travel agent types don’t have access to (like real estate agents, for example)?
February 27th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Jeremy-a business trip without internet-is that even possible? Even if I was on a pleasure trip- I would want a business center.
Chris- pretty sure they have thier own network and software they use- Let me check on that
February 27th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Great post, Hilarye. I love my travel agent because she lives in the Matrix so I don’t have to. I’m in the travel business myself, so I see how options appear, disappear and morph into something unrecognizable–on a moment’s notice. This happens with air, hotel, tour, cruise–even rental car options. From a business travel outlook, the need for an agent is straightforward: travelers should dwell on their core competence at work, letting the travel planner work on theirs. For personal travel, each traveler needs to make that call. Some agents specialize in cruises, African safaris, Alaska adventures (my favorite), train travel, eco-tours in Costa Rica, etc. etc. Fewer agents specialize in drilling down to find the cheapest point-to-point air fare. I do my best from my perch in Anchorage, Alaska–but sometimes I feel like an Army of One, etc.
February 27th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Good for you Scott! I’m going to Alaska soon- so maybe I’ll contact you for some help!
February 27th, 2009 at 10:19 am
As a Travel Agent myself, I can say that the need for Travel Agents is still great. And it isn’t necessarily “old fashioned people” who use Travel Agents. Some very young and brilliant people do not have the time to go check over all of the thousands of online websites. And those are the people who Travel Agents market to. We don’t want to book the 3 day vacation to Vegas. There isn’t any money in that and a total waste of our time.
We are there for people who are looking to go on a trip, maybe a cruise but are not sure which one to go on. A young couple probably won’t be too happy on a Celebrity Cruise Line cruise but Royal Caribbean might just be what they are looking for. But who, besides maybe one of their friends, would tell them that? Or how about an upcoming special, that if they wait just a few days to book they will be able to save a few hundred dollars.
There is still a niche market that Travel Agents have. The easy stiff, airline tickets, 3 days in Vegas, rental cars, or even that Disneyland vacation go ahead and book those online. The other stuff that you have questions about, we are all very happy and eager to share our knowledge about the destination and the trip with the customer to make their dream vacation possible. There is a level of service you get with a Travel Agent that you do not get with an online booking service.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Andrea- I hope you didn’t find this post as a personal attack against travel agents. I agree with you and made that point that travel agents can be very valuable to people who don’t have time. I agree with you that travel agents are very knowledgeable in thier fields. I definitly think there is a distinct need for their services in some instances.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Hilarye – Oh no not at all! I think you wrote the article very well. I agree completely with you. There is a stigma out there that travel agents are only for “old fashioned people” but it is funny how many people I get calls from after about 3 days of looking all over the travel sites and they have just confused themselves. Most of the time people do know what they want. We are just here to help them get exactly what they want.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Andrea- well thanks for all you do!!!- it’s great to get some industry insiders insights on here
February 27th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Oh and one more thing, for online being cheaper. That isn’t necessarily always the case. Travel Agents can get exactly the same price, if not better sometimes, for a vacation that someone can get online. But that is just that personal travel agent that isn’t taking the time to look hard enough into our resources.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Andrea, when I get ready to take my wife on a cruise I am coming to your site. And Hillarye – yes, a business trip – for me – is impossible with out the internet.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Hilarye,
Thanks for the post. It was very insightful and helps me to understand when and when not to use a travel agent.
Thanks,
Hannah
February 27th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I believe travel agents are free as far as the traveler is concerned, is that right? Don’t agents make their money on commissions from the hotels/airlines/rental car places? This was the case for me when we used an agent to plan our honeymoon, but it wasn’t something I realized before that experience.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am
that’s what I have always understood as well
February 27th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
@Hilarye – Is that well-known? Or do people assume they are paying a travel agent out-of-pocket? That’s what I thought until I went in and sat down with one. IMO they should educate people about that, especially the up-and-coming generation of travelers (in their 20′s).
Thoughts?
February 27th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
great post, besides knowing tsg used a travel agent i was wondering why they existed too. um, so okay, i took like a week off from looking at your blog and suddenly you have ads and are a real web site! congrats! you are amazing hilarye. i am so proud of you! atta girl. i knew you said you would be trying some different things this year and you are awesome! great job
February 27th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Thanks Whit! I hope everything is well in your neck of the woods! Reid was saying yesterday he’d like to visit Boston soon!
February 27th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
come come come!! you two are always welcome! always!
February 27th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Hilarye, I wanted to answer/confirm some of those questions you had, if you don’t mind. (You can tell me to shut my mouth anytime you want.) Travel Agents should normally be free. If you come across an Agent who things they are worth more than other Agent and charges you to put together a vacation, then go find another Agent. I have heard of some agents charging an upfront “research” fee but that money will be used as part of the deposit later on.
With Airline tickets though … Agents need to charge service fee’s, and they can be steap. (Mine are $35′s per ticket minimum.) The Airlines have become crappy (or they are just trying to stay alive) and are now charging us to run airline tickets for them. It doesn’t make too much sense but that’s the game. In that case, we have to charge a fee or we loose money to even run an airline ticket for you. And we do not get any commission from any airlines anymore. That ended after 9-11.
Travel Agents do get a commission on pretty much everthing else. It ranges anywhere from 10% – 25%. It depends on how much business that agency does with that supplier.
With my experience, the younger generation (20 somethings) sometimes think that Travel Agents do cost them extra money. I don’t know how else to get rid of this myth beside just telling the customers I come across. If you have any suggestions, I am very welcome to hearing what they are.
Hope that helps!
February 28th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Thanks Andrea! All of us appreciate you answering our questions!
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:48 am
I think having a travel agent is still useful because a lot of times they can get you the same deals as on travelocity and still give you the headache free planning. The biggest problem I’ve had when booking travel plans myself is changing them once they have been set. With a travel agent, or at least my travel agent, they will take care of the hassle for you.
Plus, my travel agent has been on just about every single cruise out there and can make excellent suggestions where applicable. Let’s see Orbitz do that!
January 10th, 2010 at 3:07 am
I love your site. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Thank you!
March 24th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
[...] When to use a travel agent [...]
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August 21st, 2011 at 2:23 am
I have been in the travel industry for over 25 years. And though I also teach I sell travel to Tahiti, Mexico Hawaii, Caribbean and some Europe. Since the internet my business has tripled and expect it to grow more especially now that I sell quite a bit of Tahiti.
I get all age groups calling my agency and it’s about service. People don’t have time to book or know what to book. But I did stop giving out all my advice if I know the person can take off with it and book through someone else or the internet.
Lots of shoppers online that’s for sure. But many of them don’t know where to stay or other problems they don’t know about when they book on their own. But if those customers are only interested in asking questions than I become a free service and travel agents should share their expertise to those who will book through them. This is what will keep a travel agent in business.
Theresa
http://www.travelinwiththeresa.com
http://www.tahititravelsite.com
http://www.tahitiweddings.com