There are so many considerations when planning a trip, and one of them is addressed in this guest post by my friend Sue. Hope you enjoy it!
Guest Post by Sue Rogers:
When you want to travel you may ask yourself if you should hire a travel agent or just go through a travel aggregate site like Orbitz.com to book your own trip.
There are advantages to booking your own trip – direct booking means that you don’t have to pay a travel agent. But there are a number of advantages to hiring a travel agent, as well. Let’s consider some pros and cons:
Advantages
- Eliminating worry. Traveling can be difficult – especially if you don’t have a lot of experience with it. Going through your travel agent allows you to simply give them a request and let them take care of things on their end. If you want to get used to what it feels like to travel, working through a travel agent is not a bad idea.
- Access and contacts. Because travel agents have more experience in the world of travel than – in all likelihood – you do, they also have the access, information, and contacts that you might be lacking. Booking a trip through a travel agent allows them to give you tips and strategies for getting the most out of your trip. They might remember a client who remembers their favorite part about a trip to Italy, for example, and be able to pass that kind of information on to you.
- Time-saving. Planning your own trip – especially if it’s a long affair – can really be difficult. There’s a lot to think about. Outsourcing that work to a travel agent allows you to focus on the big-picture stuff while your travel agent works out the details.
- Price monitoring. Monitoring prices for deals can be difficult if you’ve got other things on your mind, but that can be part of a travel agent’s job. Ask them to alert you when a cruise vacation is suddenly available for a certain price and you won’t have to worry about it yourself.
Disadvantages
- Cost. Obviously, any time you handle something yourself, you stand a good chance of saving money. A simple question to ask yourself: is the price of a travel agent worth it? For many people, it is.
- Learning. If you want to learn about traveling, going through a travel agent can often be a handicap rather than a blessing. Of course, if you don’t travel enough to learn about it by yourself, a travel agent can “fill in the blanks.”
Naturally, you’ll have your own opinions about hiring a travel agent. But suffice it to say if you’ve come this far, you can recognize the value a good travel agent brings to the table.
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