Comments on: Are travel agents worth the extra money?

By: DaniaG

DaniaG — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:55:36 +0000

I sympathize for those who’ve had bad experiences but luckily we’ve had no bad reviews ( http://www.foresttravel.com ). If there are any south floridians interested in travel agents, we can definitely go the extra mile. We also work together with Prive Jets (http://www.privejets.com) … We’ve worked for ambassadors and prime ministers and they’ve loved the service we’ve provided. Unfortunately there are those who do their job badly, but we do our best so that you have your best experience :)

By: Mathew L Poolman

Mathew L Poolman — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:01:16 +0000

Sadly, there are terrible agents out there. I’ve personally had only helpful agents deal with my flights abroad, finding a ticket thats priced well, on a decent date.
And yes, I could find the same thing online, but I’ve been helped out by my agents before when I’ve been in trouble.

Unfortunately I’ve met some awful agents too, mostly in the states when trying to get my girlfriend a ticket back to S. Africa.

Maybe Barstow draws these bad Agents by “expecting” bad results?

By: Renee

Renee — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:08:36 +0000

Can somebody help or give me some ideas on what to do. Here is what happened. I went through this traveling agent to book a flight to Africa. she got me a low fare ticket at the last minute which i took. however there was a miscommunication about my departure date. The flight i was supposed to take was a day a earlier. I went to the airport the next day and i was told that my flight was ‘yesterday’. I was in shock. the ticketing agent told me she could book me on another flight but it was going to cost me more. so i called my agent and she flat out told me “there is nothing i can do for you”. she refused to listen to me and would not even allow me to finish a sentence. she said she cannot get me on another flight and even at one point told me i was beginning to piss her off. Somebody please tell me what to do. I can’t just loose that money like that.

By: Sean

Sean — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:16:28 +0000

There are travel agents that will go the extra-mile for you, you just have to get the right travel agency. For example I know of an agency (my name is linked to them) that provides some great services. They actual do cater to your needs rather than just “book and hook”. I’m sure if you look hard enough you can find some real quality travel agents that do provide real agency services. You just have to make sure you get the right company I guess?..

By: Tony Azpeitia

Tony Azpeitia — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:03:12 +0000

If you want a professional travel agent, call me. Why? I have completed the following: a college degree (AS) in World Travel Management, Certified Travel Associate, Associate Cruice Counselor, Master Cruise Counselor and Destination Specialist (over 100 Specialist Certifications from all over the world). Also I don’t change fees. I don’t just book clients, as a travel consulant, I do vacation planning in partnership with my clients. Thje best part is only the saving my clients have enjoyed, but the value they receive. This is what you don’t get from the internet. That why my business grows every year. Happy Travel!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:25:01 +0000

I don’t understand why anyone needs a travel agent in the information age. It seems like a lot of people who use travel agents are boring old people. “please plan my trip entirely before I go.” You guys are boring and this website sucks. Grab a Lonely Planet book and a laptop and go where you want to go. I don’t mean on tours either!!! Travel Agents will be an extinct profession in the future once gen Y becomes the old people.

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:40:44 +0000

I’m not sure where you are located, but you if you are anywhere in the Wisconsin area I would HIGHLY recommend Fox World Travel agents. I have booked both river cruises and vacation packages to Mexico and Europe through their Oshkosh office and have had nothing but excellent service. The agent I was working with had actually been on five different cruises and was able to recommend a carrier, destination and excursions that fit my interests. It was well worth it. What’s better, I was able to first research vacations I thought I was interested in on their web site http://www.GoFox.com/promos/wisconsintravelagent.php, and then brought those interests to my agent. It worked out great! I’ll even go back to the site to just book my any hotels online too.

I think they have locations all throughout Wisconsin, so go for it! I’m all about using travel agents!

By: Siddhartha Chandiramani

Siddhartha Chandiramani — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:54:35 +0000

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By: Nicole

Nicole — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:27:16 +0000

You have to ask around, don’t just pick anyone to plan your travel. There are many agencies that know there is plenty of competition with the internet so they have to go the extra mile. An example of our extra service: a client was going to meet her husband (a soldier) in South Africa, he was killed in the line of duty 2 weeks before she was to go. There was no insurance taken for the trip, our agents made many phone calls and worked very hard to get as much of her money back as they could and succeded. I would call that the extra mile. How many internet companies would do that?

By: shannon

shannon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:52:35 +0000

I am a travel agent in a small city and our clients know we go the extra mile. Because our area is more rural, I believe we have not been as greatly affected by the internet as other agencies. That’s not to say we don’t see the effects of “the net” because we still get a few calls a day saying, “Can you beat this price?” and to be quite frank, I have no want or need to spend my time trying to “BEAT” an internet price…especially on an airline ticket.

We are providing a service just like any other business and with all due respect to the gentleman who in essence said we’re a washed up, worthless industry I can say without hesitation, “Put up or shut up!” I have the education and expertise to back up my travel planning and working for an airline does not qualify you as an expert. Most of the agents in our office have over 25 years of experience and have traveled to some of the most amazing places on earth. I have a bachelor’s degree in Geography and have traveled to over 20 countries. Contrary to popular belief, we do not travel “all the time” because we have to make a living. We go on familiarity trips and study tours when possible but the motto in our office is if you have not been to the area you are working on do the research and educate yourself.

I would like to stress the point made by Mr. Elliott…not all travel agents are professionals but those of us who are provide an invaluable service. We are not a fly by night operation who takes just anyone’s credit card over the phone.

It surprises me how many people think that their computer makes them a travel expert. Just because you go on Expedia, Travelocity or Yahoo that does not mean you know everything there is to know about the travel biz. Our business changes daily (just look at the airlines if you need a good example) and I can’t even begin to count the number of times something has gone wrong or been changed with an online booking engine and the person ends up calling us for help. If at all possible we try to help because 9 times out of 10 we get their business the next time.

Here’s the example I use when I’m tired of hearing about how it’s “free” to go on the net and book travel. When a client asks why they should use me I simply say, “You do not go into the doctor’s office and say, Dr. X said he can take out my appendix for $500.00 can you beat that price?” If you do you’re certainly not searching for the best “quality” physician but the bargain basement kind…good luck with that. We do try to save our clients money because it’s the right thing to do…bottom line.

We do provide most of our services for free because of the commission structure but not all of them. Our clientele range from lower income, hard working people who have saved for that one special vacation to more affluent retirees that travel many times a year. We treat each and every one the same because that is how we would want to be treated.

I have clients who have never flown, cruised or even left the state and I want their experience with me to be the same as the clients who spent $20,000 with me on a cruise last week. I love what I do and it shows. When my clients send me flowers and post cards from abroad it’s great. But the best part of my job is that I got to be a part of making their trip special.