Why You Should Get a Travel Agent

Why Get a Travel Agent?

1. Save Time

Yes, there's a lot of information on the internet...actually, too much. You can actually get almost 80% of all the data available to travel agents just by spending some hours on the internet. I'm talking lots of time, but who has time for that?! And you might still miss the latest deals offered by a new hotel not listed on Expedia. Or worse, you didn't know that the Michelin starred restaurant in Tokyo had a 3-month waiting list, and you're leaving in 3 days.

You saved money by using Expedia but you didn't know that you could've avoided that 10 hour layover by spending an extra $20.

And if you're doing a multi-city trip, with multiple hotels, rail tickets, airlines, and sites to visit, a travel agent can organize and set things up for you in less than half the time.

You save time planning your trip. You save time in less layovers and dead time. You save time in less worrying about if you forgot something.

2. Save Money

With so many websites like Expedia, a travel agent might only save you like $5 on your flight to New York. And your Groupon deal to Disneyland may actually be $1 cheaper than going through a travel agent.

But if you're spending several days away from home, and you need to eat and play like most people, spending over a thousand dollars on food, car rental, train ticket, airport pickup, boat ride, etc...yes, you could scour the internet for a few dollar discounts here and there and realize the travel agent STILL saves you more money because of package discounts!

If it's just a 1-hour flight, yeah, just do it yourself. But if you're spending the night, find out what a travel agent says. It doesn't hurt, and it doesn't cost.

3. More Knowledge

So you think you know Paris because you've been there 3 years ago, and now you want to show your wife. There's actually a better way to impress her...

Things change every month, and there's a new hotel with a Junior Suite with a great view of the Eiffel Tower. Or there's a hidden restaurant that tourists don't know about, and oh it's Instagram-perfect! And they're both affordable. Yes, some information is out there on websites, but there's so much info out there...where do you start? Our travel agents have already done the homework. We know how to reach Machu Picchu while avoiding the crowds. We know where to change money in Siem Reap, and it's NOT the airport.

We didn't just read all the websites out there. We've actually traveled to these places, so we speak from experience which SIM card to use for your phone for the best internet speeds in Brazil. So we'll tell you, "Don't book that flight with a 30 minute layover in Chicago (ORD) because that airport is horrendous in catching your next flight! yeah, screw Expedia and their $5 savings." We'll save you your next headache.

4. Less Headache

A day before your trip, you find out you need a visa for Cambodia, or you need the Hep A vaccination. A good travel agent would've told you that when you booked your flights.

The Peruvian website to buy train tickets sucks or is too slow, plus you don't really trust Google Translate. You saved $100 on Expedia, just to find out baggage fees for Spirit airlines are $110 for 1 bag and a carryon. Your cheap hotel from hotels.com is close to the sites but is in a dangerous neighborhood. no wonder. Someone breaks into your Airbnb and steals your passport. No one will accept responsibility. You can avoid all that with a travel agent.

5. For Emergencies

Our clients call us when they miss a flight. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does happen, we focus all our attention on finding all the possible options so you could make it to that wedding, or Anime Convention without losing too much time. We check all the other flights and airlines, even Uber or trains, to other airports. Yeah, you won't save much money on this situation, but some situations are that important. Are you going to trust an American Airlines employee with limited data or a travel agent with a computer (who most likely won't even get a commission out of this)?

We've even helped clients who lost passports, someone who needed an emergency visa. trip cancellations? covered. You try to get your money back from Expedia. not gonna happen.

6. For The Details

You don't know what you don't know. When you're traveling, you want a travel agent who knows which cellphone carrier has the best SIM card for data in Brazil, which airlines charge for bags, what immunizations you need for Southeast Asia, and what tickets you need to reach Machu Picchu.

You don't want to realize too late that you forgot something important, or that you got confused by the international date change line. Your travel agent will check all the details of your trip to make sure you're not missing something important. And if you forgot your socks, he'll even tell you which market has cheap socks.

Your travel agent will tell you where you need your hotels, what areas to avoid, what airlines suck, and what layovers to avoid. He'll tell you if you could save 2 hours by flying into a different airport, what to pack for Cancun, and what hotels have swim-up bars all-inclusive. You really can't get that from a webpage.

7. For Peace of Mind

Next time you have to travel to Europe for work or family, all it takes is a phone call or email, and you could let your travel agent worry about the details. You just want to get there. You don't want to worry about whether the hotel has a crib, or allows dogs, or where to find info on visas. Your travel agent will find out all that info for you.

Just sit back and relax; let your travel agent do the work. And it sounds cool when you tell your friends, "I'll let my travel agent take care of that!"