In today’s age of technology, it is often asked why should I book my trip with a travel advisor since there are so many options online I can book through? I don’t want to pay any fees for something I can do myself and it’s probably cheaper anyway.
Here are a few things to ponder…
- WHO is looking out for you when you book online?
- WHO has your back when you have travel issues, your flight is canceled, your room isn’t what you expected or you have an emergency and need someone in your destination to help?
- WHO is always looking out for ways to save you both time and money?
This is where an experienced advisor comes in.
Below are three real-life examples of situations where working with an advisor made a huge difference for the client.
Client #1 – booked with their advisor, traveled to the destination and decided to take advantage of an extra on property booking savings offered to them (they booked 2 rooms for a return family vacation). Came home and had their advisor added to their reservation so the agent could assist them with the details going forward. Immediately upon receiving booking info, the agent realizes the on property salesperson failed to book the family properly in the 2 rooms.
Hey, truth be told……..the on property salespeople are NOT your friend, they are there to make a sale and collect your deposit. THAT’S IT. They know they’ll likely never see you again so why take time to investigate what’s best for you and will save you the most money? It’s a numbers game for them.
After making a few tweaks to the existing bookings, travel advisor saves the client a whopping $775. SCORE!
But wait……it gets better!
About a month later, the travel advisor notices the same rooms go on sale, she makes a quick call to the supplier and saves her client another $1200.50!
Client #2 – on a family vacation (again, booked with their favorite travel advisor) in Jamaica. The travel advisor always keeps tabs on her client’s flights, and on this day when the clients were supposed to be flying home she noticed that their flight was canceled. Tried to call them but they were enroute to the airport and did not have their cell phone on. The advisor knew there were no other viable options for the family to get home the same day, so she booked them a hotel room for the night and touched base with her person “on the ground” to arrange transportation from the airport to the hotel. Once the client arrived at the airport he checked his voicemail and heard the advisor’s message, all was taken care of without them lifting a finger. They returned home the next day and filed a claim with their travel insurance for the additional expenses incurred by the delay.
Client #3 – client messages her travel advisor panicking because she left an important item at the resort and is about to get on the plane to fly home. She says “I don’t even know where to begin or who to call!”.
Travel advisor to the rescue, because you see……a good agent is all about having a “network”. The agent reached out to her fellow TA tribe and guess what? There happened to be another advisor staying at the exact same resort as her client had just been at. This colleague was able to go to the front desk and retrieve the client’s item and bring it back with them the following day when they departed. Item was back in the clients’ hands just a couple days later.
All 3 of these clients are ours, and you know the best part? They did not pay one single penny extra to book with our agency. We charge no booking fees, and will even price match your package within 24 hours of booking. What online booking engine does that? I can answer that easily…..NONE do.
If you’re considering a getaway, please do yourself a favor and reach out to us. We’d love to add you to our “client family”!
