Planning a trip can be one of the most exciting parts of travel, but it can also feel overwhelming with so many options, details, and decisions to make. That’s where a professional travel advisor comes in. There are countless reasons to use a travel agent, from saving time and reducing stress to gaining access to insider perks and expertise. Let’s explore why letting a travel expert handle the logistics not only simplifies the process but also elevates your travel experience, ensuring your vacation is seamless, memorable, and perfectly tailored to your needs.
You already hire experts to get better results
We are all quick to call an expert when we are in a jam or out of our skillset: mechanic, accountant, attorney, dentist, or plumber. Some tasks are better left to the pros, from cutting our hair to preparing our taxes. Travel is one of the biggest three purchases you’ll make in your life after a home and car (or college tuition if that’s in the cards for you). You use experts to save yourself time and stress, but most importantly, to get a better outcome and personalized service. In this case, a better vacation.
Travel is complex
Of course, booking a cruise online is easy… or is it? You need a stateroom from category 1D, 2D, 5D, or 7D. Wait… maybe a 1E or a 2F. There are dozens of stateroom categories, and every cruise line has different categories. That’s why 75% of cruisers hand the job over to a professional travel advisor, considering these to be great reasons to use a travel agent. They still get amazing value and benefit from our in-depth cruise knowledge, ship-savvy tricks, and tools. And, of course, we are able to offer great perks, amenities, and, at times, upgrade opportunities.
There are too many options on the internet
- Rome, Italy has over 400 four-star hotels!
- There are over 2200 ports of call around the world to cruise.
- Almost 600 of which are by river only and the other 1600 by ocean cruising.
That is a LOT of options. There is literally a ship or land itinerary for every style of traveler, BUT not every ship or itinerary is for everyone. We are experts at matching travelers to the perfect ship or itinerary, and providing lots of expert advice along the way.
There are a lot of moving parts
The average 7-day vacation to Europe or the Caribbean has up to 15 separate bookings in it.
- Accommodation (maybe 1-3 properties)
- Flights (perhaps a few booked separately with different airlines (for better value and logistics)
- Airport transfers to and from your home, accommodation, and the airport (between 2 and 6 of these)
- Travel insurance to match exactly what you booked
- Day trips, sightseeing or excursions with the same or different tour companies
- Museum, gallery, or social attraction tickets to avoid waiting in line
- Car rental or a private driver
Each of these separate bookings (usually through different companies) comes with its own rules and fine print. They can be incredibly complex to stitch together into one itinerary. Just take a flight layover, for example. Did you know that different airports around the world have “minimum connection times”- a minimum amount of time required to connect two flights together? One of the reasons to use a travel agent is because we know these rules!
Why would you put yourself through the stress of researching and planning all of these bookings when you can rely on a professional travel advisor (like me) to do it for you for one low planning fee?
We are connected to the right people
One of my favorite things about working in the travel industry is the relationships and friendships that we form.
It’s not uncommon for travel advisors to attend several conferences and training events each year and meet with the CEOs and Presidents of the biggest travel companies in the world. We have email addresses, phone numbers, and, most importantly, open lines of communication with decision-makers and problem solvers at many cruise lines, resorts, hotel chains, and airlines.
We won’t hesitate to call them if we need them. Whether it be planning your vacation – or troubleshooting while you are away, know that we’ll make the call for you.
What you see online is not always what you get
Have you ever arrived at a hotel and found that your room was nothing like what you thought you had booked? It happens more often than you know. And it’s so disappointing.
When you check into a hotel, you have expectations about the room design, space, cleanliness, and, of course, the room amenities. You also probably have specific ideas about what breakfast, parking, the gym, room service, or lobby cafe will be like.
We are experts at navigating the complexities of booking hotel rooms and knowing what to look for in the clever marketing speak that hotels throw out there, like “partial sea view”. Nobody loves a partial sea view standing on the toilet and covering your left eye to catch a “glimpse”.
We also often have special access to upgrades, perks, and amenities for you.
We know how to get you away from the crowds
That feeling of wanting to go on vacation, of needing a vacation. You know it, right? When you’re so fed up with the monotony of day-to-day life that you just need a break.
The first decision you need to make is when to go, and the second is where to go.
Let me ask you a question though… have you considered letting a professional travel advisor give you a shortlist of destination ideas? Perhaps somewhere that you’ve heard of but never been to or maybe a totally new destination full of new experiences.
As a travel expert, we hear about new destinations and experiences before they became popular and overcrowded – that new overwater bungalow hotel in the Caribbean? The new all-suite hotel with Eiffel Tower views and private balconies? Or maybe that new state-of-the-art river cruise ship in Egypt sailing on the Nile River. If you need more reasons to use a travel agent, these are great ones!
Do you ever feel like you need a vacation to recover from planning your vacation?
Are you the person who always ends up organizing everyone, researching everything, collecting everyone’s payments, and making sure everything is booked? Booking travel can be stressful and time-consuming.
More than likely, you end up with dozens of browser tabs open, looking at options you’ve already looked at a thousand times over.
You don’t need to do that anymore. I’m sure there are other things you’d rather do with your time, and saving time and reducing stress are perfect reasons to use a travel agent.
Emergencies happen
Sometimes, life will throw you a curveball when you’re on vacation – it could be a family emergency back home, a border closing, Covid-19 protocols changing, civil unrest, an airline strike, or Mother Nature getting sassy. These are all great reasons to use a travel agent.
In fact, all of these things have happened in the past few years. When something happens on vacation, you want to know that someone has your back.
When a professional travel advisor (like me) manages your travel, I can support and advocate for you no matter where in the world you are. I can jump on the phone with airlines, tour operators, and tourism boards, as well as change your plans or make new ones.
I can get you home or move you somewhere else. And I’m always one click away from my messenger, email, or phone.
You don’t get that when you book travel on your own or through an online travel website. You are left on your own to troubleshoot everything – often in a foreign country, language and currency.
Don’t let that happen to you.
You’ll end up down a rabbit hole
Have you ever tried to find a quick answer to a really simple question? And it turned out that hours later, despite having 45 tabs open on your computer, you had no clarity and no answer?
Most people who plan their own travel experience this all the time. Now that anyone can post anything to the Internet, it’s hard to distinguish fact from opinion, especially when it comes to travel tips and travel planning recommendations.
Just because you read something on a travel chat forum or social media thread doesn’t make it accurate. If it even was accurate, it may have changed since it was written. One of the many benefits of using a professional travel advisor like me is that we often have direct contact with travel industry partners like cruise lines, hotels, resorts, and tour operators. When there is big news, they often let us know first.
Stick to your comfortable spending limit
Recently, a friend of mine told me that she thought you had to be rich or spend tens of thousands of dollars on a vacation in order to use a professional travel advisor.
Myth: A professional independent travel agent will always try to upsell you and make you spend more than you have or want to so that they earn a commission.
Truth: FALSE. It’s a big fat lie.
Here’s how it works…
A good travel agent like myself often charge a flat planning fee (just like if you went to see an attorney or tax specialist. For that one fee, we do all of the planning, research, verifications, and bookings. We then put together all of the individual elements into one set of easy-to-follow travel documents.
We ALWAYS work within your budget. If your budget isn’t realistic for the destination, we will suggest an alternative. We will present flight and accommodation/cruise options that fit that budget. We may suggest adjusting the length of your vacation, the style of accommodation, or perhaps a different flight to help your budget.
But know this… our goal is ALWAYS to book the best vacation for the best price.
Nobody is going to thank you for putting in all those hours of work
If I asked you to find 25 hours of time that you can dedicate (next week) to plan your next vacation, I think you’d look at me like I’m nuts.
Who has 25 hours of planning time to look at, compare, and book flights, cruises, hotels, transfers, resorts, tours, and travel insurance?
NOBODY!
Well, actually, we do. Because planning vacations is my profession, it takes me much less time to find what you need, to know what will work and what won’t. I don’t have to plan your vacation around anything else because it’s quite literally my job.
Consider it as attractive as handing over those other time-consuming tasks that no one will thank you for – doing laundry, cleaning the house, or mowing the lawn.
When you are ready to start planning your next vacation, just go here and fill out the form to get started. It will be my pleasure to make your dream vacation a reality.