Before i ventured on this Journey on becoming a Travel Agent, I asked myself “Do Travel Agents still exist? if so what is the benefit of a Travel Agent? Is it has to be more money in the long run? “ So I did my research to see what it was all about. Here are my personal findings.
Do Travel Agents still exist? Yes, Travel Agents still exist, they are not like the Dodo bird, but more like the American Buffalo, They were endangered for a while, but now are on the rise. http://fortune.com/2016/07/27/travel-agents/ Here is just one article I found on the subject.( Crazy, right)
What is the benefit of a travel agent? Is it more money in the long run?A.Travel Agents can save you money. Now I put “can” instead of will, because there might be travel agents out there who don’t look for the best deal or try and save you money. But I know for me, everything that I have booked thus far was cheaper than if you would booked on your own. somethings cheaper by $50 other times cheaper by .50. But still cheaper. Before I became a travel agent, I was under the impression that they take a fee off of everything, so thats how they get their money. This may be something that some Travel agents do, but most will get a commission from the company you booked from. So say a hotel is $100 to book on a cheaper booking agent, Your travel agent may be able to get it for $90. Out of the $90 the hotel may give the agent a 10% commission, so they would get $9. So in the end you save $10,( who doesn’t like saving a few bucks) plus you are supporting a business. I know for me personally whenever I book, I check a cheap travel booking site, to make sure you couldn’t find it cheaper yourself. B. Travel Agents save you time- Travel agents save you time, sure you could look up a price yourself and book, but did you get the best deal? Is it cheaper somewhere else? Well you can find out and after you go down the rabbit hole of trying to find the cheapest price, you may have wasted 2 hours. We all know in this day and age, Time is money. Wouldn’t it be nice if you spent five minutes telling someone what your looking for and they come back at you with 3 options for your trip? C. Travel Agents are a source of knowledge. With so many new sites out there that let you book, but do you actually have what you need for the trip? Travel Agents tell you all about the things you need for Visas, tips for a trip, and other information you may not know. Most travel agents have a group of colleagues that they can ask advice or get more information about a trip they are planning. For example on of my colleagues asked the other day ” are the Florida Keys are up and running yet after the Hurricane?” They Instantly got answers from other agents who have personally been there or talked with those who live there. Once again you can do this yourself, but once again it takes time and time = money.
Travel agents are back, and if you are looking for a one, look no further, “ I’m here” send me an email gogallivanttravel@gmail.com.
