The advantages of using a local travel agent
story by Laura Byrne Paquet, photography by Jessica Crandlemire
Have you ever been stuck at a gate in a foreign airport with 180 angry passengers all trying to rebook their cancelled flight with one harried gate agent or, worse yet, only an airline call centre to help you? If so, you’ve probably wished you could call a sympathetic expert to extricate you quickly from the whole sorry mess.
If you had booked your flight through a travel agent, you could have saved yourself a lot of stress and aggravation.
“Travel agents are there for their clients before, during and after the trip, and when the unexpected happens,” says Mary Ann Winterton, consultant/owner of Travelworld of Collingwood. “If your flight is cancelled or you face some other problem, a consultant can probably find a better solution, more quickly, than you could on your own.”
That’s just one of the many types of frustrating travel hurdles a good agent can help you overcome, often at no extra cost to you. Here are a few of the other reasons you may want to consider using a travel agent for your next holiday.
Save Time
Let’s say you’re pretty open about your next vacation destination. You just want to go somewhere that’s warm in the winter, with a good beach, a decent kids’ program and a couple of nice restaurants. So you pour yourself a cup of coffee and start surfing the web.
A few hours later, you have 20 different possibilities in mind, from Florida to Costa Rica, but you’re not sure about the details. Does your reservation guarantee you an ocean-view room? Does the kids’ program run all week or only on weekends? Is it easy to travel from the resort to the nearby town?
So you dive back onto the Internet again, this time to sift through countless contradictory online reviews. Hours later, you’ve gone through a pot of coffee and you’re more confused than ever.
This is exactly the sort of problem travel agents can help you solve. “Agents can save you days and days of searching through the web,” says Doug Fry, co-owner/manager of Expedia CruiseShipCenters in Collingwood.
Agents will discuss your likes, dislikes and budget in detail, developing a good sense of your travel dreams before suggesting destinations, hotels and activities. “A travel agent’s first job is to find out what the client wants,” says Brenda Chapman, owner/manager of Marlin Travel Collingwood – whether that client walks into the agency with a sheaf of Internet research or just a vague wish to get away somewhere.
It can be a bit like detective work. Chapman says she often meets with couples or groups of travellers who don’t realize they have different hopes for their vacation until she asks them.
“We’re actually counselling people,” she explains. “We’re probing. We’re asking the right questions.”
Benefit From Insider Knowledge
The Internet is a great research resource, but it isn’t the whole story when it comes to travel. Agents also draw on their training, their travels and first-hand feedback from clients.
Fry gives one example: this summer, some of his clients were nervous about visiting Athens, given the news stories about Greece’s financial crisis. However, Fry touches base with all of his clients after they return from their trips, to get feedback on their holiday, and clients who had recently been to Athens told him there was nothing to fear. In fact, they said, if you were willing to pay for meals and souvenirs in cash, there were great deals. He also kept in close touch with cruise lines and learned that most of them had no plans to cancel their stops in Athens.
In short, he explains, travel agents can give clients access to valuable first-hand information. “What you sometimes see in the paper is not what’s on the ground,” says Fry.
Protect Your Investment
“Travelling is a passion for a lot of people, but it is also a huge investment that you need to protect,” says Karen McKee, a travel consultant with Carlson Wagonlit G. Stewart Travel’s Collingwood office. “We recommend the experience and knowledge of a licensed agent to keep your travel investment safe.”
Ontario is one of only three Canadian provinces that licenses travel agents and regulates agencies. Agencies must register with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), which ensures they comply with the Ontario Travel Industry Act and consumer protection laws. Also, if you buy a trip from a TICO-registered agency and it falls apart because a travel company – either the agency or one of its suppliers – closes or goes bankrupt, TICO refunds your costs up to a total of $5,000 per person. (Conversely, if you don’t use an Ontario agency and book directly with a supplier that isn’t based in Ontario, such as a U.S. airline, TICO protection doesn’t apply.)
Agents also take extensive training related to travel insurance. Chapman notes that many clients reflexively say no to insurance, figuring it’s an extra frill or assuming they are covered by their credit card or home insurance policy. However, when she explains that travel insurance may, for instance, protect you from huge medical bills if you have a heart attack abroad, many clients realize it may be a wise investment.
Look Out for Your Health
Did you know that some countries require you to provide proof that you’ve been vaccinated against certain diseases, such as yellow fever, before you are allowed to enter the country? Even if you don’t need specific paperwork, inoculations may still be a good idea for various regions. A travel agent can also give you advice about avoiding problems such as altitude sickness or motion sickness.
Be Ready for Paperwork
Chapman tells a story of clients who had already booked their airfares to Russia online and came to her for some help in finding hotels. They were surprised when she asked if they would also like her to help them get their visas, as the Internet travel agency hadn’t notified them that they needed them. In fact, Canadian citizens visiting Russia need to apply for their visas at least five business days before their trip, and submit various documents and an acceptable photo.
That’s just one type of travel rule that may surprise you on your trip. Some destinations require you to have a return ticket or to hold a passport that is valid for months after your trip is scheduled to end. When you arrive in some countries, such as Chile and Mexico, you’ll receive a tourist card at the airport that you have to keep for the duration of your trip. In other countries, you may need to pay an arrival or departure tax, often in cash, before you can proceed through the airport. Well-trained travel agents can alert you to these requirements so they don’t derail your vacation.
Plan a Complex Vacation
It’s one thing to buy a simple airline ticket or to book a few nights at a hotel. But what if you’re planning a destination wedding for 100 guests or a round-the-world trip? That’s when things get tricky – and when travel agents roll up their sleeves with glee.
“Those are the ones I like,” says Shawn McLean, a consultant with Travelworld of Collingwood. She recently helped a client plan a two-month trip that included stops in Vancouver, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, as well as a Polynesian cruise. In all, she worked with three airlines and a wide range of other travel suppliers.
The more complicated the itinerary, the higher the chance that one unexpected glitch can send everything off the rails. It can be handy to have a travel agent keeping an eye on things.
McKee recalls a trip she planned for clients who visited multiple countries over 71 days. “The itinerary was detailed and complex, and involved a number of different suppliers and airlines,” she says. “A flight schedule change that could have interrupted their entire trip was quickly fixed and these passengers were off to continue their unforgettable journey without knowing what could have been.”
Get the Rooms You Want
CruiseShipCenters’ Fry says there are 24 major cruise lines, operating more than 80 ships in total and offering more than 3,000 itineraries. On top of that, each ship’s cabins may be split into some 50 categories, based on size, deck, view, amenities and so on.
Not only is that sort of variety almost overwhelming, you might not even realize it exists unless you are a travel agent. If you book a holiday through a cruise line’s website, for instance, all the subcategories of cabins won’t be displayed, says Fry. You may not be able to tell whether a particular cabin is near the elevator or has an obstructed view. And if you want to book a group of cabins together – say, for a large family group – you’ll probably have to phone the cruise line’s call centre, which can be time consuming. A knowledgeable agent, however, can handle all this work for you.
Travellers face a similar situation with hotels. Agents often work closely with particular hotels or chains, so they have a better chance of recommending the right room. And, if the hotel makes a mistake and your “garden-view room” overlooks a parking lot, your agent can often get you moved with a quick phone call. After all, hotels are motivated to please agents who bring them a lot of business. As an individual guest, you may not have that kind of clout.
Enjoy Peace of Mind
Your vacation is usually one of the biggest investments you will make in a given year. Travel agents can help you spend that money wisely and safely.
When you book your holiday, agents will double check things like the name on your airline ticket (does it match the name on your passport?) and the date of your flight (will it get you to Miami in time to board your ship?). They will also monitor your reservations to let you know about changes like rescheduled flights.
Save Money
Most reputable travel suppliers, such as major airlines, cruise lines and hotel chains, won’t sell services to the public at a price lower than an agent will charge. After all, they rely on agents to promote and sell their products, so they’re not eager to
annoy them.
In fact, agents who do a lot of volume with particular companies may earn preferred supplier status, says Fry, meaning that they can sometimes offer products at prices lower than those available to the public.
Agents can also help you save money by suggesting alternatives. For instance, flying on a different day or at a different time may save you money on airfare. As another example, McLean notes that travellers heading to Las Vegas who aren’t interested in shows should consider visiting in December, when many shows close briefly and hotel prices drop accordingly.
Support Local Business
Using the services of a local travel agent is also good for the local economy. “If you buy a cruise directly with the cruise line, there is a commission there that goes directly into the cruise line’s pockets,” Fry points out. However, if you book through a local travel agency, that money keeps circulating in your community. And that benefits everyone.
Before you plan your next trip, consider dropping in to see one of our area’s professional travel agents. Questions are free, and you might just find that the level of service a travel agent can provide will help make your dream vacation truly a dream instead of a nightmare. ❧
