Before the Internet, there was only one way that people could plan a big vacation. They went to a brick-and-mortar travel agency, told the agent what they wanted, and planned out their trip.
After the Internet became widely available, many people switched over to planning and booking their own trips, believing it to be a more efficient and cheaper way to plan a vacation. That led to many travel agents having to close their doors.
What many seasoned travelers are finding now is that access to
more information doesn’t necessarily translate
to savings of time or money.
In fact, a study commissioned by Teletext Holidays in England found that travelers spent an average of 18 days planning their own vacations, including 13 hours researching accommodations and another 11 hours sorting out transportation. That’s 24 hours!! And over a week longer than they were actually on holiday! That’s a lot of time and stress and problem-solve in an effort to relax for 10 days.
What is your time worth to you?
In addition, after all the planning, you arrive at your destination, and you realize all the things you missed out on because you didn’t know or weren’t familiar with the location. Travel Agents not only save you planning time and stress, they’re also your best help because they’ve been where you’re going. They know places, perks, hotels, resorts, restaurants and attractions. They know the best times to go and where to get deals. They have the inside track. They also have access to free upgrades, unique deals, package savings, and location-specific expertise that more than compensate for the planning fee.
Let me tell you a quick story to show you exactly what I mean.
My significant other and I were going on a trip with my best friend and her husband. We hired an agent to plan and book the trip for us. We were all really busy and didn’t want the hassle of trying to coordinate four peoples’ schedules to try and plan a trip.
Our agent did an exploration session with us — we talked about budget, places we wanted to visit, expectations, type of trip, etc. She put together some different packages that fit our descriptions, and we chose one. That was it. All in, we spent less than two hours of our time, and all we had to do was pack our bags and get to the airport.
We got to the destination and were having a fantastic time — everything was perfect. On our third day in, we ran into some friends of ours that we didn’t know were going to be there. We were hanging out, and out of curiosity, I asked them how they’d planned their trip and how much time they’d spent. They had done everything themselves and booked everything online. They came same day we came, left the same day we left. They had the same type of room and hotel. Even with our planning fee, they paid $450 more than what we had paid, plus we got two different free upgrades that they didn’t get. It was clear who got the better deal!
I knew right then that I would always use a travel agent for my big trips. It’s just plain smart.
With this unique directory, we’re making things even easier and smarter for you.
Simply enter search words below, and we will show you a handful of travel agents who specialize in the specific kind of trip you’re looking for. We’re bringing the experts right to you!
You can then interview them and find the one who suits you best — and from there, you can leave the planning up to the experts so that you can be free to relax and enjoy the trip of your dreams. This may change the way you travel forever.
If you’re ready to get started, go ahead and enter your search criteria below. And happy trails!
