chad

I'm wondering whether it is advisable to book through travel agents or not for my NZ trip in mid Nov. They tell me that they do not charge us but I'm a bit skeptical as to how they will profit in it as the prices they've quoted is exactly the same on those quoted on the host's website or even less sometimes.Has anyone booked through them before and may provide me some info?

Merriem

We travel a great deal, and I do not use a travel agency. My feeling is I can do a better job, I know more about where I am going, and who has my best interest at heart? Nothing against you TA's, but I can come out money ahead on my own.

bill simpson

Hotel & tour operators give discounted rates to travel agents for sending the business their way, also giving the travel agent a kickback on each booking. Usually I do my own booking but sometimes it may be wise to go through a travel agent. My wife & I went on an extensive 7 week trip recently to NZ & Australia. Not being familiar with that location I searched for an Australian TA (not U.S.) and found an agent that posted all the contracted hotels & tours on their web site. I was able to make my own lodging selections & booked through the TA at a savings to me. I double checked all the rates & I received a very good discount. You might want to check them out. They are www.travelmall.com.au. We had a great trip with absolutely no problems. If I am traveling on familiar ground I will not use TA for lodgings, however it doesn't hurt to look at some consolidators because they may be receiving discounts for some hotels, etc that you would be interested in. You could then check with that same hotel to see if you can get the same discount & if not, book through the consolidator.

Debbie

Hi Chad,<BR>If you don't mind taking the time to do lots of research, you can organize a trip and save money. It's definately work, but if it's something you like doing, it won't feel like a chore--I know b/c I like planning my trips to a large degree!<BR><BR>The flipside of that is I've also found that a GOOD travel agent is a terrific resource, especially for land arrangements, like hotels, and package deals. S/he is sometimes able to access industry specials that you wouldn't have knowledge of...<BR><BR>With a couple of my trips, I first read up on a destination, got a good idea of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do once I arrived, and then contacted a TA. Up until recently, I worked w/one particularly wonderful TA who helped me plan absolutely fantastic trips. I think this individual was so good because she loved travel and had been to the same places I had looked into. I made a mistake this last time when I tried someone new for my Australia trip. I decided I wanted to work w/someone who's been Down Under so I found a "Certified Aussie Specialist" in my area. This particular woman had been to a couple of places in Australia but IMHO wasn't an especially good TA--not b/c she hadn't been everywhere but for lots of other reasons I won't go into here. (Don't flame me folks, I'm NOT implying this TA is representative of all "Certified Aussie Specialists".)<BR><BR>You have to decide if you have the time and desire to do all the planning yourself. Comparison shop...and have a great trip!<BR><BR>Debbie

chad

Has anyone heard of GINZ, travel specialist for the pacific region? what's their reputation like?I beleive they're stationed in Christchurch.Are they reliable?

Priscilla

We started to us a travel agent on a recent trip but found that we could make better hotel reservations on our own. We like to stay in "apartments" rather than hotel rooms. This way we have a kitchen to use if we want to, often laundry facilities, and a "living room" area. This particular agent did not seem to want to book that sort of thing. So we ended up taking just the air arrangements from her and doing the rest on the internet. We were quite satisfied, but it did take LOTS OF TIME!

WC

I can't tell you if GINZ is a good agent or not. I lived in Christchurch for a year, but did not hear of them. That doesn't mean anything one way or another. I did work with House of Travel on Parnell Road in Auckland. They always worked hard for me. One thing that I would definitely say is that you should probably book your airfare "of a piece", that is, either through the airline or an agent so that if you are taking a connecting flight the ticket is "linked". If you are not in LA (basically the only (and certainly the shortest) way to get there is through LA) and you get a flight on say Air NZ, but connect there on your own through Southwest, Air NZ won't care if you miss your flight. If you have Air NZ make the connection, on say United, they will make sure you get to NZ if the United flight is late (as it inevitably will be). Trust me, I know this from what was almost a very bitter experience. Spend the extra cash and let them do the booking on connections. If you have anyway to upgrade to business class, by all means do so. Finally Qantas and Air NZ are miles better than anyone else flying to NZ from the USA, in economy business, whatever. Trust me, I know.

Melodie

Chad:<BR><BR>There seems to be a good deal of confusion about how travel agents earn a living...you're partly correct in that in some cases, agents do charge a fee, depends on what type of services they're providing. Travel agents earn commission from the supplier -- the hotel, the tour company, etc, that's who's paying us, not the client.<BR><BR>Yes, you will see the same rates (and that's to YOUR advantage you as your getting the agent's knowledge in recommending a product and you're not paying for it)quoted sometimes. Other times, an agent's rate will be less. For example, another poster said that they paid $100/night for a hotel that I just reserved and my client paid $85. Working with a wholesaler who does a tremendous amount of business with a hotel is an advantage. And you're also correct, sometimes a hotel might show a lower rate, they're taking what they would have paid the travel agent and rebating (5% in most cases).<BR><BR>Now in his post Bill stated that travel agents get &quot;kickbacks&quot;. That's not accurate -- we earn commission. A kickback is something like the tour operator who takes you on the bus tour, and then there's the stop at the cameo factory on the way back -- he gets a percentage of everything you buy in the shop - that's a kickback! <BR><BR>To find a good agent, ask them questions - how often have they travelled to &quot;X&quot;; are they certified as a Specialist (and yes, I am) . That denotes a certain amount of time, money and effort put into attaining a level of certification. <BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Melodie <BR><BR>

John

chad:<BR>I've done it both ways to Australia and New Zealand. I like doing it myself for a number of reasons. Chief among them is no money up front if I do it myself. I can cancel accommodations mostly up to the day of arrival.<BR>With a TA you have to deliver a good chunk of earnest money. If your plans change, you may find yourself in a predicament. <BR>John<BR>

Kerry

Hi Chad<BR>Having owned both a retail and a wholesale travel company (now happily retired to my vineyard lodge) I guess I can pass comment on the role of travel agents.<BR>1. While airlines and online booking has played havoc with the industry when it comes to accommodation most wholesalers get a 20% discount however at certain times of the year we would get 35 to 40% off the hotel rack rate.<BR>2. The wholesaler who buys enough off any one hotel or chain gets often better rates.<BR>3. The wholsaler supplies the retail travel agent taking about 5% to 10% for themselves.<BR>4. The retailer has a 10% margin (3% to pay the staff, 3% to run the business and hopefully 4% profit)<BR>5. If the wholesaler buys at the best price, keeps their margins low, and the retailer keeps their final price down then you often get your holiday CHEAPER than if you went direct.<BR>6. Most hotels that have good relationships with their wholesalers would be foolish to undercut them by offering discounts for direct business on the Internet. They depend on them for the bulk of their bookings.<BR>7. Sure you can do all of the research yourself and often have more up to date information than the actual travel agent BUT it will take time and you may not save money - its like fixing your own car!<BR>8. The most important thing with any travel agent is that they are a specialist who knows and has experienced the product. Their advice is invaluable and you should expect to pay for it. Would you use a dentist who operated for nothing!<BR><BR>Having said all of that outside the main hotels you will find a lot of accommodation that may not be available through travel agents such as our own lodge that can only be booked online and direct. Also NZ is a small operation and not like the buying power that exists in Europe and North America so wholesalers find it more difficult to get the same level of discount.<BR><BR>Does this help?<BR><BR>Kerry