travel agencies
 

I just read an article just now (on the Web2Carz website, if you're interested) about the relevance of travel agencies. I haven't used one EVER, and was wondering if any of you travelers still use them? And if so, in what capacity? Am I missing out on something really helpful? I feel like I've always been a "wing it" kind of traveler. Also why spend that extra money?

Thoughts?

Don't know, never used one, and I've traveled a LOT :-)

I haven't used a travel agency for personal travel in many years. We have to use one for business travel and I will admit that it's nice to have the support for when flights change, agendas change, schedules change. Kind of a nice safety net when you're on the road in China and your schedule is disrupted.

For my long haul flights I usually use the airline website to pick my flight & my seat and then give the info to the travel agency to book.

In the UK travel agencies are still very popular. I still use them when making a holiday reservation but where I want to change a few aspects. I have found that you then can still get the good "package deal" but have bespoked it slightly.

Also in the UK when choosing a package you are then covered by ABTA - www.abta.com which means your holiday is protected and then if that holiday company went bust you would get your money back, or if you were stranded abroad they will make arrangements to bring you back.

So there are some benefits of booking through a travel agent, not least the hassle free factor, let them do the searching. Because we all know that when we do it ourselves we can spend hours on the internet to find that elusive deal!!!

I never use a travel agent. Booking travel is so easy these days. If I was looking for a package - maybe a flight and resort combo, then it might be worth it - or a cruise - get a good deal. But those aren't the types of trips I take.

Also, based on the comments and misinformation we see on boards like this, it is clear that some TAs couldn't find their way out of a paper bag.

My co-workers travel a lot for business, saves them time (and probably money) to use an agent.

Even independent travelers recommend an agent when it comes to cruises - agencies often offer "freebies" like pre-paid gratuities, cabin credits, gifts on-board.

That's true, some companies use corporate travel agents. That's different that just me going on vacation somewhere.

I've put together some group tours and used a company. For cruises, I book through an agency.

My impression is they are good for cruise deals but the online sites are usually better for flights/hotels.

Hi, I just returned from a trip to Spain and used a travel agency to help with part of the trip. She was very nice but very incompetent. I have thought about leaving negative reviews so that no one else goes through what I go through but I haven't seen anyone else list bad experiences with their agent and providing names. I think these forums are great for helping plan your travel. If your going to another country, I would try to find someone located there to help with some details or use the hotel concierge to plan stuff.


ps
should I post a review of my experience?

Of course. It isn't very helpful if people only post good reviews. Here it is usual for people to post trip reports, so more info than just about the agent, but on Tripadvisor people just post reviews.