rb_travelerxATyahoo

Keith's comment (last post?) is right on-target. For me, the research is half the fun, USUALLY. But sometimes I don't have the time, and it's nice to have a reliable agent. Akvisnet's post was quite educating too, with some insight as to where to find the best prices.

And who is Cendant? I knew many of them but looked it up: gee- CENTURY 21,
Coldwell Banker, Amerihost Inn, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Ramada Inn, Super 8, Travelodge, Villager, Wingate Inn. Avis & Budget. Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. And Trip Network Inc, Cheaptickets.com, & Trip.com! And others I didn't even post!

akvisnet

rb_travelerxATyahoo:

Yes, Cendant is a giant in the travel industry. They are diverse and operate both a reservation system, as well as travel agencies.

This is not uncommon within the industry to play to multiple profit centers off of the same customer.

As a travel agency, Cendant has access to any property, airline, car rental company, and etc. on the GDS.

As a Reservation System, specifically for hotel branding, they can set a criteria for the hotel franchise to abide by.

And, within their bowels, they are marketing for Alamo, Thrifty, Dollar etc., and yet they own Avis....... the "employee owned" car rental company.

There is not a soul on this planet that can tell me that these people do not have access to the best rates/values/packages. They own a bit of all! Look at the complimentary businesses working the same customer for different dollars. Then, they are not only getting the agent commission, but also the % of revenues entitled to a shareholder, and, the reservation system (technolgies) fee too.

In an unknown and misunderstood industry, Cendant is king of the merger. Because they "get it."

WorldTravel

My answer is definitely the Internet. I have found Sidestep usually has the best prices for airfare. As for travel agents, the last time I ever used (well I should say spoke to really) a travel agent was in 1995 when I was planning our honeymoon and went into what I was told was the best travel agency in Ashland Oregon where we lived and asked to speak to the agent who knew the most about honeymoon resorts and locations on islands. That "expert" came out and when I told him how I wanted our honeymoon to be memorable for a lifetime and I didn't want to spare any expense he started showing me brochures for large concrete sterile hotels in the Caribbean. When I finally interrupted his showing of these type of depressing looking almost soviet looking hotels to say "these really aren't what I'm looking for....I've read good things about Little Dix Bay resort. Can you show me some information on that or tell me more about it". This "expert" then took a step back from the counter where we were talking and stated "oh, YOU couldn't afford to go there!". As he had never seen me before and I was dressed quite nicely I have no idea why such a catty and untrue comment was made. He said he had nothing to show me or tell me about that resort, so I walked out. I ended up booking everything myself, and yes we spent half of our honeymoon at Little Dix Bay resort with no commission to that agent.
I have never returned to any travel agent and never would again.

soccr

If you read all the previous posts, you have probably gotten the picture now, Katy. I'm glad this exchange didn't degenerate into the namecalling and whining we saw BR (before registration).

Unless your time is so well compensated that it's not worth doing your own research, or unless you are pursuing a big-ticket package or complicated leisure trip (like a cruise or resort setting), it's almost always the best idea to start the process yourself by doing web research. This probably covers the vast majority of travellers savvy enough to be on this board, anyway.

I start with the discount generalist sites like Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc. to get an overview of what's available and who flies where or who has a hotel where. Then I ALWAYS go to the home website of the airlines or hotels or car rental companies that look most likely for what I want to do. Nine times out of 10, there's at least as good a price on the home site of, say, American airlines, or Alamo, or Marriott as there was on the discounter sites AND I have much more control over what happens re:changes, FF miles, etc. For some people on some routes, it's also worth checking websites of airlines like Jet Blue and South West because they won't have shown up on T'city, etc.

Katy, if you compile a list of "favorites" websites with airlines, hotels, car rental home pages listed, you can go a long way toward getting the best situation for yourself.

Only if you have a complicated situation, or a special desire, or a suspicion that you aren't getting all the info you need, or you think there are some special risks in what you want to do should you even think of a travel agent.

Travel agents are most successful and most useful nowadays working for large clients like corporations or wealth-leisure travelers like frequent cruise-takers. That's a good niche for them, but working for the occasional individual traveler, even the international traveler, rarely serves either client or agent well.

RachelG

In the past, I used a travel agent extensively. However, I have not done so in the past 5 years. I now do all my booking via Internet. But you have to be willing to invest the time to do your research. I have found that the prices via net are consistently less (but again, I do a lot of research and have Travelocity e-mail me when airfare price goes down to a city I'm planning a trip to). Haven't had any problems with changes either, but for airline tickets, that depends on the type of fare you buy--if you buy non-refundable, it's just that. Until you learn the system, stick with major sites like Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia as well as the sites of the airline, hotel chain,etc. I have had no problems with this.
My husband was still using a travel agent to book some of his work related stuff, until he compared his experience with mine. Also the agency had started charging a service fee of $10 per ticket.

akvisnet

For the most part, I agree with soccr. Though, I still say my time is valuable enough to use a travel agent for some purchases. Remember, it isn't always the price, but the value.

The savings that can be found, can be found throughout the travel industry.... both online, and through a travel agency (many of which are online).

I wasn't even going to post to this again except that I wanted to address WorldTravel's post. WorldTravel, you will never use a travel agent because one was rude once? Have you ever had a bad waitress? Gorcery store clerk? Gas station attendant? Telephone operator? The world is a pretty bleak environment if we judge all by one.