Travel agents, do you all use them?

[Mac5dawg]

Do they get you better deals? Is it worth it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RLB]

Not anymore. They make it so easy to do it online and it’s getting cheaper, because they have cut out the middle man.

Now, if they could just do that with lawyers and real estate agents, we’d all be better off!!

[S-3 Ranch]

We use them and get same deal as any website

[Leemo]

We use them and get same deal as any website

This x10....... we’ve been using the same gal for 30 years, I pick up the phone she takes care of everything!

[Man]

I think the internet has all but killed this industry with the remaining agents taking advantage of the last of the internet handicapped retirees/elderly.

[tdwinklr]

didn't know there were still any around?

[BlackoutRam2500]

I think it depends on where you are trying to go and the travel agent you are using.

My wife does all of our travel planning. It's a ton of work mostly because we have a big family and she is focused more on value rather than a specific location. When you call a travel agent you have to tell them where you want to go. My wife looks at flight deals and hotel bargains and that is how she determines where we are going.

She called me Monday night to say she had found 6 round trip tickets to St. Thomas for $1,300 in September. That's a good deal but once she added the vrbo in St. John and the rental van for the week the trip became more than we wanted to spend. She changed streams and is now looking at Nicaragua.... I think? [emoji28]

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk

[IowaHunter]

International travel I always usd a travel agent. Any problems - boom they fix it! I’ve had three long haul trips in which I needed to change the routes during the trip. Easy peasey with them.

Domestic I do it myself.

[yaqui]

It all depends on how much time you want to spend doing it yourself. If you have the time and resources DYI. Book your flights, then AIRBNB. Stay within your budget.

I am on a few different cheap flight twitter alerts. When they pop-up. I'll ask my wife if she wants to go. If she says yes, I buy the tickets and we then look for where in that country we want to visit. Once we have that figured out, we look for places to stay based on proximity to sites we want to see. Car rentals are cheap in some parts of Europe.

I have a buddy that is an agent. He only sells very high end, five star accommodations and first class flights. The more money people have, the less they want to mess with hiring guides, and chartering planes and pilots for flights. He does really well, but has been in the industry for 20 years.

Agents do not get better deals, unless it is part of a package. But they do offer customer service if something goes wrong on the other side of the pond.

[LWC]

We use them and get same deal as any website

Yep, we have one that we use. Do our own research too. But her prices are generally the same and she handles the transfers and little things like that. Takes care of problems when they come up. We also usually buy travel insurance from her at a very reasonable rate...just in case we have to cancel for any reason.

[Grayson]

I got a referral from a TBH'er for his mother, and she has planned our upcoming trip. Of course we haven't gone on the trip yet, but I can tell you that I have been super impressed and pleased with her response time, knowledge, and professionalism. She has saved me a ton of time in doing research, etc. because she has been to the places we discussed.

If all goes well I won't hesitate to use her again.

[BassMaster13]

I don't have any insight on travel agents, but those of you who wanting to take your kids to Disney. Get a Disney vacation planner, most don't charge because they get Disney credits on the back end.

I had no idea every dinner(sit down), ride, activity, or basically anything needs to be reserved months in advance.

[S-3 Ranch]

Yep, we have one that we use. Do our own research too. But her prices are generally the same and she handles the transfers and little things like that. Takes care of problems when they come up. We also usually buy travel insurance from her at a very reasonable rate...just in case we have to cancel for any reason.

Always get trip insurance for a expensive trip, our travel agent
Saved wife and I close to $10,000 when we had to cancel a trip to Hawaii last minute,
Plus some trip insurance coverage has emergency services encase you get hurt and need to evacuate

[JES]

We use TBHer ColinR's wife for all our travel. Same price as the website without all the hassle. I'm busy adn don't have time to chase all the options, etc. She's done a great job for us and will continue to let her make my life easier.

For hunting I use Bowhunting Safari Consultants (BSC). Same price as the outfitter charges, but in my view you are likely to get a better experience with the outfitter if you are booked with the guys who send them multiple clients a year vs a one off booking through the internet. I also am confident you won't get screwed by some fly by night outfitter as BSC will only work with people they have history with and have vetted.

[CabezaBlanca]

Call Cari Miles. Her and her husband are awesome!

https://milesinstyletravel.com/