The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting piece on travel agents for their “Cranky Consumer” column last week. The writer gave four travel agents a rather simple request to fulfill and also did her own search online. You can probably guess the outcome–the agents failed miserably and the writer scored a much better deal on her own. And this was a domestic trip. If the writer had been trying to book an overseas vacation in one of The World’s Cheapest Destinations (apart from coastal Mexico), the results would have been even more laughable.
I really do feel sorry for the poor folks though. Travel agents got squeezed by the airlines, then were quickly made almost irrelevant by the Internet. It’s tough to see an occupation, indeed a whole industry, just disappear. I spent a lot of time reviewing hotels for a publication that served travel agents and I know the good ones who serve high-end luxury travelers really earn their money and make their clients happy. The rest, however, seem to be going the way of the elevator operator and the milkman. They’ve lost their exclusive access to information and unless they specialize in a certain destination, they don’t know any more than what the average Joe can find for himself with a few mouse clicks. In many cases, the prices they provide are no match for what a consumer can score through a consolidator or auction site.
So is there ever any point in going to a travel agent anymore? I must confess I haven’t been to one in the US for about 10 years (though I do use local ones often overseas), but there are some times it still makes sense.
1) An adventure tour. Yes, you can just go to the country and book your own safari, mountain trek, or rafting trip yourself, for less money, but most adventurers aren’t really that adventurous. If you book an adventure tour through a reputable agency in your own country, you can bank on a good reputation and have some recourse if things go wrong. They generally hire the best guides, use the best equipment, and stay in the nicest places (if you’re into that), so you won’t have much to worry about on your own. Of course you’ll pay much more in the end for all this security.
2) Complicated itineraries. Last week I talked about around-the-world tickets. This is one example where a specialized agent can be a lot of help, both in sorting out all the details and helping you make routing decisions that can save you a lot of money. (A poor agent, of course, will be no help at all.) Other examples would include an independent tour of several destinations, trips that require local flights within a foreign country, or activities where a local guide is needed. Backpackers routinely manage to set all this up on their own locally, but someone who wants to have their whole vacation arranged and paid for before leaving should find a good agent.
3) Agent-only package deals. Most agencies have become the travel equivalent of fast-food outlets. They’re now purveyors of cruises, beach vacations, and ski trips. They do this kind of package business well, as long as you don’t ask for special orders. As a result, the travel providers often offer the agents specials that a consumer can’t get on their own. This doesn’t mean you can’t FIND them on your own, through Travelzoo or some other service, but you’ll need to buy it from the agent to get the deal. And chances are, if you call your local agent, he or she will know the best package deals from your own airport if you’re flexible on where you want to go.
Otherwise, unless your time is really worth a lot of money and you know an agent who is more than a “want fries with that?” counter person, try the most popular travel agent these days: Google.
