When we first entered the travel industry, no
one booked a vacation on their own. Why? Because all you had to do was call a
Travel Agent who hooked you up with the best available deals and took care of
all the arrangements. The world changed when Online Travel Sites started
popping up creating a discount craze by allowing easy access to travel deals.
This craze went on for a few years forcing many Travel Agencies to shut down. Fortunately
for us, travelers have now started to realize that you get exactly what you pay
for when purchasing Air, Hotel, Car Rentals and so forth, online. The Travel
Industry has always been and will always be commission based. We may not be
able to directly compete with some of the prices offered Online but we are
confident that we deliver way more!
What you
don’t know will end up costing you more. Most often, price differences between
Online sites and Travel Agents is the difference between the worst trip ever
and one that is seamlessly perfect!
Higher chances of being bumped when using online
travel sites:
When you make a booking through a Travel Agent, your seat is immediately taken
off of the flight availability list. But when you book with online travel sites
(such as Orbitz, Expedia, iTravel2000, Booking.com, Priceline etc.) your seat is not immediately removed, resulting in
an oversold flight. If your seats were the last tickets to be issued, you will
be the first travelers bumped on an overbooked flight.
Not many are aware of this and those who are have
experienced it firsthand. It’s not much of an issue when you’re traveling a
short distance with no connecting flights in between. But it can be disastrous when
you’re traveling long distances, with connecting flights and with more people. Missing
your connection always results in an inconvenience: Baggage delays, Next flight
is fully booked, Next flight is hours away, leaving you frustrated, stranded
and can also result in Monetary Losses.
Prices are deceptive when you book online:
Online Travel Sites are centered on the idea of saving you money. They claim this
possible by selling in large volumes (to gain discounts from the airline or
hotel/resort) and by taking a smaller commission on sales (to help you save
more). There is some truth to this, but what people don’t know is that they often
make their money through cancellations. Additionally, the prices outlined
online may not cover a number of other fees (i.e. daily resort fee, out of
state car fee, additional taxes etc). Essentially, you don’t end up saving as
much as you thought you would.
When you book with us, we’ll provide you with an invoice outlining
ALL expenses upfront. Certain additional expenses (i.e. of a personal nature,
personal long distance calls, gratuities, tips, etc) will be specified and made
known to you. Also, if you have any questions regarding your invoice you can
discuss this with us.
With a Travel Agent you receive better customer
service:
You found an amazing deal on an Ocean View Hotel Room online and purchased it
right away. Let's say when you get to the hotel you discover your room isn’t
exactly how it was described. The first thing that comes to mind, is speaking
directly with the Hotel Front Desk. Usually the Hotel won’t do anything for you
because according to them, you ‘willingly’ purchased a discounted room (you get
what you paid for). They will probably offer you a better room but at an
additional cost. Next, you’ll try calling the online travel site you purchased
the room from. Only to realize, the help desk is not quite as “helpful” and you’re
truly stuck with what you paid for.
When you book with us, you know our name, location, what we
look like and where you can find us. Moreover, you will get exactly what you
paid for. In the event you’re unhappy about something (i.e. stranded, missed
your flight, or don’t really like your accommodations) you can rely on your Travel
Agent to fix it. The most important thing is that you can get a hold of us
without having to wait in queue to speak to someone at a help desk.
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. If the price seems too good to be true, you're probably right.
