Do you know the top 3 reasons to use a travel agent? Probably, the number one reason is that most travel agents know the ins and outs of the travel business and are better equipped to get you the best deal.  The second most important reason is that they yield more power with individual vendors than you do as a single buyer.  And, the third reason is that your travel agent does all of this and generally does not charge you a fee.

I know that you think you can get a better deal if you bid online using one of the online travel businesses, but who do you call when you show up and the hotel or resort says that they don’t have a reservation for you.

Do you really think someone online is going to take your call?  Do you think threatening to never use the hotel or resort again is going to sway the person behind the counter?

The bottom line is that the agent, who books many clients to that resort or hotel, will take your call.  They can call and talk with the manager and get them to honor your reservation or make some sort of acceptable accommodation for you, because if they don’t, the agent will be sending all of their clients to a different hotel or resort in the future.  The hotel or resort can afford to piss you off, but they cannot afford to piss off an agent who will pass the word to the other agents in their circle.

Here is an example that was in the Sacramento Bee on Sunday, July 31^st in the Travel Troubleshooter column by Christopher Elliott.  In this case, the buyer made a mistake in making an online reservation.  Though they thought they had corrected the mistake, they discovered later that they had been charged a $477 cancellation fee by Cheaptickets.com.  They did not make any headway on their own with the Cheaptickets.com, but thanks to the author of the article, the buyer did obtain a refund of the cancellation fee.

If they had used an agent in the first place, their agent would have taken care of the problem without all the heartache.

So why wouldn’t you use a travel agent? 

You might choose not to use an agent if they charge you a fee for their services when there isn’t a commission built into the pricing of the service they are providing for you.  For example, domestic airlines do not collect a commission nor do they pay a commission to travel agents.  So, if you asked an agent to book you tickets on a flight from Sacramento to Denver, they may charge you a service charge unless you are a regular client, so that they can cover the costs of providing that service.

The only way a travel agent can earn a commission, without charging the client, is if they are making reservations for a bundled product or if they are making reservations for a cruise or resort.  That means, if they set up a flight combined with a car rental and or a hotel stay.

Did you know that you are paying a commission to the cruise line if you book directly?  Well, you are.

If you buy the cruise from your agent, you will pay the same or less than you will pay if you buy the cruise from the cruise line.  “How can I get it cheaper from the travel agent?”, you ask?  Quite often, the travel agent, or an agent within the company, already has booked several cabins early in the season.  Since they booked several cabins, they were able to get a better price, which they can pass on to you.  Also, since they booked those several cabins many months earlier, usually a year before the sailing date, the agent’s prices are often much cheaper than prices are the closer you get to the sailing.  This is another good reason to talk with your travel agent first.

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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!

As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you.  Check out the important links below.

• Packing Checklist
• Parent Authorization Letter For Unaccompanied Minors
• Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
• Travel With Minors – Permission Letter

Don’t hesitate to email us when you return from your trip with any suggestions that will make this document better for you and your fellow travelers!

You may also want to visit our Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TeamEdwardsTravel