When Do You Need a Travel Agent

Well, we would tell you ALWAYS! But that is not entirely true. We do thoroughly enjoy planning trips for all our clients, new and old. But there are times when we release the reigns and tell our clients that they are better off doing it themselves. But before we get to that, let me tell you when you should use a travel advisor:

International Travel: Different time zones, various modes of transportation, visas, familiar city names (you know like Grenada and Granada. One is in Spain, one is not), trips with lots of moving parts. These are trips when you should most definitely use a travel advisor. For one, it is A LOT of coordination making a multi-stop international trip run smoothly. So many different variables and there is that language barrier. When you use a travel advisor you have an advocate who is there to make sure things run smooth and if there is a bump in the road, she or he is one phone call or text away. They work diligently on your behalf and will fix it…whatever it is.

Large Groups: A travel advisor is key when planning group vacations. For starters, they can negotiate group contracts for you, often times getting extra amenities or a slight discount. They will organize all the details. Flights, transfers, excursions, hotels, whatever it is, a travel advisor will make sure everyone who wants to be on the same page, is. And for those who do not want to be, they will make that happen too. But the best thing about using a travel advisor for a group trip is that they will be the ones that will get everyone’s information, if they have or need a passport, if they need visas and most importantly, they will collect the payments!

Cruise Vacations: Many people think “why would I need a travel advisor to book a cruise? How hard could it be?” Well, cruising can get very complicated especially if you have never done it before. There are so many things to consider like itineraries, cabin categories and locations, excursions, pre or post cruise hotels stays and transfers. Travel advisors often get extra amenities like on board credits that they can offer their clients in addition to what the cruise line is offering. Sometimes they have group pricing that they can book you on that is even lower than what the cruise line is offering. Also, you have a question, call your advisor. If you book through the cruise line, you call the 1-800 number and hope for the best.

Honeymoons: The honeymoon may possibly be the most important piece in the whole wedding planning agenda. However, most times brides and grooms will put this off to the end or give it half the effort they give all of the other items on the planning checklist. And that is often just because they have too much on their plate and feel like the honeymoon is for them and not nearly as important as the wedding itself. Well let me tell you, after planning a wedding you will need that honeymoon more than ever. So take this “To Do” off your list and hand it off to a professional. They can narrow down destinations and options within minutes after asking you some simple questions and present you with the honeymoon of your dreams, within your budget and you will be saved from hours and hours of internet searching.

Theme Parks: Day passes, park hoppers, fast passes, meal plans, stay in the park, stay outside the park, rent a car, don’t rent a car, rope drop, extra hours. These are just a few of the mind boggling details you will need to consider when planning any trip to a larger theme park like Disney or Universal. I cannot even begin to explain all the reasons you would benefit from using a travel advisor when planning a trip like this. Just google Disney planning and you will get an idea of the days and weeks you can spend reading online articles about how to plan your stay. Leave the planning to a professional.

Special Needs: If you or anyone in your family has any type of special need, using a travel advisor or at least consulting one is strongly recommended. We are passionate about making travel possible for all. And we truly, truly believe that and will do whatever we can to make that happen. So many times we hear people who think they cannot travel because they have severe food allergies or those who need wheelchairs or oxygen or even bed lifts. These are all needs that can be accommodated. We help clients who have autism, quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and on and on. If you have the desire to travel, we will make that a reality for you. Sometimes it’s as simple as renting equipment or coordinating with a resort manager and sometimes it’inating with a resort manager and sometimes its more complicated. But we have resources and relationships with oxygen or even s more complicated. But we have resources and relationships with people all over the world. And as travel advisors, we make things happen.

So as you can see, travel advisors are in fact alive and well and helping millions of people travel easier. Whatever your situation is, a quick call to a travel advisor whether it be a local agency, someone who has been recommended to you or a home based advisor you have heard of through the local mom’s Face Book page, give them a call. Let them know your story and they will advise you. Most of us do this job out of our passion for travel and our love for helping people. We love to talk and give advice. Maybe you will be our next new client, maybe you won’t. Either way, give us a call and see for yourself.&

Leave a Reply