When you Don't Need a Travel Agent

Domestic airline tickets: If you are looking to book air alone, you can do that yourself. Often times travel advisors will add a fee on when booking domestic tickets for their service. So to save some money, book online. However, we do recommend booking directly with the airline. In almost every instance, the price will be the same whether booking direct with the airline or booking with an online travel advisor like Travelocity or Expedia. The problem is when booking with an online travel agent, they are your travel advisor and should there be a problem with your ticket or your flight is delayed or cancelled, you cannot deal directly with the airline but instead you must call Travelocity or Expedia and deal with them. It can quickly turn into a headache with extra hours spent sitting in the airport.  

Quick overnight hotel stays: If you are traveling and need a quick hotel stay, sometimes it’s easier and less expensive to book on your own. Especially if you are familiar with your destination.  

House Rentals within the U.S.: Do you summer vacation every year at the New Jersey Shore or maybe you head to the Outer Banks. These are beautiful beach destinations where their tourism relies more on home rentals than hotel stays. We advise that you go through a realtor or even sites like VRBO or Home Away do a good job at vetting their listings. We do not recommend Craigslist or even ads on Face Book unless it is someone you know, you have been referred to them through a reliable source or you have carefully vetted them yourself. It is very, very easy to fall victim to the multitude of scams that exist. I admit, I almost fell prey to one on a home rental in Maine. Thank goodness I listened to my gut and did a little more digging. Turns out someone was renting out some unsuspecting elderly couples house. We did notify the actual owners of the house and gave them all of the information we found online so they could take it to the authorities.  

While a travel advisor can always assist, there are cases where it will be easier and less expensive to do it on your own. But, If you don’t mind paying a fee for the above services, a travel advisor is always willing to help.