Not sure when to use a travel agent?
Some of you might think that with the Internet, travel agents are past their expiration date. Not even close.
What a lot of the better travel agents are doing now is specializing.
If you’re headed to an unfamiliar place, someone with expertise in the area can help you connect the dots: flights, car rentals, hotels—and you can still skip the tour group.
If you’ve got a complicated itinerary, do you really want to book that online? No, you don’t. You want to talk to somebody about it—you want to have a conversation.
Someone who specializes in cruise travel can actually help you figure out the best line for you—and the best itinerary—whether you’re traveling with your entire family or you prefer a smaller ship for just you and your significant other.
If you’re planning an upscale trip, look at the Virtuoso network. It can often get you access to a lot of perks you may not know about otherwise.
Here’s the rub. The websites like Orbitz and Expedia? They’re actually known as Online Travel Agents, or OTAs. So even if you think you’re doing it on your own, there’s still probably someone else on the other end pulling together the deals for you.
It’s still okay to research your travel online. But more often than not, seek out a travel agent who specializes—and have that conversation.
Keep reading for more travel tips.
