VENT: travel agent- should it really be this hard?

TeebagyAndNorth

Ok I think we may need a new travel agent. We are planning a trip to Greece. We had this AMAZINGLY good first meeting with this agent and it seemed like she totally got what we wanted. She showed us a sample in our price range and it was phenomenal.

Then it took her over two weeks to get us a sample for US and it sucked. I emailed her about and another two weeks went by. Finally we emailed her and said enough we are looking elsewhere and she apologized and said she had been busy with weddings that came before us. Then she sent us two more samples... both of which are just ok. She came HIGHLY reccomended by our venue and other couples...

but it shouldnt be this hard right? Do travel agents help you design a piece by piece plan or just send you vacation packages? All we get from her are packages and we aren't liking all the pieces!

bostonbride214

We used a TA to book our honeymoon to Hawaii as a full package but we designed each "piece" including excursions we wanted, inter-island flights, cars we rented and which hotel we stayed at. We did it all over the phone in an interview process and follow-up emails with her so that she got an idea of what we were looking for.

It doesn't seem like you are getting great customer service and packages that you like...I would suggest you look into a new TA. Honeymoons are expensive and you want what you want...it shouldn't be stressful on your end

snoangel79

We are going to Greece also, and we got to choose from a few different hotels in the 4 and 5 star category. We are working with Petros from Hellenic Holidays out of NY. He is very attentive.

sniksa

As a travel agent, I'll be honest...it's really really easy for travel agents to only propose pre-packaged trips because the companies that put them togther offer good commission with relatively no work on the travel agent's end.  You find this more and more, where that's all that's being offered. A good agent shouldn't take 2 weeks to get back to you about something like this, and should be able to get you the trip you want, customized how you want it.

TeebagyAndNorth

thanks for the tips.  I will look into Hellenic Holidays.

I do feel a bit like she is pushing certain packages on us even after we say its not what we'd really like. It's really too bad....

SummerBoston10

I had a similar experience with a travel agent at an American Express office.  We are going to Italy and I thought that we would benefit from a travel agent.  She kept trying to push us to stay in Sorrento and I kept telling her that we would prefer Positano.  Finally she gave us an itinerary that included a stay in Amalfi instead of Sorrento but she claimed that the hotels for her tour companies were all sold out in Postitano. 

So, we opted to book it all on our own.  I booked our flights through Amex and our hotels through Leading Hotels of the World.  LHW provides you with travel agent type services so if we need anything during our trip they will be there to help.  In my opinion, unless you are going somewhere you truly can't figure out on your own, the travel agent is not necessary. 

Check out tripadvisor and other review sites thoroughly and then you should be able to make your own decisions. 

TeebagyAndNorth

Well part of the reason we want the aid of a travel agent is neither of us have had the opportunity to travel outside the country before (other than as children to bermuda with each of our families). We really want some sort of full service trip. Our budget is GREAT.. so I know thats not the reason she is struggling. I really do think perhaps she is more concerned about her commission which is somewhat understandable but I just dont think we can work with her...

megandjay

Our travel agent was able to get us a really good deal at a hotel in Hawaii, but I agree that it was certainly a package that she bought off a wholesaler and not her own thing.