XP: travel agents

[Deleted User]

This isn't etiquette related, but I know this board gets a lot of traffic... I was wondering if there are any benefits to using a travel agent if they can't get you a discounted price beyond what you can book yourself on the resorts website? The agents' fees are around $25 and we're looking at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica.

lbarr088

I agree with Holly and Duds.  They can make changes a lot quicker and easier when you are in a jam.  They also know the best places to stay if there is a layover, etc. and can help book everything from flights, to calling ahead for a taxi which means literally zero headaches trying to plan.  We lucked out and our agent actually gets paid by Carnival (we are doing a cruise) to book so she did everything for us free of charge.

aragx6

Planning trips myself is one of my favorite things to do (maybe I should have been a TA), so for me or someone like me they don't really offer much of a value add. But if you're not the type to obessively plan out vacations years in advance, a TA is probably very much worth it. And at the end of the day, $25 is almost nothing compared to the total cost of the trip.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the input ladies. One of the agents that I have been speaking with just sent me an "official" quote that is $312 more than if I booked the exact same room, flight and insurance right now. I'm torn because the price difference annoys me, but I also see the pluses of using an agent if something were to come up. I guess the most frustrating thing is that both this agent and another confirmed that the prices were going to increase tonight at midnight. We knew the current rate package was going to change tonight, but we weren't sure if/how the rates were going to change. So I would like to go ahead and book this evening, which doesn't give FI and me enough time to check out any more agents (which is my own fault.) If anyone had any opinions or input, please feel free to share. Edit: please forgive the wall-o-text. I'm on my phone and didn't realize how long that was.

aragx6

There's no way in hell I'd pay a TA $312 more for the same package. Especially at an all inclusive resort where there aren't even all that many moving parts, because it's, you know, all inclusive.

smartlypretty

In our case, we are using a TA because our honeymoon is way more complicated than I can handle myself. We are flying into and of of a different city, staying at 3 different hotels, taking 2 trains, and a relative is paying for this. I needed one big package with one price tag. If I was just taking 1 flight and staying at 1 hotel? I'd book it on expedia and be done with it. Easy peazy. 

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_xp-travel-agents?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:187d08ba-6378-4dfd-85c0-20bd15588fb5Post:1cb9da35-5419-4049-a598-f6ce83388a19">Re: XP: travel agents</a>:
[QUOTE]There's no way in hell I'd pay a TA $312 more for the same package. Especially at an all inclusive resort where there aren't even all that many moving parts, because it's, you know, all inclusive.
Posted by aragx6[/QUOTE]




This is pretty much what I'm feeling right now. I think because this is the first expensive vacation I've ever planned I got a little nervous about doing it on my own, but I'm feeling better about it now.

pearls687

I had this same issue and stressed about it for days.  Tell your travel agent about the deal you found.  We did and, once she was able to verify that it was the exact same flights and accommodations she was offering, she beat the price by $100 and offered us some perks for booking with her.