Should I Use a Travel Agent or Plan My Trip Myself?

With the surge in online booking systems, fewer people are using travel agents to plan their trips. They haven’t disappeared completely, and today they’re now more commonly referred to as “travel advisors”. Some people swear by them, but they’re not for everyone. If you can’t decide whether you should use a travel agent or plan your trip yourself, here are the pros and cons of hiring a travel agent.

Pros of Hiring a Travel Agent

Travel agents can lift the burden of travel planning off travellers’ shoulders. Let’s go over some of the main benefits of having a travel agent plan your trip.

They Take Away the Stress of Planning

Some people find travel planning stressful and overwhelming. Between arranging transportation, figuring out accommodation, planning an itinerary, and making dinner reservations, most people find themselves exhausted before their trip begins. A travel agent will do the hard work for you. Simply tell them what you want and they’ll do the time-consuming research and make all the bookings so you don’t have to.

They a Great Source of Information

Travel agents are a great source of information. Their connections with airlines and other travel vendors means that they get insider knowledge and the most up-to-date information. They’ll have a vast knowledge of the travel industry and can provide you with local knowledge, including what type of visa, travel documents, travel insurance, and international driving permit (IDP) you’ll need for the destination you’re travelling to. The reason travel agents are now called “travel advisors” is because they now do more than make reservations and bookings; they can offer in-depth information and suggestions about different locations and the tourism industry.

The Specialise in Specific Kinds of Travel

Not all travel agents specialise in the same kind of travel, so you’ll need to find one that caters to your interests, whether that’s winter sports, safaris, cruises, or hiking. Travel agents can recommend new experiences and since they are experts on travel, they’ll be able to find you unique things to do on your trip. Travel agents will usually focus on a specific travel style or travel type, such as corporate travel, luxury vacations, senior travel, or honeymoons.

They Will Advocate for You

If anything goes wrong during your trip, your travel agent will advocate on your behalf. They will have plenty of experience with dealing with issues and solving problems that arise when travelling. They can help you locate lost luggage, set you up with a new room if you miss your reservation due to travel delays, and book you on the next flight if yours is cancelled. A travel agent will know how to handle difficult situations without panicking.

One Point of Contact

Instead of dealing with different vendors and travel companies, you’ll have one point of contact. You can call your travel agent whenever you need help or if you need to make any appendments or changes to your itinerary. They can reach out to people on your behalf, so you can sit back and relax while one person takes care of everything for you.

Great Deals

Travel agents can offer travellers fantastic deals that they wouldn’t be able to get themselves because they get discounts directly from suppliers and tour operators that they are affiliated with. A travel agent can get you upgrades and benefits that will make your trip much more enjoyable.

Cons of Hiring a Travel Agent

Now that you know the benefits of hiring a travel agent, let’s look at some of the disadvantages and the reasons why you might want to plan your trip yourself.

Some Travel Agents Work on Commission

Travel agents can get you great deals, though they may be incentivised to encourage you to go with a particular tour operator, hotel, or airline, even if it’s not the best option. Because they work on commission, they may be biased when it comes to making recommendations for your trip. By booking everything yourself, you know that you have your own best interests at heart.

Cost

While travel agents work on commission, they may also charge their clients a booking fee or individual service fees, so even with the deals you get, you may be spending just as much as you would have if you booked your trip yourself. Travel agents may not always get you the better deals, but you need to ask yourself if the convenience of not planning your trip is worth spending a bit more.

Limited Options

While having a travel agent may make planning a trip easier, you’ll be faced with limited number of suppliers and tour operators. Many travel agents have affiliations and partnerships with other travel companies, so you may not have the opportunity to book with lesser-known companies or ones that your agent isn’t familiar with. By planning your trip yourself, you’ll have more options in terms of who you book with, where you stay, and what activities you can do on your trip.

No Chance To Do Your Own Research

By booking your trip yourself, you’ll have more control over every aspect of your journey. You may find that it’s more convenient to do it yourself and you’ll enjoy the build-up of excitement as you do your own research. Price comparison sites and online booking engines make planning holidays easy, and you can check how reliable and trustworthy they are by reading online reviews, instead of putting blind faith in a travel agent’s recommendation. If you’re willing to spend your time doing research on finding the right travel agent for you, then you may as well put that time into researching your own trip.

May Not Always Be Available

Travel agents will only be available to contact during UK working hours while you’re away, unless they specify otherwise. This isn’t always convenient when you’re having problems abroad. For example, if you arrive at your hotel in Hawaii at 3:00 p.m. only to find that your reservation isn’t showing up in their system, your travel agent won’t be able to help since it will be 2:00 a.m. in the UK. You may also struggle to get in contact with them on the weekends. If you’re worried about the inconvenience of having someone else do what you can immediately do for yourself, then a travel agent isn’t for you.

Some Things Get Lost in Translation

You’re putting a lot of faith in someone to get all the elements of your trip right. Instead of contacting tour operators directly or making bookings yourself, you’ll be telling the travel agent what you want and they’ll be relaying that to airlines, hotels, and care hire companies. By adding a middleman to your holiday plans, you run the risk of there being miscommunications and mistakes. For example, names could be misspelled on plane tickets or an excursion could be booked for the wrong time of day. If you don’t think you can trust someone to make your travel arrangements for you, you should consider planning everything yourself.