Have you Hugged Your Travel Agent Lately?

I had decided that I was too busy to write a blog entry today.  After all, I have a cruise night to finish preparing for and my parents are coming into town for the cruise night, so I really should vacuum this house if nothing else.  But I feel that it would be selfish of me to deprive the 2 or 3 people who are likely to read this of my marvelous wit and insight.  So, here I am.

I must tell you that preparing for a cruise night is VERY hard work.  There's a menu to worry about, people to contact regarding cruise information and deals as well as gifts to try to obtain from the cruise lines.  Then you have to order things with your own logo and contact information on it to give away so that 6 months from now when people are thinking about taking a vacation they just might call or email you before booking it themselves on line.  It turns out that while the internet is my single greatest help in doing my job it is also my single worst enemy in getting business.

I can't tell you how many people who I feel like I am pretty good friends with, never even think of calling or emailing me when they are starting to plan a vacation.  They've been doing it themselves on line for years and just don't think about calling me when they are ready to start working on a new trip.  I also think that like me, for some people, part of the fun is in the planning.  I've had the internet vs. travel agent conversation many times with many people in the last year.  Usually, it starts at a networking event when someone asks, why should a person book their trip through a travel agent rather than doing it themselves?

I think my best answer is that I have more than 60 preferred suppliers at my fingertips many of which I have begun to build relationships with over the last year.  This means, if you are looking for an all inclusive beach resort in the Caribbean, I have several suppliers who I have worked with for hours on end who I can work with on your behalf to get you the best possible experience at the best price available.  If you are looking for a cruise, I have worked with business development managers and supervisors at virtually every cruise line in the industry and can assure you that your experience will be enhanced if booked through a travel agent.

Cruise lines and all inclusive resorts prefer clients who book through a travel agent because those clients are much more likely to travel more often. So they treat those travelers just a little better.  Also, when one of my clients returns from a trip I send them a one page survey to get feedback on the place they stayed, air travel, transfers and anything else I booked for them so that I'll know whether or not to continue to book the same products for future clients.  If another traveler gives me a bad review on a hotel, I'm not going to book you there.  On the other hand, I have to book travelers regularly in places that I have never had anybody else stay.  So I spend hours going through reviews on Trip Advisor for these hotels, venues, excursions, etc. to insure that I am recommending the best things I can.  Admit it, when you are sitting at your computer at work, you really don't have time to read more than one or two reviews before making a decision.  And when you get home at night the last thing you want to do is sit in front of another computer for hours reading hotel reviews.  That's what I'm here for....

Twice in the last year President Obama has said in an interview or speech that travel agents don't exist anymore.  Excuse me Mr. President.... I'm right here!  Kanye West said following hurricane Katrina "George Bush doesn't care about black people."  Well I am here to say that Barrack Obama doesn't care about travel agents. You can quote me on that.  But that's okay, as long as you guys know I exist, I don't need for the President to recognize that I do.

In addition to the fact that I do actually exist, there's another thing about travel agents that you should keep in mind.  As much as I like you, I still need to make a living.  With that in mind, I'm only likely to check out hotels and resorts for you so many times watching you waltz off and book the trip on line yourself before I stop answering your emails, texts, phone calls, etc., in which you ask  for advice on where you should stay, go to or steer away from.  I don't make a penny unless you take a trip that I have booked.  So as much as I enjoy talking about travel to you, (and I really do, make no mistake about it) I can only afford to give you so much free advice knowing that you already have Travelocity opened on your browser.  As you book that trip on Travelocity just keep in mind that if it had been booked through a travel agent, you probably would have gotten an upgrade, a free gift in your hotel room or stateroom or at least a highly coveted luggage tag mailed to your home prior to your trip all while getting the same price that you got on Travelocity.

Finally, the best reason for using a travel agent as far as I'm concerned is that if you have a good travel agent, it gives you a lot less to worry about as you prepare for your trip in addition to while you are traveling. Heck if you asked me to, in a pinch, I'd probably drive you to the airport to catch your plane.  Now that I have magnetic signs on my car, there's really no better place to advertise my business anyway.  That stupid little gnome won't drive you to the airport!  I doubt he even has a car.  Have a great day and think about this....  When was the last time you hugged your travel agent, even virtually?