My friend’s flight was delayed due to weather and this caused her and her family to miss their connection to London.  When she told me that she was flying from Philadelphia to New York to London, I gave her this obviously weird look and said “Why would the travel agent book that itinerary?” She replied, “we didn’t use a travel agent, we booked it online to save money”.  Well, her “savings” ended up costing her as the airline rebooked her the next day and they lost a day in London.  As they pre-paid for their apartment rental, they couldn’t get a credit for the day they lost.  All of this because it was easier to book online and not pay the travel agent $50 per ticket.

When I first started traveling (in those pre-internet days), you booked travel with a travel agent/agency.  You didn’t pay a fee because the airlines paid 10% commission and the other travel vendors also paid a commission.  Back in 1988, I remember driving to Liberty Travel in the mall to book my trip to Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns.  The travel agent at that time booked the trip but couldn’t provide any insight for us as she had never been to Sydney, in fact, she hadn’t been out of the country.  She was only able to help us with the brochures she had and information provided by the company.

Fast forward to today in the age of the internet, mobile travel and travel blogs.  There is so much travel information out there that’s it’s often hard to dig deep to the level of detail that is helpful to you and at the same time it’s so easy to “do it on your own” that the travel agent is no longer the key point of contact for most travelers.  When was the last time you used a travel agent, if ever? At the New York Times Travel Show Industry Day, the experts all pointed to the rise of the custom itineraries, bespoke immersive experiences and the need for expert travel agents.

For me, I’ve found the value in (some) travel agents over the years (after my bad memories of the order taker in 1988) who have greatly enhanced the travel experience for me, saved me money and saved a trip.  While you may think you can do it all for travel, I offer up my reasons for using a travel agent:

1. It’s complicated!

This isn’t the title of my romantic life (although it could be many days), it refers to the fact that you have a complicated air itinerary that isn’t quite point A-B and back. It could be multi-city, multi-country or multi-airline/alliances.  A good travel agent can put a multi- airfare together and often save money over that internet fare you found.  Internet search engines aren’t quite that intuitive and often will price out your multi-city fare based on separate (more expensive) one way fares.  For example, if you want to fly to Los Angeles for a stopover then fly to San Francisco for a few days before coming home -it looks like PHL-LAX-SFO-PHL.  The internet will find the fare PHL-LAX, LAX-SFO and SFO-PHL whereas a travel agent can find fares that allow the LAX stopover.

2. Which Cruise is Best for Me?

Finding the right cruise, the right ship and the perfect vacation is an art in my opinion.  A cruise expert will spend time (about 1/2 hour or more) interviewing you to get the information they need to match you to the perfect cruise.  I’m a big believer in cruise agents.  The cruise lines control their pricing so that all channels will shows the same price for the trip.  The difference (savings) in pricing generally comes in the form of on board credit (OBC), agency comps and specials.

An expert cruise agent has toured the ships, sailed the itineraries and knows which cabin is best for your specifics.  They will know about each restaurant onboard, the entertainment, the feel of the ship, the kids clubs, the ports, etc.  They love cruises and more likely than not, that’s the only type of vacation they take, they are all about the cruise, like my friend Mike.  Mike is always on a cruise (at least based on his Facebook updates) and after all of us telling him to become a cruise agent, he finally did and created CruiseStarter.

3. Destination Specific or WOW, the Country is Huge and I’m Clueless

When I traveled to New Zealand, I used a destination specialist travel agent located in Wellington, New Zealand.  She was a local who knew a lot more about traveling in her country than I could research and figure out.  I tried to find a U.S. based “expert” and did, but she wanted to stick me on a bus tour and charge the single supplement.  She didn’t plan out individual itineraries and didn’t have experience with solo travelers.  By working via email with the New Zealand agent, I had a magical ten-day trip that was beyond imagination and beyond what tour groups offered.

When I traveled on safari to Africa, Rhino Africa, located in Capetown, offered a plethora of option which worked perfectly.  Having met Nikki, the travel agent, at the New York Travel Show, I was able to email with her to nail down the specifics of my 27 Day Safari Itinerary.  She convinced me to stay at Oddballs in the Okavango Delta promising me an unforgettable experience – she was right!  She said stay at Inyati, I never heard of it, never read about it, was clueless and it was perfect!  When I tried to price out the trip direct on the internet with the vendors, the cost was so much more than Rhino offered – they deal direct with the vendors for special pricing.

4. My Boss Wants Me To Go There – The Corporate Travel Agent

I’ve managed corporate travel for nearly twenty years and in this space, the travel agent is invaluable to help with delays, cancellation, risk management, help with contracts/deals and changes along the way.  They are proactive for the traveler while staying within corporate policy as they understand both sides of the business traveler.

When the Icelandic volcano cloud interrupted international flights for days, our corporate agent made multiple booking for staff to be on the first flights out of the cities they were stranded in.  When a snow storm hit Paris years ago closing the Chunnel, my travel agent was able to rebook my flight to London earlier to avoid getting stuck in Paris. When we needed a preferred hotel, the agent set up a site visit at The Rosewood London.

5. I Just Want to Use My Points!

When my colleague wanted to find two tickets in January to Sydney and New Zealand and it was October, it was too much for me to do (I didn’t believe it could be done) so I referred him to the points travel booking services, Book Your Award.  They charge a fee, generally $150 and up per ticket but only when they find you the award ticket.  Despite me thinking this was a crazy request they were able to redeem AMEX points in his Delta account to redeem on the partner, Virgin Australia in business class.  Well worth the $300 fee for him and his wife. Saved him time and frankly, he has no clue that he could move the points like they did.  So pay the fee to save your sanity if you have miles and want a premium seat or complicated itinerary with stopovers, etc. Other options are Points Pros and Mile Value.

I still find value in using a travel agent in certain circumstances and, for me, having a long-standing relationship with a trusted agent is invaluable.  My personal travel agent has wait listed me on Amtrak for the lower fare (I didn’t even know this was an option!), rescued me from a bad hotel in Budapest by obtaining a refund on a non-refundable rate and has connections worldwide with concierges that have provided excellent information. My cruise agent sends updates when there are solo discounts, my Galapagos cruise agent is watching for a single cabin to open up this year and my corporate travel agent/agency helps me do my job in controlling costs while ensuring that my travelers are safe and traveling easy. I can’t do any of this by myself online which is why using a travel agent adds value.

Do you use a travel agent?  If not, when would you consider using one?