Travel Log
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Why I use a travel agent
By Don Shafer
Four words: services, sources, savings, support.
Now, let me not only tell what those words mean, but give you a fabulous illustration of what I am talking
about.
First, regardless of what I am looking for – airfares, car rentals, hotels, places to go and things to do – I’ve
always, always been able to get the best deal and the best information from the travel agents I’ve known. This is why I
say that no matter what service you need, a travel agent can find it for you.
Second, travel agents also have access to virtually every source for what I need. They can compare the
published airfares from every airline, all the car rental agencies, and the cost of each hotel, as well as packages. Good
agencies also have access to almost every other source other then published rates for services.
Next, I have never – never- been able to find something using the Internet for which a good travel agent hasn’t
been able to get me a better deal. He or she has saved me money every time.
Finally, when I have a problem I like having the support of someone who “knows the ins and outs”. It’s much
better having someone go to bat for me who knows what he/she is doing.
Now comes the illustration.
When I booked the gift for my wife – mentioned recently in my column about travel as a Christmas gift – the first
place I went was the Internet. One of my favorite travel agencies was advertising a Mediterranean cruise at a fantastic
price, but the date was not a good one for me, so I went to their web site and found the same cruise at the same price a
week later. Perfect.
Ah, but I wanted to add something to it. The cruise starts and ends in Barcelona, but we had talked about
visiting the capital, Madrid, and Toledo, Spain’s ancient capital, as well as revisiting Barcelona, a truly fabulous city. In
addition, my wife and daughter went on a trip to Italy together and it included Venice, a place I’ve never visited, and they
both insisted that I “just have to go there” with my wife “sometime”. So, I said to myself, “Let’s plan this so we go into
Madrid a few days early, ride the train to Toledo and then to Barcelona, go on the cruise, then fly to Venice for a few
days and then come home.”
OK. It was then time to check airline websites. I spent at least two hours checking airfares round-trip Salt Lake to
Madrid and Salt Lake to Venice – knowing that round-trip fare into Madrid and out of Venice would be half of each – as
well as one way fares from Barcelona to Venice. The best I could find was on Northwest Airlines from here to Europe
and back, and on RyanAir for the one-way trip.
Then I went to the hotel web sites and found some pretty good hotels in the $175 to $200 per night range.
Now it was time to call a travel agent to see if I had found the lowest airfare, good deals on the hotels and, while
I was at it, to book the cruise with him. He saved me more then a thousand dollars on the air tickets, about $60 a night
on the
hotels- in better locations- and got me upgraded for free on the cruise.
Because his travel agency does a huge volume of business with this particular cruise company, he was able to
give me the upgrade. Because travel agencies in general have access to consolidators, he saved me approximately
$400 each on the airfares to and from Europe and almost $125 apiece on the one-way tickets.
Consolidators are third party companies who contract with airlines for a large volume of business – think of them
as wholesalers – and most of them work only with travel agencies. So we are flying to New York on Delta, to Europe and
back on Iberia Airlines and from Barcelona to Venice on Alitalia.
We’re in central Madrid for two nights at a hotel costing $105 per night, Barcelona for a night at $114, Venice
for three days at $128 each night. Plus, my travel agent also booked the train trip from Madrid to Barcelona. It’s actually
cheaper to purchase train tickets fro European travel in the United States than it is in Europe.
Go ahead. Use the Internet. I did. But then, you should also check with your travel agent. In my case, I have his
800 number, fax number, and e-mail address so I can reach him from wherever I am if there is a glitch.
Don Shafer has been hosting radio travel shows in Salt Lake City fro more then a dozen years, and was
taught everything he knows by travel experts he has interviewed. Although some have called him “The
Travel Doctor,” he holds a PH.D in a totally unrelated field, religion.
By Don Shafer
Four words: services, sources, savings, support.
Now, let me not only tell what those words mean, but give you a fabulous illustration of what I am talking
about.
First, regardless of what I am looking for – airfares, car rentals, hotels, places to go and things to do – I’ve
always, always been able to get the best deal and the best information from the travel agents I’ve known. This is why I
say that no matter what service you need, a travel agent can find it for you.
Second, travel agents also have access to virtually every source for what I need. They can compare the
published airfares from every airline, all the car rental agencies, and the cost of each hotel, as well as packages. Good
agencies also have access to almost every other source other then published rates for services.
Next, I have never – never- been able to find something using the Internet for which a good travel agent hasn’t
been able to get me a better deal. He or she has saved me money every time.
Finally, when I have a problem I like having the support of someone who “knows the ins and outs”. It’s much
better having someone go to bat for me who knows what he/she is doing.
Now comes the illustration.
When I booked the gift for my wife – mentioned recently in my column about travel as a Christmas gift – the first
place I went was the Internet. One of my favorite travel agencies was advertising a Mediterranean cruise at a fantastic
price, but the date was not a good one for me, so I went to their web site and found the same cruise at the same price a
week later. Perfect.
Ah, but I wanted to add something to it. The cruise starts and ends in Barcelona, but we had talked about
visiting the capital, Madrid, and Toledo, Spain’s ancient capital, as well as revisiting Barcelona, a truly fabulous city. In
addition, my wife and daughter went on a trip to Italy together and it included Venice, a place I’ve never visited, and they
both insisted that I “just have to go there” with my wife “sometime”. So, I said to myself, “Let’s plan this so we go into
Madrid a few days early, ride the train to Toledo and then to Barcelona, go on the cruise, then fly to Venice for a few
days and then come home.”
OK. It was then time to check airline websites. I spent at least two hours checking airfares round-trip Salt Lake to
Madrid and Salt Lake to Venice – knowing that round-trip fare into Madrid and out of Venice would be half of each – as
well as one way fares from Barcelona to Venice. The best I could find was on Northwest Airlines from here to Europe
and back, and on RyanAir for the one-way trip.
Then I went to the hotel web sites and found some pretty good hotels in the $175 to $200 per night range.
Now it was time to call a travel agent to see if I had found the lowest airfare, good deals on the hotels and, while
I was at it, to book the cruise with him. He saved me more then a thousand dollars on the air tickets, about $60 a night
on the
hotels- in better locations- and got me upgraded for free on the cruise.
Because his travel agency does a huge volume of business with this particular cruise company, he was able to
give me the upgrade. Because travel agencies in general have access to consolidators, he saved me approximately
$400 each on the airfares to and from Europe and almost $125 apiece on the one-way tickets.
Consolidators are third party companies who contract with airlines for a large volume of business – think of them
as wholesalers – and most of them work only with travel agencies. So we are flying to New York on Delta, to Europe and
back on Iberia Airlines and from Barcelona to Venice on Alitalia.
We’re in central Madrid for two nights at a hotel costing $105 per night, Barcelona for a night at $114, Venice
for three days at $128 each night. Plus, my travel agent also booked the train trip from Madrid to Barcelona. It’s actually
cheaper to purchase train tickets fro European travel in the United States than it is in Europe.
Go ahead. Use the Internet. I did. But then, you should also check with your travel agent. In my case, I have his
800 number, fax number, and e-mail address so I can reach him from wherever I am if there is a glitch.
Don Shafer has been hosting radio travel shows in Salt Lake City fro more then a dozen years, and was
taught everything he knows by travel experts he has interviewed. Although some have called him “The
Travel Doctor,” he holds a PH.D in a totally unrelated field, religion.
Another great story about the dangers of booking on-line now a days...
Horror stories about online booking send customers back to travel agents
Rick Cropp and Barbara Braidwood, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, September 27, 2008
We have been hearing more stories than usual about the frustrations of online travel engines' customers lately.
In addition to horror stories we have read about, two people we know faced dropped bookings when they arrived at the
airport.
One had booked a flight and the other a whole vacation package and both were told that there was no record of
payment (even with a confirmation number) and they would have to pay for their trips again. So we were not especially
surprised when we saw the report by eMarketer (they sell market research and trend analysis about Internet
commerce) about the major decline in the number of people booking online and the increase of people booking
through travel agents.
An indication of how fed up people are with online booking engines is websites that will refer you to a vetted travel
agent who can then help you book your trip.Zicasso.com and Tripology (Zzyzx Travel is a member of both) have
generated good PR by taking business away from the online booking engines.
Their service is a cross between booking online and having a qualified travel agent help you.
After you fill out a form with the details of your trip, you receive a no-obligation quote in a short time.
Booking through a travel agent is some of the best insurance you can buy. When problems arise, you have someone
to call. You can go and have a coffee while they sort out the problem.
If they can't fix it right then, you'll at least know that when you return from your holiday, your travel agent will probably
have fixed the snafu.
(of course you can always go the contact us page and send a trip request to Zzyzx Travel directly !)
Rick Cropp and Barbara Braidwood, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, September 27, 2008
We have been hearing more stories than usual about the frustrations of online travel engines' customers lately.
In addition to horror stories we have read about, two people we know faced dropped bookings when they arrived at the
airport.
One had booked a flight and the other a whole vacation package and both were told that there was no record of
payment (even with a confirmation number) and they would have to pay for their trips again. So we were not especially
surprised when we saw the report by eMarketer (they sell market research and trend analysis about Internet
commerce) about the major decline in the number of people booking online and the increase of people booking
through travel agents.
An indication of how fed up people are with online booking engines is websites that will refer you to a vetted travel
agent who can then help you book your trip.Zicasso.com and Tripology (Zzyzx Travel is a member of both) have
generated good PR by taking business away from the online booking engines.
Their service is a cross between booking online and having a qualified travel agent help you.
After you fill out a form with the details of your trip, you receive a no-obligation quote in a short time.
Booking through a travel agent is some of the best insurance you can buy. When problems arise, you have someone
to call. You can go and have a coffee while they sort out the problem.
If they can't fix it right then, you'll at least know that when you return from your holiday, your travel agent will probably
have fixed the snafu.
(of course you can always go the contact us page and send a trip request to Zzyzx Travel directly !)