Travel agent vs. booking on your own

I'm sure someone can answer this for me, but WTH does a travel agent do anymore?

That's sorta what I'm thinking M! So much can be done online now. However, I did read that sometimes they can save you on flights because they can route your flight itinerary differently or something.

On a side note, does anyone else find the honeymoon catalogues you get at bridal shows or from travel agents totally overwhelming??

But i feel like, with 30 more minutes and an average level of computer literacy, any one can find those "deals."

Maybe a travel agent could chime in, but I found them pointless 10 years ago, not sure how they're still around now!

What's a honeymoon catalog? Just a catalog of all destinations? Meh.... we don't want to go to a beach, so immediately about 99.5% of all suggestions are out.

Sometimes when something goes wrong, they can move you from one resort to another. for instance, I bought a week at an a/i in the dominican republic a few years ago and the resort inexplicably closed. A travel agent can rebook you elsewhere or is usually more effective at getting you refunds. Also, if you're traveling anytime near hurricane season, if you end up at a resort that is terribly damaged, they can move you. A friend of ours a few years ago booked a small resort with an open air room for his honeymoon in St. Lucia. They ended up hating it. Since his TA had credit at Sandals, she was able to move them with little or no cost. I don't normally travel with a TA, but I'm doing it for the honeymoon because I don't want to have to handle if something goes wrong on my own.

I suppose if you're going to larger resorts, or tropical destinations.... for our honeymoon we're going hunting in Alaska or Australia - a travel agent would be worse than useless for us! I try to stay away from resorts at all costs.

Check to see if they can do anything for you, can't hurt.

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about this. My TA managed to find a discount for our resort that I didn't even know existed.

I'm not saying they're always worth it, but sometimes they are.

Do you pay them a flat fee? A percentage? How are they making their money?

It's just a fee.

My FH and I were originally looking into a Sandals resort in St. Lucia -- so expensive! We were literally about to book through a travel agent and she went on vacation and never got back to us. So we decided to do a little more research online ourselves. We had been to Cancun (Paradisus -- loved it!) but wanted something fancier and more special for our honeymoon. We came across a place that is 7 miles north of Cancun in Playa Mujeres called The Beloved Hotel. It's a boutique style all inclusive resort with only 109 rooms total. We've both read literally hundreds of reviews on Trip Advisor and have made up our mind that this will be our honeymoon spot! Everyone RAVES about the high quality of personalized service that you just can't find at bigger resorts. They have standard rooms in the main buildings and then really awesome condo style casitas that are literally right on the beach! All rooms are the standard 900-1000 sq ft - massive! The casitas are 3 stories and have two rooms in each: 1 ground level room that has a private pool right out your door and 1 room that is on the second floor and has a roof top deck with a small pool on the third floor. I highly suggest you go take a look! Good luck and happy planning!

I used a travel agent for the honeymoon. Normally I don't but it took the head ache away of sorting through all the information of getting the best price at the right location along with planning a wedding. The travel agent doesn't cost me a dime so nothing to lose.

A travel agent shouldn't charge you anything as they are paid through the booking company or resort. Our travel agent (Travel By Kelly here on WW) was very helpful and was able to find deals that we were not, including better flights. She is also very familiar with the Secrets and Sandals inclusive resorts and tours them at opening and beyond so she can let her customers know her hands on experience. She will also write the resort before our arrival to make sure that our Honeymoon Package ($999.00 retail) is all taken care of and at no charge. She also sent us a very nice Christmas card too! My personal opinion is they are worth it....maybe try one and see what they quote you on a location that you are interested in and see what they come up with compared to what you found. You are not obligated at all, although the first agent I dealt with was the pushy car salesman type and she did bother us, they aren't all like that.

Melissa, that sounds awesome, I will def. check into it. Thanks for all the feedback guys, I didn't realize it didn't cost anything to talk to a TA, so might as well and then compare.

I didn't want the hassle of planning a super detailed honeymoon while planning a wedding so we opted for a travel agent. She has been super helpful with finding flights that are more affordable. She didn't cost us anything either.

I actually work at a travel agency (although I don't sell travel myself) and I am even torn on the issue. For certain types of travel, larger budget trips, more complicated itineraries, or countries where you are not familiar with the language/visa requirement a travel agent can be a life saver. I work at a full service agency so we will pretty much do everything for you but pose for your passport photo if you want us to. We do charge a fee but honestly commissions that travel agents get paid has dropped CRAZY amounts in the last 5-10 years because of online booking and the fee is pretty reasonable. The reason we have to charge it is also partially because we will do hours and hours of research and work then never hear back from a client so we need the upfront fee to help cover some of those costs.

Now if you are doing a "fly and flop" where you are just going to one location and such then booking by yourself isn't such a big deal. Like Janeen said it can be nice to have the agent in case something goes wrong. We have had agents take calls at all hours of the nights to work out insurance (last week we had a client break ribs while hiking in China), fix missed flights, etc. Friday one of our agents had to track down a missing piece of luggage for a client and have the airline direct ship it to the cruise harbour in order to make the departure time and she did it!

But if I leave ANY advice it is get medical travel insurance. You never know. Many credit cards and even some work benefits have basic travel insurance but it often doesn't include medical and if you get in a situation where you need to get help asap or take an expensive helicopter ride to the nearest hospital you will be very very very grateful. I never purchased it myself before working here and now I couldn't imagine travelling without. Serious peace of mind.

And as others have said. All agents are different. Even in the same agency. Don't judge all agents by one poor one! AND FINALLY experience. Travel agents will very often have first hand experience at the destination you are travelling to or work with someone who does and can provide some amazing advice and tips. I booked a trip to Japan with a woman who worked at the agency and had grown up in Japan and she had me set up with so many little things I didn't even know existed. I had wanted to climb Mount Fuji and she then said "Have you considered climbing at night to watch the sun rise from the top?". I did just that and it is easily one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

We are going to use a travel agent because...

- its free (they're paid through the resort)

- they can often find good deals or at least get you excursions, etc. thrown in

- we are going to the Caribbean during hurricane season to a country where we don't speak the language

- for such an important trip, I want someone to handle some of the details I might miss!

I love the first one WTH do they do?? Once I have a client they are hooked are here is why..

- We have access to specials that you may not. For example we may add a promotion on top of a promotion.

-We offer multiple options in Insurance. I never understand why people want to buy it from the same company they are buying the trip from. Read the policy's. We also explain insurance.

- We offer more then just the Hotel or Cruise. So for example we have a shore excursion website to save clients money.

-We are there in time of crisis. Had a bride do something that cost her almost a $1000 on the ship. I have connections to solve issues that bride did not. If it was not me she would never had got it back.

Cost do we charge?? Some do and Some Don't. Many in the bridal market will charge a Pay to Go Fee like $150 if its a Wedding. Its basically to hold your spot for that month. A travel agent can only handle so many Weddings a month. The serious ones pay us the fee. They get back the fee in the end.

We will also charge to book air. Here is an example why this is ok. Client told me no and will book on their own. They made an error and it was a $150 per person to fix vs my $50 fee.

Once you get burned on a trip you will find us in a flash. We are here to help.

Hello, my name is Kelly Burnett and I am owner and Travel Expert of Travel by Kelly. First let me say a BIG Congrats on your engagement. You ask a very valid question and many people do wonder the benefit of using a travel expert so I thank you for the question. Of course I can really speak for myself if I may. First and foremost it's always a pleasure to help anyone with their travel and I truly value each and everyone of my clients. My true passion for my industry and loving what I do I feel definitely sets me apart from a computer screen. I have traveled extensively throughout the world so I have first hand knowledge of many destinations and resorts and really enjoy sharing my knowledge with everyone. I would be more than happy to answer any questions, give suggestions and do the research and of course try to find the best deals. Their is never a cost to use my services. I also think what a travel expert like myself can bring to the table is the connections I have in the industry. I hope this helps you out a bit and whatever you decide I wish you a very Happy Honeymoon and fabulous life of love together. Good luck with all your wedding planning, it is a very exciting time, enjoy!

I usually do all the research myself, and then will contact a couple of travel agents to see if they can get me a better deal/throw in extra perks. I don't really use them for my base research. More just to get the cost down once I know what I want to do. Stay away from any travel agent that charges you a fee.

We are using a travel agent for an all-inclusive in Jamaica. Our travel agent is absolutely the worst. She is the only one of our wedding vendors (is that considered a vendor?) that has been a bad experience. There are several reasons why she's awful, but what makes it inconvenient is that we can't go through the resort itself now that we have a travel agent. I couldn't even confirm that we were booked there! If you decide to use a travel agent do it because you have literally researched the SH** out of your options and still need help, and only do it after you have done extensive research on your travel agent. Ours seemed nice, we booked, and now it's like pulling teeth to get a hold of her. I'm not saying don't ever go with a travel agent...just precede with caution. They can be more trouble than they are worth, especially with the ability to book on the internet these days. Good luck.

Great Post Nicole

Not all agents are created equal. So here are some questions..

What time do they work? Do they work nights? The average bride does there research at night so many are open late. I only work nights because of this. You would be amazed on how many call me at midnight.

Do they have Facebook or Text as an option? Some agents are ok with adding brides as a friend and some are not.

How fast do they respond when you do contact them? If they are slow in the beginning odds are they will be slow during the entire process.

I personally love brides who text me. Sometimes that is the fastest way to get a job done. I can respond back quickly even if I am at an event.