How To Pick A Travel Agency

The trip of a lifetime can take a lifetime to plan unless you know how to pick a travel agency.

A common misconception is that travel agencies add to the cost of your trip. In truth, finding and using a good travel agency to plan your trip usually saves you time, money, and frustration. So how do you pick a travel agency?

Ask around!

The best way to find a good travel agency is through word of mouth. Ask your family and friends who theyÕve used and then ask them about their trip. How did they travel? Where did they stay? Was their trip enjoyable? Getting a few referrals from friends helps you to know in ahead of time what to expect from a particular travel agent and helps you weed out the good from the not-so-good as well.

Are you a member?

Many clubs and organizations offer travel services for their members and many corporations have established relationships with travel agencies that their employees can use. ÒMembers onlyÓ travel plans frequently offer the best values.

Compare

Shop a couple of experienced firms. Travel agencies come and go like any other businesses. The ones that stay in business add experience and know-how to each trip they plan. Make your first inquiry with a travel agency a listening experience; judge how well the agent listens to you and how comfortable they make you feel.

A good travel agent will ask you to outline your trip. TheyÕll ask where youÕre going and why, how youÕd prefer to travel, how long you plan to stay, and what your travel budget is. Be open and honest with your answers. A good agent will readily put together a sample itinerary that describes availabilities in transportation, accommodations, and estimated costs.

If you feel like youÕre getting the Òhard sellÓ or the travel agency tells you thereÕs only package available, keep shopping. You can always go back if you find that theyÕre right!

In addition to finding the best rates in lodgings and transportation, an experienced travel agent can also give you some helpful tips about your destination and hereÕs the bonusÑ generally it costs nothing to use a travel agency! Because they can buy in volume, travel agencies get discounts on prices for both tickets and lodgings!

For travel made easy, use the services of a travel agency to make your outing a time to remember well!

By Nathan Lynch.

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See What the Travel Agents See!

The travel Industry is a multibillion dollar Industry and is growing significantly each year. In the past the Travel Suppliers would sell their travel packages to the travel agency and the travel agency would sell the package directly to the public. This is changing!

Because of the Internet and the positive response to the Internet by Travel consumers, Travel Suppliers are now placing their products online for ALL to see. Many Travel suppliers have set up their own web sites, however, hundreds of Travel Suppliers, Consolidators and Travel Wholesalers have teamed up with Travel Industry Trade Associations. For example OSSN (Outside Sales Support Network) is the #1 Travel Industry Trade Association representing and supporting the Home Based Travel Agency, Independent Contractor Seller of Travel and the Outside Sales Travel Agent. There are over 100,000 members in OSSN.

Because of this vast number of outside travel agents -- Travel suppliers overwhelm our in baskets with travel deals. Most agents select a particular region, destination or type of travel like Honeymoons, Cruises Gulf trips, Skiing or what ever area they feel comfortable with. When a new Travel supplier is introduced to the membership, members often discuss their product on the private members only message board. The Travel Agents then present these great travel deals to their client database and the rest of the consumers are left searching for these true yet unbelievable travel deals. (If you want to see a sample of what I am talking about, find the "catch all" fax machine at your work place. Ask about the Travel Faxes that come in? Because faxing unsolicited information is a no, no, you may not see the real deals on a consistent bases)

Travel consumers can view an e-vacation catalog without having to speak with a travel agent. Not only can you read and see what travel agents see, you can view videos, online, of your selected destinations.

Travel Suppliers have come a long way. Go to the http://www.travel360degrees.com site and click on Vacation Catalog to see what the Travel Agents see.

Some Travel Agencies markup the Travel Tours if possible, others will only charge you the price that the Travel Supplier is charging them! There is much debate about how to expose the public to these great travel deals. There is also, it appears, to be a silent push from the US State Department for US citizens to travel in groups when traveling aboard. Well the Travel Suppliers, got the unspoken message. The group tour deals are unheard of and the individual, select a date, vacation packages are extremely affordable.

By Cassandra Ingraham.

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