Travel Agents etiquette??

[adamak]

What's the proper manners towards hiring a Travel Agent. Let's say I have done my research, and I know the ballpark figure of my vacation. I would like to ask a travel agent to see if s/he can do better. However, I do not want to waste his/her time either.

If they cannot come up with a better price, should I just leave? Would it be rude if I tell him I can do better online? Or am I obligated to buy from him/her? Or should I not bother hiring one?

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I never feel obligated to use a certain travel agent for any trip. I used one certain agent for a number of trips because he always gave me the best price. Last March, I found an agent who gave me a price my "regular"travel agent couldn't touch. I went with the cheaper price. This Dec. my husband and I are going to Jamaica. I called the agent who gave me the great price in March. With the airline price wars, I can get a better rate if I do it myself. Guess what! I'm doing it myself. Hey, it's my money, I'm not rich that I can throw it away. I feel no obligation to no one and go with the best price, ALWAYS!!!!

 

[Pig Pen]

I too did some research and THEN called the travel agent (I figured they could do it cheaper???). After she quoted me some prices, I told her the prices I had found - which were much lower for similar product.

She told me to book my own vacation and hung up on me.

 

[Grog]

In some cases they can get you the internet fare. I've done my own research and gone to an agent and said "I found this, can you do better...if not, can you book this for me?". They're usually able to book what I've found, so they get the commission and I get the internet fare. Works out good for both of us.

 

[pumba]

people do check either on line or at another travel agency.......my neice was our travel agent for probably 9 of our disney trips....so we assume did us good....but I sent people to her and they did their homework....like looking on line or going through another agency....and she would see if she could do better....sometimes she could and some times she couldn't....but she did not feel that she had the customer cause she did the work and looked it up.....it is like going to a car dealership...if I find a good price one place and go and look at a few more....to keep the dealership honest.....I tell them.....sorry....we can get it cheaper elsewhere

 

[mrsapalm]

When my DH and I were in the beginning stages of planning our honeymoon, I asked a family friend who is a travel agent for some advice. She told me that, by visiting a few different sites (i.e. shopping around) I could actually do the same or even better than a travel agent. Using an agent usually involves paying for their services - a fee I don't want to include in my vacation budget. So, I got it straight from the horse's mouth!
P.S. She was right.
-MrsAPalm

 

[Kallison]

I wouldn't bother, you almost certainly will do better booking it yourself.

 

[LuvTigger]

I wouldn't rule out using a TA, sometimes they can get cheaper prices (one TA saved me about $200 over the online price on a last minute trip).

I generally book myself, but if the online prices seem very high and don't show any sign of going down, I will call around. Sometimes TAs get lower prices because they buy blocks of seats on a flight or blocks of hotel rooms, etc.

I personally prefer calling on the phone rather than going to a TA in person. I also look for local TAs that have online booking, I've found a couple that turned out to be very good deals and provide good service.

I know what you mean about feeling obligated, but unfortunately, most of the TAs I've dealt with are either not very friendly (like they're doing ME a favor) or they're very friendly, but flakey (one TA didn't tell me that I had a paper ticket instead of E-ticket until a few hours before I was going to the airport), so I've learned to be polite, but know when to say "no thanks." Only recently have I found two very reliable and friendly TAs.

In your situation, I would politely say that I found a vacation to such-and-such place and give a brief description of what you're getting and for what price range (or maybe just state the lower end of the price range), and just be forthright and say you'd like to give them the business if they can give you a comparable price. Personally, I've never had a TA really push me into buying something, they usually allow time to think about it and might even put a courtesy hold on the flights.

Just be careful about TAs you're not very familiar with, we've had some problems here in Hawaii where people pay for their vacations and the TA closes up shop and the travellers are left without a plane ticket.

 

[Beauty]

I actually looked up all the internet resources, called Disney myself and got prices for what I could do myself. I then called 3 different travel agencys and the quotes I got for the same exact trip were almost twice what I could do it myself for.

 

[adamak]

Thanks. I've done my research work, and I probably will stop by one of the TA this weekend and see. The thing is, with Disney I can always do better by myself. With Atlantis (Paradise Island), seems like I can do slightly better with TA. I also want to stay at Ocean Club in Bahamas, which I have not yet seen any discount online at all.

Very different from planning a Disney trip. We're spoiled. I looked at the room pictures in Atlantis, and not at all impressive. I have seen better in Disney.

 

[shortbun]

Adam-rare that the Ocean Club would be
discounted. Try an agency with a Virtuoso
affiliation. If you can't find one in Manhattan-
call 800-548-5670 8-5 mon-fri. They are a
Virtuoso Agency and if anyone can discount
the Ocean Club-they might. Atlantis is nice but
you'll want to avoid their "standard" room category.
Tell an agent up front what you already know. They
can often tell you immediately if they can or can not
match or beat your price. Travel agents where you
are are a whole other breed-they work on commision only
and may choose their clientelle based on earning
potential; time needed to service versus money earned.
People that are intentionally vague might not get the
best service if an agent is exceptionally good or busy.
People with the kind of time it takes to shop and shop
are often perceived as time wasters in a sea of people
ready to lay their money down. Everyone has to protect
their bottom line-not just the customer.
mimi