Booking Travel
It is always funny when folks ask me where is the cheapest place to book their vacations. I think about the times where I have seen and heard about issues that most don't even think about unless something goes wrong. They ONLY seemed to be worried about "How Much Is It". This in my opinion is NOT a great attitude to take.
Why would you spend thousands of dollars on something that means so much to you but you really do not understand what you are getting for that money?
I suggest you interview your travel professional. What areas do they specialize in. Do they know about the type of travel you are looking to purchase? One example I always give is we do no business travel. I know travel agents that do business travel and they are great at it. We are not. Can we do it, yes but we recommend others. The questions should be similar to any professional that would help you with an issue, i.e. accountant, lawyer, doctor, general contractor, mechanic and so on. You could ask about fees, charges, payments, contact hours, etc. Do you feel like you can work with this person or company? This should not take long but you must do your homework in order for you to get value from your travel professional.
Yes, this is hard to do with an Online company. I suggest you go slow and make sure you know what you are getting if you purchase online.
Again, you must spend some quality time to ensure your honeymoon/vacation is what you want it to be. Look at every phase of the trip. Are transfers to and from the airport included? What kind of transportation, private car or a huge bus full of people stopping at 12 resorts before they get to yours. I did not know it at the time but I once lost a sale because of $23. It is hard to believe but true after I quoted the trip this person went to a big online site and found it for $23 less. So they booked it. Since we knew the family we later found out they stopped at 9 resorts and wasted more than 3 hours getting to their resort. We had quoted non-stop transfers. So for $23 they would not have stopped but once at their resort. They also had huge issues going back to the airport. They had to leave the resort much earlier than the non-stop transfer would have left the resort. They wasted almost 5 hours to save $23. Ouch! I know the bride was not happy.
This goes to point out, Buyer Beware! Ask questions! Know what you are buying. A good agent can deliver the same or lower prices Vs online sites. Did you hear that? But we will also try and deliver value.
I know a couple that I talked to about a Hawaii trip with for several hours one afternoon. They were very excited. I would be to, they were going to Maui and Kauai. They had huge plans and it was my job to help them. I sent them several options and they choose what they thought they wanted. I tried to contact them to leave a deposit but they never called me back. It happens but I always want to know why. I am sure you are the same way. We later found out from a friend of theirs that they booked online and saved $53. Did they have any issues? You bet, the savings came from the airlines. This online booking engine flew them into Honolulu with transfers to Kauai on another airline. Problem was the airline they flew in on did not have a baggage agreement with the other airline. They had to deplane and get their baggage. They spent an hour trying to figure out how to get to the other airlines building. After lugging their luggage around they finally got there. Same story on the way back. I could have easily booked this flight for them and saved them the $53 but would you want to do this on your vacation?
I guess it comes down to communication. If you book online know what you are getting. Same if you book with an agent. Ask questions. If you see a lower price talk to your agent. Tell them where you saw it. Make them explain the difference from what you see online Vs what they have quoted you. Many online sites also allow travel agents to sell their packages.
Find a great travel agent and they will save you money for life. Find a bad one and it will hurt for a long time.
Ask questions.
Why would you spend thousands of dollars on something that means so much to you but you really do not understand what you are getting for that money?
I suggest you interview your travel professional. What areas do they specialize in. Do they know about the type of travel you are looking to purchase? One example I always give is we do no business travel. I know travel agents that do business travel and they are great at it. We are not. Can we do it, yes but we recommend others. The questions should be similar to any professional that would help you with an issue, i.e. accountant, lawyer, doctor, general contractor, mechanic and so on. You could ask about fees, charges, payments, contact hours, etc. Do you feel like you can work with this person or company? This should not take long but you must do your homework in order for you to get value from your travel professional.
Yes, this is hard to do with an Online company. I suggest you go slow and make sure you know what you are getting if you purchase online.
Again, you must spend some quality time to ensure your honeymoon/vacation is what you want it to be. Look at every phase of the trip. Are transfers to and from the airport included? What kind of transportation, private car or a huge bus full of people stopping at 12 resorts before they get to yours. I did not know it at the time but I once lost a sale because of $23. It is hard to believe but true after I quoted the trip this person went to a big online site and found it for $23 less. So they booked it. Since we knew the family we later found out they stopped at 9 resorts and wasted more than 3 hours getting to their resort. We had quoted non-stop transfers. So for $23 they would not have stopped but once at their resort. They also had huge issues going back to the airport. They had to leave the resort much earlier than the non-stop transfer would have left the resort. They wasted almost 5 hours to save $23. Ouch! I know the bride was not happy.
This goes to point out, Buyer Beware! Ask questions! Know what you are buying. A good agent can deliver the same or lower prices Vs online sites. Did you hear that? But we will also try and deliver value.
I know a couple that I talked to about a Hawaii trip with for several hours one afternoon. They were very excited. I would be to, they were going to Maui and Kauai. They had huge plans and it was my job to help them. I sent them several options and they choose what they thought they wanted. I tried to contact them to leave a deposit but they never called me back. It happens but I always want to know why. I am sure you are the same way. We later found out from a friend of theirs that they booked online and saved $53. Did they have any issues? You bet, the savings came from the airlines. This online booking engine flew them into Honolulu with transfers to Kauai on another airline. Problem was the airline they flew in on did not have a baggage agreement with the other airline. They had to deplane and get their baggage. They spent an hour trying to figure out how to get to the other airlines building. After lugging their luggage around they finally got there. Same story on the way back. I could have easily booked this flight for them and saved them the $53 but would you want to do this on your vacation?
I guess it comes down to communication. If you book online know what you are getting. Same if you book with an agent. Ask questions. If you see a lower price talk to your agent. Tell them where you saw it. Make them explain the difference from what you see online Vs what they have quoted you. Many online sites also allow travel agents to sell their packages.
Find a great travel agent and they will save you money for life. Find a bad one and it will hurt for a long time.
Ask questions.
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