Tech Talk: Should Vacations Be Booked Online?

Computers are a great resource for gaming, shopping, movies, finance management plus much, much more. One of the major shopping conveniences is traveling resources.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, and consumer research conducted by Forrester Research cited in that article, the number of people using a travel agent to book their travel plans has risen 4% over the past two years. It makes sense, as the myriad options for travel shopping online has become overwhelming.

But the one reason people give for booking online is the fear that a travel agent is suggesting a particular booking with his or her wallet in mind, not the consumer's. Here are my top 10 reasons you should always use a travel agent instead of shopping online.

1. Convenient One-Stop Shopping - Travel agents can handle every aspect of your trip from airline tickets to lodging, ground transportation, activities, tours and more.
2. Consumer Advocate - If you should have a problem during your trip, travel agents can act on your behalf to see that proper restitutions are made. Let me see you try to get support from an exclusive online company when your reservation is missing!
3. Expert Guidance - Travel agents are experts in helping travelers get where they need to go and in helping to create possibilities most people never would have dreamed possible.
4. Choice - Travel agents offer you an array of options and price quotes from a variety of travel suppliers, giving you the upper hand when making your final travel decisions.
5. Updated Information - Travel agents are constantly communicating with the travel community, thus giving you the most up to date info on airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, travel visas, and other travel services to consider as you plan your trip.
6. Travel Documentation - Travel agents can help you to prepare and organize any necessary documents that you may need in order to travel outside of the country. They can direct you to your local passport office, and they know where you need a visa, as well as any other documentation that you might need along the way. In fact, my travel agent has a photocopy of my passport filed in the office, one phone call and the agent can fax or email it to the nearest embassy or consulate.
7. Online Reviews Aren't Trustworthy - Most online reviews contain anonymous agents or proprietors of hotels, resturants and other venues. These online reviews can't be trusted and they are hoping that the cheap deal is all you want, regardless of quality.
8. Best Value for Your Money Spent - Travel agents can help you to make your dollars go farther while you are away. They have access to finding all sorts of deals, ranging from flights to hotels to dinner recommendations.
9. Location, Location, Location - Travel Specialists can help you to find a place to stay pretty much anywhere you desire. If it’s a hotel with a view of the ocean in Hawaii or a jungle hut in the Nilgiri foothills, a travel agent can help you make it happen. In Washington DC there are always hotels available in the "Capital Hill Area" that are below the $100 price per room. The reason the prices are so good it is because the "Capital Hill Area" is only safe for 2-3 blocks, and cheap hotels aren't anywhere near a subway station or walkable amenities. You save over $20 staying at these hotels but you can spend over $50 daily for a taxi ride or parking costs.
10. Special Deals Worked Out in Advance - Travel agents may have relationships with certain tour operators and could be able to get you a special price that might not otherwise be available.

Online shopping calls for a credit card, which always surprises me how easily people give out their credit card on the internet. How secure is the internet? Do you have confidence that you will be charged the correct amount? Do you have confidence in the online transaction? Do your research and you will find many online travel sites have their issues including canceled return flight tickets, hidden charges not covered that are expected at check-in, missing flight connections, and advertised prices not available.

What You Need In A Travel Agent

• An agent who has CTA (Certified Travel Associate) or CTC (Certified Travel Counselor) letters after his or her name has received professional training and been tested to achieve that level.
• An agent who has ACC (Accredited Cruise Counselor) or MCC (Master Cruise Counselor) letters after his or her name indicates a tested level of expertise in cruise travel.
• Membership in the American Society of Travel Agents is also a good yardstick, as members must adhere to a strict code of ethics and are required to respond to consumer complaints or risk expulsion from the society.
• Call the Better Business Bureau for a reliability report on a particular travel agent or agency.

What Is Your Free Time Worth

The biggest problem with online travel shopping is the amount of invested time until the user feels they have found the "best deal." Most people don't know exactly how much it costs them to sit in front of a computer to surf for "deals." We see commercials showing a smart shopper getting the best deal for their next vacation. But they only show the end result of the purchase - not the result of the vacation or the amount of time spent looking for the best deal.

In my scenario you are John or Jane Doe with a job that pays $10 per hour or $20,800/year. Breaking that down to how much you are worth in a 24 hour period is taking the $10/per hour (8 hour work day) divided over 24 hours ($10 * 8 hours) / 24 = $3.33. J. Doe is worth $3.33 per hour while he or she sleeps, sneezes, eats, watches TV and surfs the internet. If J. Doe spends just 5 hours on the internet looking for the best vacation deals they just spent $16.67 - add that to their final savings. If J. Doe is like most users their end result is only a few dollars in online cost savings; deducting J. Doe's worth per hour saved nothing.

Average users do not spend just a few hours online looking for best travel deals on the internet; J. Doe started to plan months or years for vacation. How many hours do you spend? If J. Doe spends 5 hours a week over a 6 month period the additional cost would be no less than $225. If J. Doe went to a local travel agent for one hour for initial investment and one or two hours for follow-up meetings it could have only cost $9.99.

Bottom Line

Skip the online purchases and stroll down main street to your nearest Travel Agent. Just because you can do it yourself, doesn't mean you should. You are worth more than staring at a screen for hours looking for the "best deal." What do you do with your $3.33 a hour?

Find a Travel Agent Close To You

• Local Travel Agent - Need a travel agency to help you plan your vacation, business trip or weekend getaway? LATA's highly sophisticated, Geo-coded search engine can pinpoint the agency closest to you.
• Find an ASTA Travel Agent - All Travel Agents within this directory are members of ASTA and adhere to a strict Code of Ethics.

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