Self -service travel booking. Could the travel agent be making a comeback?

Yes Virginia, we can. That's part of our full service, we can take care of just about everything for you.

I think the thing to remember is that by using your local travel agent, you are keeping more of your dollars in your own community. Using an online agency, you obviously don't.

Travel agents can and do get the same deals that you can, the caveat is that we can get those deals for larger trips. If you are just booking a hotel or an airline ticket, then it's probably better to do it online. Most, if not all, agents can't beat the hotwire or priceline deals.

But if you are doing a cruise or a longer trip, then using an agent will get you the personal service, all your questions answered and a trip tailored to what you want. And of course, that money stays and contributes to your community not someone elses.

Elana, you are right that cruise lines are more loyal, mostly for 2 reasons.  1.  Cruises are more unknown than other types of vacations.  Particularly for first time cruisers, thre are a lot of questions that agents can handle through their experience.  Most agents take familiarization (fam) trips to get to know the various lines and destinations.  2. Cruise lines are less present on the web.  Most cruiseline websites are not mature and people are generally uncomfortable purchasing large-ticket items online.  It's an expensive item both in terms of money and emotional investment. 

As far as business travel is concerned, true that most of these trips are pretty cut and dried, so it's more or less commodity travel.  If you are traveling every month to the same places, then it's easy.  If the trip is more complex, then it might make more sense for an agent to handle the booking.  Do you really want an exec that you are paying $100 an hour to spend time looking for a trip that's $50 cheaper?  A good travel manager will weigh the pros and cons, not just from an ROI perspective, but also corporate culture and other factors.  

Thanks so much for linking to my post!

I've decided that the travel agency is going to be my first port of call from now on - to my surprise it saves time, saves hassle and saves money. Ironically, given the name of my blog, I've been booking everything online for years. Just think how much money I could have saved!

Credit crunch? Pah! For daily money-saving gems, unmissable discount alerts and red hot tips, come visit me at www.miss-thrifty.co.uk ( http://www.miss-thrifty.co.uk/ ).

My company allows employees to step in if they need or want a particular hotel or flight (with restrictions of course), but we have a department that handles this full time.  Many times the travel changes or is last minute or extended so this makes more sense in our business I guess.

I'm actually on vacation this week and next and our family used a travel agent to book the trip. I think in some cases it makes sense. We are doing a multi-country trip ending with an apartment for 4 days.  You can find these kinds of rentals online but it was really convenient and we had the experience of the agency, which at least makes you feel better. 

But mostly, if it's a personal trip, I do the booking myself online.

 A couple of years ago I did a story for the Chicago Tribune about the state of travel agents -- if my memory is right the Cruise Industry is still very loyal to travel agents and actually make it hard for people ot book online ( this information is several years old but that was the case in 2003 or 2004.)

I also know that many corporations now require their employees to do their own booking-through onlie programs. I don't get it. While I enjoy the hunt for the lowest price, it is time consuming and I have  a feeling if businesses actually did an ROI on having employees do all their own travel arrangements they would find it's not that big of a savings.  

Thoughts?

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness ( http://funnybusiness.typepad.com/funnybusiness )

I've been in travel for over 20 years.  First as a res agent, then in the marketing and operations sice, finally in the information design for online travel. 

Independent agents (we call them "mom and pop shops") are getting harder to find because of changes in the industry.  In between commission caps, the ecomony, online travel - it's hard for them to make a living. 

Generally, agents as travel arrangers can do the same functions as the traveler themselves if they made the travel bookings or own the traveler profile (to Virginia's question).  So they can check on credits, etc. but they make little or no money from a Southwest Airlines transaction.  Because of that, most agents charge a fee for services. In some cases, they will waive the fee if the transaction gives them a higher commission, such as a cruise.

Regarding hotels, this is the most unregulated part of travel.  Online agencies contract wtih hotels to sell off distressed dates.  If a hotel has a particularly low occupancy due to something like a cancelled convention, it's not uncommon for them to drop their rates below what they have contracted with agencies, BUT if online agencies find out about it, they can and will cancel a contract - in most cases the hotel guarantees that they will not offer a lower price than what the online agency.  

Hotels and other travel vendors will not help you if you have a problem with your travel if you purchased with an agency.  Vendors don't want to pay agency commission or deal with the lower contracted prices.

Basically, if you are dealing with a local independent agent and they do a good job for you, by all means tip.  It will be appreciated.  If your travel plans are complex or for international trips, using an agent makes good economic sense.  Agents have wider access to flight inventories and prices in their systems than what is offered in online travel.  For hotels, always ask at the front desk if there is a lower price when you check in.  If the ansnwer is yes and you booked online, let the agency know - not to punish the hotel, but to keep agencies in line so they offer the lowest prices to all.

Hope this info is helpful.

TW and I recently discussed travel agents - they either seem to be more predominant here or we're just noticing them more because we're in a new place, not sure which.

But that led us to wonder how they actually stay in business. Who uses them? When and why? I can think of five TAs within 10 miles of me, there are probably more. I don't get it. Is it the big trip traveler who is using them? Is it larger corporations who force their employees to go through "their" travel agent? What keeps them in biz?

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings ( http://www.flamingohouse.net/ )

would be nice. Sort of luxurious.

Like you, I'm a do-it-yourself travel booker. I use Southwest a lot since my most frequent destination is Austin. I find myself booking a flight online and then calling Southwest to talk to a human about it. Partly this is because I buy tickets for my granddaughter who travels as an unaccompanied minor. That requires a phone call after booking. But I also call to do things like get credit balances from canceled flights or check on my account balance. Can a travel agent do that for me? I don't think they can.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/virginia-debolt )
Web Teacher ( http://www.webteacher.ws/ )
First 50 Words ( http://first50.wordpress.com/ )

used to freak me out too

Look for me at http://crunchycarpets.com or check out the ladies at www.wetcoastwomen.com ( http://www.wetcoastwomen.com )

 I wasn't sure what to do -- so I didn't. But since my daughter goes to college there, I would like to know whether I am supposed to tip for next time.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness ( http://funnybusiness.typepad.com/funnybusiness )

for straight just flights..online is great..but I am always a bit dubious about the 'deals' when trying to book packages and so on..

 I used a travel agent for disney and that was fantastic..all together everything..and I don't think I could have done it cheaper or on the dates I wanted.

And yeah all of Richmond, BC is full serve and the rest of the lower mainland is pay before you pump because of some poor kids getting killed trying to get his money from a guy gassing and running.

Look for me at http://crunchycarpets.com or check out the ladies at www.wetcoastwomen.com ( http://www.wetcoastwomen.com )

I think many people are, like me, doing some of their own trip planning and also using a travel agent. I am very comfortable making my own flight arrangements and hotel reservations using online sites but when it comes to planning cruises or major vacations, I like to use my local travel agent.

In the past, I have checked directly with the cruise lines, etc. and they quote the same price she is able to obtain, so I think I am getting the best deal. I have not been brave enough yet to book a $10,000 trip with a stranger online, even though some of the deals look great. I like knowing I can contact her in case of an emergency and she will help me. Or if my travel plans change, she can help me make those plans. She was also the one who called us immediately when a large suite became available on our last cruise because she knew I wanted that cabin but could not afford it until the cruise line offered us a great deal. I don't think an online agent would have done that.

 We will be retiring next year and plan to do a lot more travelling, so maybe I will get a little bolder about making more online plans. But, I don't know. I still like some personal service!