How do travel agents fit into your travels?

I’d like to build on my post from last week about tour groups. This week, travel agents — do you ever work with travel agents, and if so, how?

Here’s why I think domestic travel agents and vagabonding don’t mix:

1) The travel agent doesn’t understand the appeal of long-term, independent travel. Especially when the traveler has enough money to do a bunch of fixed-price things in a shorter time frame and then go back to work. (The reasons for this potential lack of understanding are too diverse to list.)

2) The agent gets it, but they can’t sell it. The experience that interests the long-term, budget-stretching independent traveler doesn’t offer the agent much in the way of commissions.

3) They get it, but their offerings are too expensive. The idea of attending/crashing the two-day birthday bash for Crown Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil at his palace outside Mumbai sounds great. Shelling out $2,300 to do it? Maybe next year.

4) They get it, but their offerings are too structured. The agent’s website says, “With superlative guides and artfully orchestrated itineraries, our goal is to connect people in a meaningful and personally relevant way to the places we visit.” Oxymoron? you might ask. Or, “We invite you to explore our website and select a travel advisor who can show you the difference between a nice trip and an unforgettable experience.” Why can’t I do that on my own?

5) They get it, their offerings are affordable and unstructured, but the mere thought of directly paying for the experience versus getting it through some combination of initiative and magic renders the offer unappealing. Sort of like paying for sex. Maybe you have enough money to hit up the $2,300 birthday bash, but you just can’t stomach the idea of doing so.

Do you notice any overlap between bespoke travel agencies (#’s 3, 4, and 5 above) and the vagabonding community? If you can/could afford the services, have you done it (would you do it)? Or is such counsel to be avoided on principle? When do travel agents make sense?

(Reverse angle — Why trust any travel blogger, me included, who doesn’t have a financial stake in helping you have a great experience?)

Photo by Meanest Indian via Flickr.

Posted by | Comments (7)  | July 7, 2010
Category: Money Management, Notes from the collective travel mind


7 Responses to “How do travel agents fit into your travels?”

  1. Luke Says:

    Whilst I have been known to use Travel Agents, mainly for those necessities where their expertise or access has been essential (ie booking flights which may not be available directly or online), I have been frustrated by them in the past.

    In one instance, I visited a small local travel agent in Sydney, Australia, after having returned from 10 months wandering around Asia. I was enquiring about the cheapest flight back into Thailand to be able to pick up where I left off. The agent, obviously not experienced in dealing with longterm travellers, refused to sell me any tickets unless I booked a return journey. The agent went on to insist that Thailand would refuse me entry if I did not have proof of onward journey (which, I admit, is what their guidelines state, but I never had any requests to prove my travels in the previous wanderings). Long story short, after 20 minutes of the agent trying to prove to me that I needed to purchase their (overpriced) flights for a return journey I left their store.

    I think the trust extended to travel bloggers is the same trust extended to other travellers we encounter on the road. We take advice from you because we see ourselves as looking for the same experiences, and the fact that you do not have a vested interest means that the advice given is not biased or tainted by a want on your part to make money from us.

  2. Don Says:

    Good post Brett, and I agree on all points made by Luke as well. In addition, my experiences with
    travel agents have usually included them trying to set me up with some high priced package deal
    with an expensive hotel and car rental.

  3. Jeff Pruett Says:

    If you’re vagabonding why would you need a travel agent? What can they provide?

  4. Animesh Says:

    Excellent post. I feel the time is ripe for the rise of a new kind of “travel agent”. One that doesn’t get commissions from the hotels/flights he/she recommends, but rather charges you for information.
    So you’d pay them a flat fee and they’ll give you recommendations along with links to make your bookings yourselves.
    The amount of travel information on the internet is massive, and not everyone has the time or the patience to sift through it all and find the good stuff.
    For example, if X already KNOWS that the cheapest way to get to Japan from Singapore in any particular month is on Cebu Pacific (via Philippines), Y can pay X a few dollars for that info and not have to spend hours on the internet trying to find it out!

  5. Steve Says:

    I think travel agents only work best if you’re out of the U.S. and using one from a country where people often travel in/out. On a side note, I get a kick out of the travel agents in SE Asia. A lot just have a computer, book your flight online (like you would) and charge an agent fee.

  6. Tom Lewis @tomtravel2 Says:

    As a former travel agent, occasional blogger, and frequent visitor to the twitter travel community I have a lot of respect for both vagabonders and travel agents. Most really good agents do not target the budget minded consumer for good reason. They make most of their income on commissions and some from fees. The higher the prices paid the more they make. For complex air itineraries an agent could save most of you money even with the fees. Finding one who is willing to take on that type low return job is getting harder as the marginal agents get squeezed out by online competition. Those who cater to middle class and above working vacationers who have ample budgets and little time to do detailed research are still doing very well in the internet age.

    There still is a lot to learn from travel agents who visit destinations frequently. One suggestion I would make to those in your community is to book direct with the travel suppliers and not with online travel agencies. You will often get better prices and almost always get better customer service. I also recommend picking up the phone and talking to someone on property. Happy travels!