Yesterday, I blogged about part 1 of the Forbes’ article by Larry Olmsted – see https://lushlife.ca/2012/02/why-use-a-travel-agent-part-1-pinging-on-the-forbes-article/ and the original article here http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/01/20/why-you-need-a-travel-agent-part-1/. Today, I’d like to follow up, and ping on part 2 – see original Forbes’ article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/01/22/why-you-need-a-travel-agent-part-2/
Larry Olmsted starts part 2 by outlining that this is where
the rubber meets the road – there are “concrete reasons why it is often shortsighted, even foolish, to book a trip without a travel agent – even if you think you know what you are doing… In fact, I have found that the biggest resistance to using a travel agent comes from the ego of thinking we don’t need one. This makes no sense: If I needed to design a new home, I’d hire an architect, not use a “be-your-own-architect” website.
I’m inclined to draw an equivalent metaphor (a la Nolan Burris). Those who think they got the stock market figured out will be inclined to buy their stock, themselves, online. Those who want some time and consideration and experience to go into their financial management, won’t do it themselves – they’ll hire a financial planner. Of course, you should give your most important asset (your leisure time) the same respect as your financial assets. Hire someone who can manage your vacation time, and maximize your return on life.
Larry’s article gives info on how advisors can save you when you are booking flights – and the benefits that come with being a travel advisor’s VIP client. If you book your flights online yourself, and you need to make a change; or, god forbid, you are caught in a situation such as the Costa Cruise sinking or the ash cloud incident in Iceland; you will spend hours and hours in an airport with other frustrated and upset passengers, and you will spend hours and hours on hold with an airline’s customer service line. Wouldn’t a call to your personal travel advisor be better? Why not get an advocate on your behalf?
With me, I have an entire international air department of Vision 2000, and all of our great relationships and connections and contracts with the airlines at my disposal to help my clients find the best rates, good connections, and take care of requests. Plus, we can help when you get caught in a jam! (Vision 2000 is a preferred partner, and a member of Air Canada’s circle of excellence. And we have top tier relationships with other airlines as well. With our large leisure and corporate arms, we have a much bigger buying power than you ever could have on your own – and with volume comes respect and service!)
I also encourage clients to think that if they book online, they are nothing but a reservation number. Reservation numbers are not VIPs. My clients are VIPs. This is especially true with booking luxury hotels. Larry’s article mentions that
the good travel agents know the hotels, understand the differences, and most importantly, can help you pick the right one for you. Here’s an example: in Rome, some people love Waldorf Astoria’s Rome Cavalieri. It has the city’s best restaurant, and a large outdoor pool, and a secluded resort-style feel. It’s very popular with families or people who travel to Rome a lot and have seen all the sights. But for many first timers and hardcore urbanites, it is way too far removed for the city center, and they would gladly sacrifice the pool and sanctuary for a prime location in the middle of the action, like the Hassler. It is very easy for a travel agent to explain such differences to you at no cost, very hard for you to figure out on your own, and even if you do, there is no upside.
This kind of stuff is pretty basic for me. As a travel advisor, I collaborate with my clients to ensure we deliver the vacation they want. I ask clients what memories they want to take away – so that certainly includes understanding whether they want to walk everywhere and explore the city, or whether they want to be in the heart of the activity and noise and bustle. In Rome, you can choose the Hassler or the Cavalieri. In New York City, you can choose between the W and The Carlyle. (See https://lushlife.ca/2012/02/the-carlyle-hotel-in-nyc-uptown-but-not-uptight/). It’s about matching the right hotel to the client to deliver the vacation of the client’s dreams.
Larry’s article also mentioned the importance of your travel advisor having preferred status at luxury hotels. I couldn’t agree more. At Vision 2000, I am a Four Seasons preferred partner, a Rosewood elite member, a Ritz Carlton STARS, and a Fairmont Famous Agent – that’s in addition to a host of other preferred partner programs. As the article mentions: have your luxury travel advisor use their connections
to book it, or you will get less for the same price. This is especially true at luxury hotel brands that typically do not discount below their own web advertised lowest prices like Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula. The travel agent may get the same rate as you, but in many cases, they get upgrades worth a couple of hundred dollars or more per night, from room class upgrades which are significant to extras like champagne on arrival, free breakfast daily, in some cases even free meals and free spa treatments. Would you rather pay the same for a standard room as for a suite? Of course not. Or pass up a free massage because you didn’t want to call a travel agent? It makes no sense. One of the best upgrades some of these travel agents can get for their client is s bump to club or lounge floors, especially in foreign hotels, which means free breakfast, free drinks, free appetizers and desserts, all day long, plus private concierge services and a private sanctuary. Sometimes the agents get these extras because their firm has so much volume and clout, and sometimes because they belong to a top consortium of agents that negotiates guaranteed benefits en masse, the most notable of which – by far – is Virtuoso.
And, of course, being at Vision 2000, I’m proud to be on a team that is a leading member of Virtuoso. There is nothing like the power of one-to-one. I attended my first Virtuoso Travel Mart in August 2011, and I saw up close how effective and important those connections were immediately. See my newbie’s experiences relayed here https://lushlife.ca/2011/08/the-re-emergence-of-the-travel-advisor-the-power-of-one-to-one/ and my client’s reactions to that power of connection here https://lushlife.ca/2011/12/guest-blogger-cindy-harrison-on-being-a-virtuoso-traveler/.
As Larry’s article notes, “It’s about having the best possible experiences, from hotels to guides to special access, and having everything exactly the way you like it. But at the end of the day, you also will save a lot of money.”
Again, I submit – the question is not “why you need a travel agent.” Instead, it should be – why would you not?