Travel agent is an outdated word. These days, I see labels such as: travel advisor, client manager, travel planner, and trip designer to describe what was once the travel agent. Gone are the days of the old AAA agents with their crusty travel magazines on their office coffee table. We are in the era of the new travel agent. These are professionals who live and breathe travel, who follow Conde Nast to keep up with travel trends, who are usually digital nomads, and take every opportunity to visit hotels in person.

That being said, I’ve worked with clients before who want no part of the trip planning process, and clients who have laid out most of their trip and only want me to secure the bookings. No matter the case, I highly recommend using a travel agent for your trips, and being on the inside I can tell you the reasons why!

A great travel agent makes trip planning easier for YOU.

Personalized travel experience

Working with a travel agent means having one-on-one conversations with a travel expert who can get the full scope of what you’re looking for. You are less likely to get a cookie cutter trip experience working with an agent. When I speak with clients I ask a multitude of questions about their travel history, type of trip they’re looking for, and any specific preferences. I try to learn as much about my client as possible to be able to tailor a trip to their needs – and no two trips ever look the same!

Travel Agent expertise and network

One of my favorite things to tell clients is that they can lean on me for my first-hand experiences. As a travel agent I’ve attended many site inspections and stayed at many properties around the world. I use that to my advantage to tell clients whether or not I think its a good property for them! Often travel agents have specific niches that they have a lot of experience in, and its great to reach out to one with experience in what you’re looking for.

Free perks!

This is my favorite reason to tell people why they should use travel agents. Travel agents can get great perks for clients at many hotels at no additional cost! How does that work? Agents and their agencies have partnerships with a lot of hotels including boutique and chain hotels. We leverage our buying power and networking to be able to offer perks to clients for free. As a result, when you book with me, I can usually get you the following perks:

• Room upgrade on arrival, based on availability
• $100 food and beverage credit per room
• Early check-in and late check-out, based on availability
• Complimentary breakfast for two per room
• Complimentary wi-fi
• VIP in-room welcome amenity
• Sometimes additional amenities (like spa credits)

You can still receive status points at your favorite hotel chains even if you use a travel agent!

Conflict management

This is a big one! Say that you arrive at your hotel and you hate your room. This is when I would get involved and speak to the management team on your behalf (often we are already in contact before your arrival) and explain the situation. Sometimes room assignments are totally random and some rooms are better than others, but by me working with management directly I can find a resolution that all will be happy with. No confrontation needed! I am your advocate in all situations and my goal is to make YOU happy.

Saves you time

Finally, I’ve met a lot of people who say that they like planning their own trips, and they like to have control of their planning process. Fair enough! What people often don’t realize is that they spend a lot of time researching, comparing, and reading reviews of properties. Time is spent looking at rates, figuring out if there are connecting options, doing research about if you’re getting the best bang for your buck. All of that time spent adds up!

Using an agent means calling me up and saying, for example, “Kat, we’d like to go to Portland, Maine, for the weekend. Where do you recommend we stay knowing what we like?” and I can tell you pretty quickly which hotels I think are a good fit for you – style, budget, and location-wise. Within the same day I can send you options and get you booked leaving you with more time to enjoy preparing for the trip. This is what travel agents do best!

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, travel agents exist to make the trip planning process easier, and we have our own specialty niches in which we have more experience in. These could be specialities in cruises, safaris, eco-travel, boutique properties, luxury travel, and corporate travel to name a few. Travel agents typically get paid from the hotels directly through commission, so the fee to work with agents (if any) is minimal for their time.

Every time you book with a travel agent, you’re supporting a small business and travel entrepreneur.

I hope this informed you about the advantages of working with a travel agent. If you’re in the market for a travel agent, I am currently accepting new trip requests! I am happy to have a conversation about what type of trip you’d like to have planned and then work with you to make that trip a reality. Please reach out to me below to get started!