Jul 25 2008
How Do You Pick a Good Travel Agency?
It can sometimes be confusing when trying to pick a proper travel agency to help you book your vacation. Below you will find a few tips to consider when you are trying to pick the right travel agency. Of course you won’t need to consider each and every one of the tips. If you are planning a two night trip to Vegas than you will spend a lot less time with the travel agency then if you were planning a month long tour of Europe.
A good travel agency has been in operation for a number of years. If the travel agency has been open for a number of years than they have built a track record with suppliers and they have experience with dealing with problems and issues. Therefore they have created procedures and systems that will allow you to book your trip without too much of a problem.
A preferred travel agency will belong to a good association for travel agencies. The two major associations for travel agencies are the Association of Retail Travel Agents and The American Society of Travel Agents.
The majority of good travel agencies will have airline accreditation and can issue tickets. International Air Transport Association and Airlines Recording Corporation are the two accreditation bodies that handle this.
The best travel agency will most likely belong to a franchise, consortium or buying group. If the travel agency belongs to any of these, this allows them to have access to the better rates at hotels and they get an additional commission with suppliers. The travel agency may share this commission with you or they will simply make sure you don’t have to pay any extra payments to the travel agency.
You will also want to consider whether you want to use a limited service or full service travel agency. You need to decide whether or not you want the travel agency to help you with all of your plans or only part of your vacation plans. You will most likely want to make the majority of your arrangements with a singular travel agency in order to get a jump on any problems or errors that may happen if you book different parts of your trip with different sources or by different methods.
When you choose a travel agency to work with, choose one that specializes in the type of travel that you are thinking about.
Make sure to choose a travel agent at a travel agency that has a number of years of experience. A travel agent with experience knows the majority of the traps and tricks that may be awaiting you. Also, veteran agents at a travel agency may be more committed to the industry. It is unlikely they will disappear by the time your return from your travels.
You also want to work with a travel agency that has a travel agent that has some current knowledge of travel products that he may recommend for your trip. This means that the agent should have gone to the destination you will be visiting and has toured the area.
Finally the travel agency you work with should be easy to contact and can understand what you want and what you need.
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