We have all had that conversation at the dinner table – how the internet is revolutionizing travel and travel agents are slowly becoming redundant. But look back at your last self-organized trip did everything go exactly as you imagined in your head?
- Did everything go exactly as you imagined in your head?
- How easy was it to decide what to do?
- Were there points during the trip planning where you felt some expert advice could have helped?
- How many friends of yours did you consult who had traveled to your chosen destination before?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you should consider working with a travel advisor for your next trip, and if the experience turns out to be good, stick with that travel advisor for the rest of your life.
“But I love planning for my trips! That’s a big part of my overall experience. The thinking, the planning, the research, the anticipation..I don’t want to give up on that” you say. And you are not wrong either. But the two are not necessarily exclusive to each other.
A good travel advisor adapts herself to your style of planning. Whether you want to be a part of every small decision, or don’t want to hear anything about it until you are in your chosen country, a travel advisor like Esha from Few Days Off Holidays will work beautifully with all kinds of travelers.
So why do you need a travel advisor? Here are just a few of the reasons
- Internet can be informative AND confusing!
With the explosion of travel information on the internet, you have more information that you can possibly go through on your fingertips. More information that you can possibly process even. With a barrage of information comes the question of credibility. User reviews, likes, votes, thumbs ups all are credible only upto a point and can never match the insight provided by an experienced travel advisor
Simply put, they know more than you. They can give you insider tips and advice, using their education and personal experience to guide your vacation decisions in a way that provides you with the best vacation possible for you and your hard-earned investment. They have access to the personal feedback from hundreds of clients, and their own personal travel agent network, to provide insights you can’t get on TripAdvisor or other social media sites. - You can still do your own research, but curated to your tastes and needs
A travel advisor will shortlist or recommend a few options based on her experience which you can then research and pick what you feel comfortable with. That way, you get the experience of doing your own research and getting the best bang for your buck as well. The travel advisor is an invaluable fail-safe that will help you wade through the ocean of information and stop you from making a blunder that can ruin your experience - You Pay the Same Anyway!
More than 98 percent of hotels are parity priced. That means the cost is the same whether you book it yourself or have the travel agent do the work. A travel advisor can compare rates from her suppliers and online rates and offer you the best of both worlds - The Fixer
In addition to getting you more on any particular trip, travel advisors can step in and fix things when your trip goes awry. The average consumer books one or two trips per year, typically with different travel suppliers, so they have little or no leverage when things go wrong. The travel advisor is constantly selling a particular supplier and has the leverage to fix things, even when the supplier isn’t directly at fault. Travel suppliers value the travel agent’s business much more than any individual traveler. They will step up to make things right or simply to make sure that traveler, and their travel agent, are happy. Travel advisors like Esha, with more than 9 years of experience working with suppliers around the world, can get you out of spots that you just can’t think of on your own - Online sites are also travel advisors – only they make you do all the work
Every online site is a travel agent by occupation, only the medium and channel has changed. In fact, all they have to do is put the information out there and let you make your own errors – and laugh their way to the banks. You do all the work – you write the reviews, you sift through the 2975 options for your destination and they make the money!
These are only a few of the reasons why travel advisors are a rejuvenating breed, after reinventing themselves of course. With a new age travel advisor, like Esha, you don’t have to go through any call centers, or talk to automatons from an international roaming number; every trip is lovingly crafted to match your tastes. So give it a shot , get her to plan your next trip and have the time of your life!
Adios, amigos! And Bon Voyage!
