Why do You Need a Travel Agent?

Part 2 - Don't be the architect of your own demise...

Free choice...It's a romantic concept but in the real world free choice has spun completely out of control.  Just look at a local supermarket and ponder the unending isle of cereal choices that overwhelm the senses with bright colors and vague claims of being the 'best for your diet'. 

So much choice can hinder accomplishment and drudge progress simply by absorbing all time and effort into researching the possible choices.  Eventually frustration sets in resulting in a desperation simply to complete the task at the expense of convenience, value, and lost opportunity.  

After all, it's not very often that a car mechanic conducts brain surgery for the sole purpose of saving the patient a few dollars.  Don't be the architect of your own demise and forfeit a lasting experience for a cheap experience.

Enter the role of today's travel agent. 

Forget common knowledge that a travel agent can provide cheaper rates, exclusive perks, hard to find reservations, and that special anniversary dinner for two under the waterfall at your favorite Hawaiian resort, and focus instead on those perks that you normally wouldn't consider being offered at your 'run-of-the-mill' travel agency.  

The first and often most overlooked perk is simply time.  Time is a precious commodity that all people seems to be running out faster with each passing day.   Planning an all-inclusive and unique travel experience is extremely time consuming.  Many agents, such as those at Brickell Travel, have already been to or are extremely familiar with the desired destination which saves time in choosing the best hotel, airline, and/or activity when travelers get to where they are going.  Especially when it comes to planning those special moments such as the anniversary dinner for two under the Hawaiian waterfall, it's safe to say a travel agent will have more resources to pull from to make that a reality than the average consumer.

Consider this, travel agents primary focus is to entertain the client.  With that said, many agencies are beginning to provide a concierge service for local, national, as well as international events.  From concerts to sporting events, test drives to skydiving, travel agencies are looking to offer every opportunity to travelers to not just go somewhere different, but to fulfill many lifelong dreams and aspirations.  If you want to go, and you need a ticket for whatever it is, contact your travel agent and simply ask.  You may be surprised at how easy it can be to attain that which was assumed unattainable.

Online travel management has resulted in a cookie cutter industry where customization is simply a foregone conclusion or simply accepted as unattainable with the exception of the elite.  This is simply not the case.  Establishments such as Brickell Travel Management provide the best of technology combined with the flexibility of in-person consultation to create customized and personal travel solutions for every traveler.

Stay tuned for the final part to our three part series 'Why do I Need a Travel Agent' and read first hand accounts of the benefits of using a travel agent.

Why do You Need a Travel Agent?

Part 1 - What's in it for me?

Finally arrived...

As Andrew Garfield so eloquently put it in the hit movie Social Network:

"I had a long wait on the tarmac at JFK, then a long wait at the passenger loading and unloading zone at SFO, and in between there was a long flight."

But instead of walking into a room filled with smoke, an uninvited house guest, and questionably aged girls, customers of today's travel agents are finding a rather nice surprise when they get to where they are going.

According to PhoCusWright, a travel research firm, in 2011 travel agencies experienced a second consecutive year of growth with their bookings accounting for around a third of the $284 billion United States Travel market.  With the increased complexity of online booking and the limited safety nets those programs provide, both corporate and leisure travelers are finding the value in having a dedicated travel agent manager all of their travel needs.  Using a combination of both personal service and technology, today's savvy travel agencies are injecting a level of customization and added value incentives not previously seen in the travel industry.

With so many online tools at the consumers fingertips, there stands the inevitable question: 'Why do I need a travel agent?'  Today's travel agents set themselves apart from the onslaught of information online by offering unique experiences that the average consumer would have to labor tirelessly achieve, like after hours tours of the Sistine Chapel, tee times on golf courses normally closed to the public, or tapping resources to get that room in a sold-out hotel or on the next flight when unforeseen challenges arise.

Having a dedicated travel agent can also make you an instant VIP - free room upgrades, hard to get restaurant reservations, private guides, and cheaper, often much cheaper airfares.  The bottom line is that travel agents know more than you do when it comes to putting together an amazing travel package, have more resources and contacts to tap when trying to get the unattainable, and most importantly, travel agents have the time to do the legwork needed to get that villa in the Serengeti during peak season.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our three part series 'Why do You Need a Travel Agent?' and learn how today's agents use their first hand experiences to provide the most memorable vacations to their clients...