I'm sure
you've had at least one person brag to you about how much money they saved by
booking their own travel online. But what about the stuff they didn't
tell you? Like maybe their room was overlooking the kitchen
dumpster. Or their super cheap flights meant that they had 2
connections and had to spend a night in the Newark airport.
This week,
the Toronto Star featured an article in their Business section, called
"Why Travel Agents are Back". While we've never really left,
the writer makes some really good points about why booking with a Travel
Advisor is your best option.
"There's
a growing trend in the Canadian traveller’s mindset" says Star writer
Renee Sylvestre-Williams. "Though online booking is convenient and
works well for straightforward trips, when it comes to a stress-free,
well-planned vacation, Travel Advisors are your secret weapon.
While tour
operators, reservation services and travel agencies took a hit during the COVID
pandemic when travel was restricted and countries closed their borders, a
recent Statistics Canada study found that Canadians are not only back to
booking travel, they’re using travel agents or advisers despite the popularity
of online travel booking.
The study
found that out of all three industries, travel agencies had the strongest recovery, exceeding
pre-pandemic levels by 11.6 per cent in 2023 with a total operating revenue
reaching $2.8 billion in 2023, a 55.5 per cent year-over-year increase.
And Travel
Advisors aren’t just for luxury travellers — a good Travel Advisor can tailor
experiences to fit any budget, ensuring a smooth, enjoyable
journey. Erminia Gallina, the director of sales at Air Canada
Vacations, says there’s a misconception that it’s more expensive to use an
agent, adding that when life is hectic, using one can make
sense. “The expertise, to the in between, to the followup, I think
most consumers are starting to understand,” she says. “And like you pay any
person that’s a professional in their field, then why would it not be the same
when it comes to a Travel Advisor?”
Scam
prevention
While travel booking sites are a great starting point, advisers bring expertise
when it comes to crafting personalized itineraries, stretching your dollars,
and stepping in when things go sideways, saving you time and hassle and even
helping you to avoid travel scams, like the rental you booked but doesn’t
exist, says Richard Smart, CEO of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario
(TICO), a not-for-profit responsible for administration and enforcement of the
Ontario Travel Industry Act.
Smart says scams in the travel industry have gotten more difficult to
recognize. “These days, with affordability being such a challenge for everyone,
the pricing scams that you come across that you know look too good to be true
are likely not, but they’re so sophisticated in representing themselves, as
valid travel agents, people are susceptible to those sorts of scams.”
Crisis
management
Sylvestre-Williams goes on: "That kind of expertise, contacts and
knowledge is why people reach out to Travel Advisors". Interesting term, “Crisis Management”. Who wants to
put out fires and chase down options, all for a vacation that is supposed to
bring us rest and rejuvenation? Travel
Advisors work hard to rearrange and reorganize trips for her clients due to
illness, strikes and flight cancellations, something an online booking website
or AirBnb owner won't do.
Travel Advisors
not only provide a detailed trip itinerary to their clients, they’ll also work
behind the scenes to ensure a smooth experience. For example, at Wired for
Travel, we will call ahead to a resort to let them know our clients'
preferences, bed configuration, room location, and to make restaurant
reservations. And because we have strong relationships with the Business
Development Managers of resorts and other Travel Supplier partners, we can get
issues resolved before they actually happen so that you can have a stress-free
vacation.
“What a lot
of people don’t realize is that when you use Google, once you click on
something, whether it’s a destination, a hotel, a restaurant, it thinks you
want to see that, and Google’s job is to get you to click on things,” says one
of our colleagues Devyn Perry, the owner of Devyn Perry Travel.
Perry says
"every customer’s trips are unique and agents can narrow down flights,
accommodations and even book activities. You can request that your Travel
Advisor locate hotels near the city centre, with good Wi-Fi, because you have
to work during your trip, or you need them to book tickets to the major
local tourist attraction you want to visit".
Travel agents
provide multiple options but not an endless amount, so their clients aren’t
overwhelmed by the decision paralysis that can happen when booking through
websites.
Often, a flight change means sitting on hold for hours just to get new flight arrangements. Why do that yourself when a Travel Advisor can do it for you?
Doing the
research
“A travel agent can show people an unbiased sort of ecosystem of what all the
choices are that exist that makes sense for them, taking away what Google
thinks they want to see. That sort of research piece, I think, is of huge
value.”And what do
our Wired for Travel clients have to say? Well, as Tom & Bonnie put
it: "As travellers getting on in age, having an experienced Travel
Advisor to help navigate the journey is extremely important to us. In
fact if we didn’t have the professional services offered by our Travel Advisor,
Judith, we wouldn’t be taking a cruise. With today’s technology, and ever
challenging demands of the travel industry, having a skilled agent is a
blessing. In addition Judith continues to work her magic in securing us
vacation packages that meet her high standards and our expectations both in
terms of quality and affordability"
You can read more testimonials here.
To meet our
Team, CLICK
HERE.