Anyone ever use a travel agent?

[Ilmater]

I'm trying to plan our honeymoon, and while I already know where we want to go (Scotland and then Germany), and I'm not sure if I should get a travel agent. Here is what I see as the pros and cons:

Pros:
- Might know how to find deals better
- Would be very organized
- Might think of things that we NEED to do before going that I might not think of
- I think our guests could contribute to our honeymoon if we sign up with a travel agent

Cons:
- I assume they have some kind of fee
- They would probably suggest places that give them kick-backs for suggesting them
- I've been to Scotland and have that part of the trip almost entirely mapped out, so I feel like they might try to sell me on things I don't want to do

So has anyone ever used a travel agent? Are any of these concerns valid? Are my positives wrong?

 

[Lola]

B&M TA's are few and far between now. If you are wanting to plan a special trip like a honeymoon, I would ask around people you know, family to refer you. Often times, if you know someone, they tend to care a bit more.
It seems like using a TA tends to me more expensive in general. You could also really REALLY research hardcore and then book with a typical website and go from there.

EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

 

[spidey07]

I always use them for any vacation. Much cheaper than trying to search endlessly online. So add "cost" to the pros.

Plus convenience, you pick up the phone, say where you want to go, you negotiate on price, done. All your travel docs are sent to you and you're on your way.

 

[Feldenak]

I booked our honeymoon (Aruba) through AAA. Much easier than trying to book and coordinate everything myself.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: Lola
B&M TA's are few and far between now. If you are wanting to plan a special trip like a honeymoon, I would ask around people you know, family to refer you. Often times, if you know someone, they tend to care a bit more.
It seems like using a TA tends to me more expensive in general. You could also really REALLY research hardcore and then book with a typical website and go from there.

EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I agree 100%...very tacky.

We've used travel agents quite a bit over the years. They do have resources that most of us don't have access to. Cheaper? Maybe...but not always.
Travel agents might be able to put together a nice package for you and include things you haven't considered, offer you brochures of activities and tours, etc.
For the most part, travel agent fees are paid by the airline/tour company, etc., but SOMETIMES you get stuck for part or all of them in hidden fees/increased costs.

Shop around, get referrals from friends. Like any industry, there are good ones and bad ones.

 

[Pepsei]

well, i go to taiwan for vacation whenever i can, the plane tickets alone is about 1k for the coming months. yet for giggles, i look at some packages that the travel agent was offering, they have an 8 days vacation package all inclusive, for about $1200. so i guess you could save a lot of money. i'm sure you can get something like that, and add more days for your own activity.

 

[Chryso]

I have used a travel agent to take a trip before. The cost to me was the same whether I used the agent or booked it myself. I assume they must be paid a commission by the vendor.

 

[kranky]

There may be a fee for ticketing certain things, but it's not big enough to care about.

Here's a thing I notice on ATOT often and do not understand. "They would probably suggest places that give them kick-backs for suggesting them." Why do people pass up things just because someone else might make a buck on it? If they get a kick-back, it's not coming out of your pocket because you won't get it any cheaper if you make the arrangements directly anyway. I suppose you could call travel agent commissions "kick-backs" but they are performing a service. They can't make you do something you don't want to do. If you want to take a helicopter ride over Glenheather Castle and the travel agent can arrange it, would you pass it up because they got a commission on it?

It's your trip, you dictate everything you want to do and where to go. When we went to Alaska, I figured I could easily make the arrangements myself. Well, after two weeks of intense work, I knew what we wanted to do and where to go, but it was impossible to coordinate everything because many activities/hotels were sold out for certain days. We had nine days of activities, travel between cities, certain hotels we wanted.

I ended up calling a travel agent and sending them a list of where we wanted to go, where to stay and the activities we wanted. A couple days later they sent me the itinerary and the cost. They had worked everything out, arranged travel between cities once we got there and it cost me nothing extra. I made my own plane reservations to/from Anchorage because I was using frequent flyer miles. They saved me tons of aggravation.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I love planning my trips...sounds like yours would be really relaxed...two countries?

i planned out 5 countries and travel in between, as well as hotels...it's really easy...jut spend a few hours researching what you want to do. The web has a LOT of information, and a lot of people love talking about where they have been and where they stayed.

I hate travel agents :/

 

[BoomerD]

Also, travel agents may have access to tickets/passes from a pool that is set aside for travel agents to use...maybe something you want is sold out to the public...but a travel agent may be able to get you the tickets.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

 

[JDub02]

I have to use a travel agent for my business travel. I've found that their prices on everything are much more expensive than travel websites. Could just be that the high prices are for business travel since the company will pay no matter.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

well, i can understand that and it is nothing against you, but to be very honest, I compare this to noting in a wedding invite that cash is requested as gifts.

 

[Drakkon]

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

well, i can understand that and it is nothing against you, but to be very honest, I compare this to noting in a wedding invite that cash is requested as gifts.

:laugh: I just got a wedding invite suggesting that exact thing (cash in instead of gifts). I couldn't help but think the exact same thing you are saying - how tacky can ya get? - but seems to be all the rage these days among my female friends.

oh and to keep on topic -
My last 2 companies used travel agents whenever we had business meetings to setup flights, hotels, transport, etc. It worked out pretty great as they seemed to always get us on the flights we wanted even when things said "booked". There was a fee but the convenience of having them plan everything out and especially get the flights/rooms we wanted was worth it.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

well, i can understand that and it is nothing against you, but to be very honest, I compare this to noting in a wedding invite that cash is requested as gifts.

I just read a thread on another board concerning asking for cash for wedding gifts. The vast majority of people said they were very turned off by such requests and would either buy a gift anyway or give nothing. The thing is people want to give something that is tangible. Speaking for myself, my first thought would be, "I couldn't afford a honeymoon so you're either getting a traditional gift or nothing, because I'm not going to pay for your extravagant trip. If I get you a nice picture for your home, I know you'll at least think warmly of me sometimes when you look at it. You're not going to do that when you look at your honeymoon pictures."

 

[LS21]

try costco travel?

 

[Descartes]

We use a local agent. Very responsive, we get in depth knowledge of specific destinations that would otherwise take hours of my time and it's often cheaper. I can just email him and tell him I want to be in a certain place for a certain time and it's mostly handled for me.

I still like planning some of my own trips, but I find the time required to do it just isn't always worth it.

 

[AUMM]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

well, i can understand that and it is nothing against you, but to be very honest, I compare this to noting in a wedding invite that cash is requested as gifts.

I just read a thread on another board concerning asking for cash for wedding gifts. The vast majority of people said they were very turned off by such requests and would either buy a gift anyway or give nothing. The thing is people want to give something that is tangible. Speaking for myself, my first thought would be, "I couldn't afford a honeymoon so you're either getting a traditional gift or nothing, because I'm not going to pay for your extravagant trip. If I get you a nice picture for your home, I know you'll at least think warmly of me sometimes when you look at it. You're not going to do that when you look at your honeymoon pictures."

what if you just put "No Boxed Gifts Please"

 

[TallBill]

I like being in control of how my money gets spent. Plus, expedia is so damn easy.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: AUMM

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

well, i can understand that and it is nothing against you, but to be very honest, I compare this to noting in a wedding invite that cash is requested as gifts.

I just read a thread on another board concerning asking for cash for wedding gifts. The vast majority of people said they were very turned off by such requests and would either buy a gift anyway or give nothing. The thing is people want to give something that is tangible. Speaking for myself, my first thought would be, "I couldn't afford a honeymoon so you're either getting a traditional gift or nothing, because I'm not going to pay for your extravagant trip. If I get you a nice picture for your home, I know you'll at least think warmly of me sometimes when you look at it. You're not going to do that when you look at your honeymoon pictures."

what if you just put "No Boxed Gifts Please"

seriously... no.
To be technical, no type of gift should ever be spesified on the invite. It should be passed by word of mouth and gifts should not be expected, cash, gift cards or otherwise.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Dude yes, the Asian ones are the best. I almost laugh when I hear the non-Asians talk about flying to Asia. Who the hell pays $1800 for coach. Use them to get you airfare, but for vacation packages? It varies.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Lola


seriously... no.
To be technical, no type of gift should ever be spesified on the invite. It should be passed by word of mouth and gifts should not be expected, cash, gift cards or otherwise.

Fuck that, I expected a lot of cash and received it. Our wedding netted us over $6k. We've given away 60% of the box gifts already to charity.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: Lola
EDIT: just realized what you were wanting... guests to contribute as gifts to the honeymoon. I know this is becoming an "in" thing, but I would not suggest doing this. To me, it seems tacky and gauche.

I had no idea it was the "in" thing. What I do know is, I'm fncking broke, and we definitely need help paying for the trip. That's why we thought of it.

well, i can understand that and it is nothing against you, but to be very honest, I compare this to noting in a wedding invite that cash is requested as gifts.

I just read a thread on another board concerning asking for cash for wedding gifts. The vast majority of people said they were very turned off by such requests and would either buy a gift anyway or give nothing. The thing is people want to give something that is tangible. Speaking for myself, my first thought would be, "I couldn't afford a honeymoon so you're either getting a traditional gift or nothing, because I'm not going to pay for your extravagant trip. If I get you a nice picture for your home, I know you'll at least think warmly of me sometimes when you look at it. You're not going to do that when you look at your honeymoon pictures."

I got married a few years ago. Cash was definitely the best gift. My wife and I got married in my hometown (400 miles from where I currently live). Transporting gifts was a PITA. Glad I got the hatchback instead of the sedan.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: Lola


seriously... no.
To be technical, no type of gift should ever be spesified on the invite. It should be passed by word of mouth and gifts should not be expected, cash, gift cards or otherwise.

Fuck that, I expected a lot of cash and received it. Our wedding netted us over $6k. We've given away 60% of the box gifts already to charity.

That is fine, and people usually do give cash, but I am saying it should NEVER be stated on the invite that gifts are required.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Lola

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: Lola


seriously... no.
To be technical, no type of gift should ever be spesified on the invite. It should be passed by word of mouth and gifts should not be expected, cash, gift cards or otherwise.

Fuck that, I expected a lot of cash and received it. Our wedding netted us over $6k. We've given away 60% of the box gifts already to charity.

That is fine, and people usually do give cash, but I am saying it should NEVER be stated on the invite that gifts are required.

Yeah, it should say "checks". Tougher to steal the booty.