Shameless Self Promotion

[wjohn]

Hey Everyone,

I have been noticing a lot of "enquiry" on the forums for upcoming travel.

I'll start by sharing that i am indeed a travel agent.

A common misconception is that booking flights online is "always" the cheaper way to do it.

Anyway, it's a Friday afternoon... and it just may get the juices flowing for your next trip!

Look forward to hearing from / helping some of you in the near future!

Will

 

[haydensydney]

This could be deemed a commercial post of sorts, up to the mods to decide if it is or not.

I tend not to use travel agents unfortunately, but I like the idea of having another TA on here to give us advice and contribute. Welcome!

 

[harvyk]

Hi Will,

Given the shameless self promo has gone I figure my not so welcoming post should now change to a welcome to AFF.

It is certainly good to have TA's on the board, and look forwards to hearing about your experiences.

Welcome

Harvyk

 

[RooFlyer]

I'm a user of TAs and welcome more to the forum. However I suspect the Original Post may not have a long span here, unless quickly edited to being more generic!

 

[wjohn]

Sorry guys, really didn't think about the content before posting - should have read the rules!

Either way, i am here for help, advice, and a little bit of knowledge

Cheers,
will

 

[Simo]

Offer some advice and then members will have trust in you.

Welcome to the forum.

For what it is worth most of the posters on this forum would have there own travel people the use but you will get some contacts that will show you some ways to make trips better for your clients but also add value if you find out something.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Hey Everyone,

I have been noticing a lot of "enquiry" on the forums for upcoming travel.

I'll start by sharing that i am indeed a travel agent.

A common misconception is that booking flights online is "always" the cheaper way to

Will

Probably self promotion but having a TA opinion in a non self promotional manner seems fine to me.

Agreed it's not always cheaper. From my side, I used a TA only if it involves several agencies and different booking companies for trips such as rocky mountaineer trains etc, but even then, afterwards we discovered the were several gold and dining upgrade options the TA did not offer nor advise and we had to upgrade locally during the trip.

One main issue for using a TA is that for AFF members who are generally more experienced travellers, one has to put a lot of work into training the TA into what type of traveller you are and what your standards and requirements are. And, at the end of the day booking through the TA often will result in losing points wrt direct booking thru Qantas or others or direct through hotel scheme, and the final price will often be higher, so your have to then hassle and negotiate with the TA. All takes time.

Then after you've trained a TA for a year to 18 months, they leave to go somewhere else and you have to start again re-training another TA!

So, for AFF people what's really the use? The experience you gain in doing your own planning over a few years means you get what you want, are alert to the possibilities, and, in the end pay less and earn more loyalty points.

On the positive side of TA's, a good one who you can keep for a few years alerts you to possibilities you may not see plus specials you may not find. But with the net that's increasingly rare. On the other hand, if you are OS and there's a major issue, the TA can earn their money and save you a lot of hassle by reorganising bookings for you.

 

[VPS]

On the other hand, if you are OS and there's a major issue, the TA can earn their money and save you a lot of hassle by reorganising bookings for you.

I've always booked online and the only time I used a TA (and only because she was our work TA and we were chatting about my upcoming trip and offered to do for the same price as online) I was stranded in Moscow with my tour company going bankrupt and it was really nice to ring Corporate Traveller and tell them to fix - which they did and did well - mind you it still hasn't stopped me booking online

 

[Deleted member]

I suspect the a lot, maybe not most and certainly not all regulars on this site travel so often and use points a lot that the flight component of their travel is and will always remain something they want to control and organise.
I have no issue with using TA's for land content though.

 

[bass_ke]

It's been a long time since I've used a TA. Although I'm getting to a point now where it could be handy for trips at short notice and places I'm not too familiar with or have time to research.

How to find a like minded TA though?

 

[Limewood]

We always book direct with airlines and most hotels, even made some nice accom. bookings direct with owners of nice pads around the world, a friend is a TA of 30 years standing with a wealth of know how, not used or asked him about travel for many years since learning more (mainly on AFF of course), however, I do agree if complex, special needs or just don't know enough then the a TA by all means.

 

[RooFlyer]

I'm a strong user of my TA for o/s travel; I book all my personal domestic stuff on line.

Most of my travel is to Nth America for a client, but about 30% is personal travel, involving western and eastern Europe, north Africa and Asia.

I began using the TA in 2003 originally because most of my o/s travel was for a new client, who used the TA (also for domestic). After a year I started using the TA for my personal o/s travel as well and haven't looked back. The TA is part of a medium sized firm in Melbourne, lots of corporate clients but also mums and dads as well. I wouldn't use one of the discounter, walk-in-off-the-street TAs.

1. Time saving. I do some preliminary research so I know what's basically out there, then get the TA to give me priced options, which get finessed etc (hotels as well as flights). I spend enough time away from home and I don't want to spend hours and hours of home time planning the next absence!

2. Cost saving. Whenever I have relatively 'plain vanilla' flights, I'll price them separately to compare with the TA price. There's never been a material price difference, and often the TA will come up with terrific savings. For instance the LH and AY Europe fares which include a QF first and final leg; not available on-line. Whenever I point out a material price difference (mostly happens with hotels) , if the TA can't match, then there is no problem in booking myself. You might say 'well, naturally' but if a TA has spent professional time getting prices (provided the service), there is a moral obligation to go with them. A good TA will say no worries (as mine does).

A good TA will not only advise the fare price, but also change and cancellation fees so that an apparent attractive fare can be seen in context wrt, say, a business trip, where schedule changes are likely.

When my TA has spent a lot of time researching a tricky personal itinerary and I ultimately don't travel, I always say 'please invoice me for time'. Never has happened.

3. Rescheduling of payments. If an advance fare is due to be paid by a certain date, the TA will automatically watch loadings and knows a fair bit about their trends for the major routes. TA will do a rolling re-book of the ticket until availability gets low, even holding dual bookings until the airline systems catch up (quickly, these days!). Delays my payment until absolutely necessary and keeps my options open for a better deal (or a DSC offer !) in the meantime. I guess I could do this through Expert Flyer, but risky if I don't check on a critical day, I'm stuffed. Plus the time again. TA does it automatically.

4. Assistance when things go pear-shaped. A real, 24/7 help line. If they booked it, they fix any issue.


Well, that was a bit of a love-in. But if you get a good TA, they save you heaps of time, and can save you money (beyond the value of your time). And if you don't want to use them for a particular trip or booking, then don't.