Be An Educated Traveler or Why You Don’t Book With The Big Box Store
Monday, February 1st, 2021 | BLOG | No Comments
I am totally amazed at people who really think that “discount” stores are the best places to book travel. Apparently, these people are not educated consumers so let me try to help.
As a travel professional for more than 45 years and the owner of an independent travel agency, I can assure you that most travel professionals work very hard to stay abreast of the latest travel information up to and including destinations, airlines, hotels and resorts and they have hundreds of travel suppliers that they partner with, including local destination specialists. They also sometimes have connections that travel sites do not have.
Travel professionals attend travel expos and conventions, although they are virtual at this time. The amount of knowledge they possess is phenomenal. Most true travel professional also really travel to visit destinations and resorts for personal experience giving them a worth that you will never get from a discount booking service or online booking engine. It is imperative that to better serve our clients, we stay educated.
We are your advocate in case of any emergencies as well. Many people do not purchase travel protection and risk losing thousands of dollars. Even if you have not purchased travel protection, in some cases, your travel agent can still get refunds for non-refundable reservations. Your on-line boking service will not do that for you nor will your big box stores.
I can also tell you that if you save any money at all by booking with a discount company, it will be very little and remember, that cheap is not the best for anything you purchase. They are simply booking engines, not travel professionals. They have zero travel experience or knowledge of destinations and no local destination contacts.
Keep this in mind when you are booking travel. It never hurts to use the “cheap” sites to explore and look over resorts, etc., because that is one thing that makes you educated.
And please remember that it is also good to support local businesses especially during these difficult times when Covid is shutting down so many small business.
You wonder why I am posting this? Because I see so many people who have no idea what a travel professional can offer, suggesting other means of booking travel. And don’t forget the amount of time they can save you. If you have questions or comments, I am happy to address them if you would like to message me.
Author: Cindy Rainwater
Owner of International Accents Travel
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