Travel Agents - Why We Need Them

As someone who loves travel AND loves saving money, I ask the question: where did the service go in travel? And why NOW, when the ever-changing, ever-treacherous world of travel has become more and more difficult to maneuver on your own? It seems as if every morning when I turn on CNN, another airline has canceled a couple hundred flights, gone under, or in general left their customers (that's what we are, customers) ...

Definition: cus·tom·er – [kuhs-tuh-mer]- noun.
1. a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.

Author's note: that's right, CUSTOMER - someone who pays MONEY to get a service.

...without a human to talk to or - heaven forbid - service.

A travel professional (aka travel agent) is that HUMAN you can call to help you in a travel "situation". Have you ever tried to call Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz or any other online booking engine to help you when you need to change or cancel a flight? GOOD LUCK! AND, did you know that you can't get your money back if you change your mind? And you did that all in the name of saving a service fee? If you really pay attention to the pricing, once you find that great ticket price, "fees and taxes" are charged AFTER you've found that "cheap rate". You booked it yourself, you paid the fees, and when you need help, you can call the person that booked it. WAIT, that's YOU!

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't view the airlines as the enemy. They take us where we want and need to go, and places we've only previously dreamed of. I love flying - all of the nonsense notwithstanding. And there are wonderful people that work for airlines. I just think that the system is a difficult one to maneuver on your own. And the online booking engines are certainly convenient on those nights we can't sleep and we "need" to book a ticket, but otherwise, it can lead to pain and aloneness. I, for one think that using a great travel professional is well worth a small service fee - less than a few lattes at Starbucks...and that live person on the end of the phone when I'm stuck somewhere short of where I want to be is well worth it.

I'm an avid traveler and have been grateful many times that I've had someone "on the ground" to call when I need assistance. I guess some would call me biased - I've worked in the travel industry for many years - this is part of the reason I love what I do. A good travel agent is worth her weight in gold. I think it's time service came back into travel.