Would you use a travel agent?

[Joyfullyblessed]

Hello,

 

I am trying to get some kind of idea as to how many people would be interested in using a travel agent to plan their cruises, resort type vacations, etc...

 

The reason I am curious is because I am seriously considering training to become a travel agent myself. I LOVE to research, plan, organize, etc.... and the more I learn about this particular job, the more I think I would just love it!

 

I know that there have to be people who really don't enjoy all the researching and trying to figure out the best deals, so that would be when a travel agent would come in very handy.

 

I have someone that is willing to train me for a decent price and mentor me as long as I would need afterwards. She is very successful and loves what she is doing. She was a flight attendant for 30 years, began learning how to become a travel agent, did it very part time for a couple of years and now it is her full time job. She does do very well with it also.

 

I am thinking about going ahead and getting my training and working very part time to begin with also. Right now, I have my in home childcare, plus I homeschool my son, of course. :) My plate is fairly full!

 

However, the way I look at it, I do not want to do childcare the rest of my life and if I had this as a second business, I could eventually go full time and really enjoy the business. It would also allow me to continue homeschooling my son while bringing in money for my family.

 

I think that getting the training, starting off part time, slowing getting out of childcare in the next 2-3 years, and then doing the travel agent job full time is a pretty good plan.

 

So, would you use a really great travel agent to plan your vacations? If so, why? If not, why not?

 

Thanks!!! Have a wonderful day! :001_smile:

[Joyfullyblessed]

Uh, Oh! Three hours since I posted this and no responses.

 

I wonder if I should take this as a sign??? :confused:

[TravelingChris]

I only use one for cruises since most cruise lines don't sell online. I don't use travel agents currently-why? Because I am good at travel planning and like to do it. Now, I can see using one in the future, after our children have left and we start going on more adventurous and costly trips. But usually that will be a specialized travel agency that arranges a specialized trip- bird watching, garden tours, astrononomy based, etc.

 

Travel agents that are just general travel agents are a disappearing thing. Specialized ones are still doing fine, I believe.

[shastanarnia]

i do all my booking online...most of my friends do too. sorry!!

[J-rap]

***

Edited March 1, 2023 by J-rap

[teachermom2834]

I might use one for something exotic or international.

 

Dh books group travel for work. He researches on his own and then books through the corporate agent. Sometimes he has the agent research for him but more often than not he finds deals better than the agent. Once in a blue moon the agent will find something better than what he found but 95% of the time he does better on his own and then he tells the agent what to book.

 

All that to say, no, we probably would not use an agent for most travel. Obviously businesses still use them so maybe that is an angle you could look at.

[Parrothead]

I never have figured out exactly what a travel agent does. Why would one want to pay someone else to book a flight?

 

Maybe if you decide to go this route you could do a bit of education of the masses in your city so people know why they would be better off to use your services.

[Harriet Vane]

i do all my booking online...most of my friends do too. sorry!!

 

:iagree: For us this includes exotic locations worldwide as well as domestic travel. I find it's pretty easy to find reviews and research an area--I personally would not pay someone else to do it.

[Joyfullyblessed]

Thanks for the honest responses. Hmmmmm.... feeling a touch deflated now :svengo: :001_unsure:, but I am going to think about it some more. My friend really does very well with her business, so somebody MUST still use travel agents.

 

Lots to think about! Thank goodness I don't have to make a decision right now. Thanks again! :)

[Mommyof4ks]

This might not be the right board to ask this question. We are a group that tends to do our own research, make our own plans, and do our own thing. I don't use travel agents, but I know several people who do. Several friends have kids, work full time, make plenty of money to pay someone to do the leg work, and just do not want to take the time to do it.

[QuirkyKapers]

I would use a travel agent if I were traveling to another country. Other than that, I do all my travel planning on line.

[dhudson]

We used a travel agent for a 15 day trip to the UK and wanted to stay in more unique and out of the way places in England and Scotland. It was totally worth it for that trip especially as we had a flight cancelled from London to Edinburgh and a reservation messed up in Scotland. The travel agent worked it all out for us while we were sightseeing and we didn't have to miss anything. Otherwise, we plan vacations out ourselves and enjoy it.

[OLG]

For personal travel, definitely would do it all online. And, when I was working for a Fortune 500 company, I would still do it myself. Travel agencies that make the big bucks do so from corporate clients.

[elegantlion]

The board of self-professed curriculum junkies and research addicts not using travel agents, big surprise. :D I do all of our planning, albeit not as much as I once did since we don't travel as much.

 

For international travel I might but I would look for recommendations from people that have traveled there.

 

I'd probably realistically look at how many connections you have to pull business. Will you end up competing with your friend? Are you a go getter? Do you have travel experience to use as a selling point?

 

I wouldn't totally discount the idea, but I would be realistic about how profitable you could become.

[hsbaby]

Just an FYI....you don't pay any extra to use a travel agent. They are paid via commision from airlines, tour companies, etc. So, this money will either line the pockets of the big companies or go to your local travel agent. You don't save any money by booking yourself. I do understand the desire to research and plan ones own trip though;) My family owned a travel agency when I was growing up. I like using a travel agent when going out of the country. They have a lot of great BTDT advice and can tell you what areas to avoid. My mom did a lot of traveling for free/cheap when she owned the agency....another perk:).

[Mom2J112903]

We are using one currently with our WDW trip in late November/early Decemeber. I will never plan another WDW trip without her-she is WONDERFUL!!!

 

We have *a lot* going on while we are there and she is making sure everything is in place for us so we *can* enjoy ourselves.

[Tap]

This is a hard one. Your friend has a lot of BTDT experience due to her previous job, that you won't have to pull from. She will have so many stories and personal anecdotes that will instantly give her a bit of credence, that you won't have. If I were looking for a travel agent, I would definitely want someone who has traveled extensively, over someone who just learned on the job. I have used travel agents in the days before online tickets became the norm. I used several different ones, and the ones that I consistently went back to were the ones who had traveled extensively and really knew their business. There were a few times that I got someone who learned on the job, and honestly, I never ended up purchasing what they recommended or went back to them. If the prices seemed higher than usual, I would double check the ticket prices by calling the airline myself. A good agent could always beat anything I found myself, the poor ones didn't. It was like the other person said, the incentives go from the airlines to the agent....a good agent knows how to really utilize that to keep a customer base. The last time I called a new agent, they told me they wanted $30 as a deposit on the work they were going to do.....I never bothered again. It sounded like a lot of people had been using them to plan a trip and then booked it themselves to save money. :0(

 

This is a dieing industry. There will always be a demand for it, but it is not the regular person on the street like it used to be. I knew several seasoned TAs that had to get out of the business because they couldn't make enough money.

 

You friend has a customer base, has 30 years of travel experience, and is making money, I would say Great for her! But, I would really be careful about paying her to train you, since it sounds like you have neither of the top two things.

 

If you want to try it, and don't mind the investment....then I would say go for it. But do realize that you are in no way coming in on equal footing with your friend.

 

Do you know what this Training would look like? What you would pay, and what you would get out of it? Are there any schools in your area that have classes? Is is comparable? What type of licensing do you need and is there yearly upkeep on the licence?