All the Best Weddings & Celebrations Bites and Pieces Wedding Blog by Kathi R. Evans
You Get What You Pay For
Recently a friend of mine asked for help in finding hotel rooms for a first time visit to Switzerland. I recommended she contact a travel agent who I knew was originally from Switzerland and would be a wealth of information.
The agent recommended several hotels and booked them rooms. When I asked her about the experience of working with the travel agent she was very complimentary of his knowledge but said “You know he was charging me more than the rate available on the internet.”
I would have expected to pay a little more when working with a travel agent then trying to do the bookings on my own. The time saved alone would be worth it to me. Working directly with people is expensive. It’s why almost every business in the US has automated phone systems. I’m all for keeping costs down but sometimes I just want to talk to a company representative rather than search the website’s FAQ section or spend time pressing phone buttons and still not getting the info I need.
So what’s it worth to you to take advantage of someone’s expertise? Travel is one of those areas where I think it’s worth it to pay a little more to get the piece of mind to know that you’re not going to be sleeping on a cot in a non air conditioned hotel in the worst section of an unfamiliar city. I can read all I want online, however, talking to an expert travel agent who’s been there/done that helps me to know that the money I’m spending on a vacation is going to be worth it.
As an example, my husband vacationed in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico last winter. I did some online research and did all my own bookings. Had I consulted with an experienced travel agent we would have known that it’s almost impossible to get out of the airport without being hassled to take a timeshare tour. We would have known what the peso to dollar conversion rate should have been. We would have known not to take the whale watching tour and we would have had recommendations for restaurants. For all of that I would have gladly paid a premium for someone’s expertise.