Should You Use a Travel Agent or Book Your Own Holiday?
In this post, we cover what to look out for and what to avoid when making your own bookings and why you should consider booking with a travel agent.
Bondi, Sydney
The key question you must consider is this: Are you equipped with the right tools and knowledge to secure the best deals, streamline your travel plans, and navigate the essential policies and booking requirements? It’s easy to realise, often too late, that mistakes can happen with just a few clicks. Have you thought about whether a travel agent might have been the better choice? Take the time to weigh the pros and cons outlined in this post, make an informed decision, and unlock invaluable industry secrets that can elevate your holiday booking experience to new heights.
Common mistakes made when booking independently
Don’t feel ashamed when you’re the lead organiser of the group or book your own arrangements, and you come to the realisation that you have made a mistake. The first time I travelled internationally, I arrived at my tour group two days earlier than intended. It was only the very start of my 3 months backpacking, and I thought… uh oh, what have I done?
One of life’s greatest gifts you can learn is how to travel. It doesn’t matter how many books you read, how much researching you’ve done, it’s not until you’ve arrived and learned the logistics, that you start to understand how to travel. If you’re not making any of these mistakes, you’re not learning. But if you read this post, you’ll learn from an amateur-turned-pro all the common mistakes I made over ten years of travelling.
Booking the cheapest price without changes or cancellations flexibility.
If you do this and you have to cancel or change your trip, the whole value of the booking is forfeited. Pay a little extra, even if you don’t have to change or cancel. It’s worth the extra price. Trust me, when the day comes, you’ll feel grateful you took that extra length of security for your finances.
Booking through third-party websites
I’ll make this simple for you to understand. When you book through a third-party website, you are essentially booking through an “agent”. When you use their website, you are abided by THEIR booking policies. Plus, the worst part is that any issues or changes can only go through them, not the hotel or airline. It’s a nightmare, and most of the time, they have super fine print that you haven’t read. This fine print is where you get trapped; you are limited to options, and only the third-party website can make changes; they are often hard to communicate with and don’t have a lot of flexibility!
Booking without reading the refunds and cancellation policy
Feel safe and informed if you have to cancel or change your booking, read the policy. Often, there are cancellation windows where you can cancel under different circumstances and within a window. Knowing this gives you flexibility when booking a flight, activity or accommodation, especially if you find a better deal elsewhere.
Booking a hotel or activity without reading the reviews
The pictures look really pretty! But when you arrive, your room looks completely different and lacks facilities or service. Did you read the reviews? Don’t be fooled. Reading reviews saves you time, money and hassle.
Deciding to travel to a country without reading visa requirements and getting visas.
This is honestly the silliest mistake you could make. Don’t risk being detained or sent back to your home country. It only takes a Google. If you’re Australian, smarttraveller.gov.au is your go-to website for visa and entry requirements. Often, visas can be completed online. Give yourself a few weeks for processing windows.
Not understanding your rights as a passenger.
Rule number 1: When booking multiple flights to get to your destination, book them with the airline directly using codeshare airlines. If you book all of your flights separately and one of them is delayed, missing your next flight, that’s on you! However, if you book all of your flights in one booking with one airline, the airline has an obligation to get you to your destination. Flight changes, cancellations, and delays, they have an obligation to get you on the next available flight to your destination. They are even obligated to put you up in accommodation or provide compensation for accommodation in ports where you don’t reside (between flights/layovers) if your flight is cancelled!
Paris, France
Words of wisdom from an experienced travel agent and why you should use them…
My beautiful Aunty Gayle is a travel agent and has been in the travel industry for most of her life. I’m lucky she has taught me the ropes of the travel industry. Here is Gayle’s advice:
Smartraveller is a good start for country entry requirements as it has all the correct links on the country pages. Lots of dodgy websites overcharging for visas, etc, so I use Smartraveller a bit. You [Liah] are a smart cookie when it comes to travel, but not everyone is as confident, so an experienced Travel Agent is good to have, too; keep in mind, there are dodgy agents out there also, so you need to find a good one if planning a big trip; you might pay the fee but worth it.
“I had clients in Singapore trying to do a Health and customs check online before going to Cambodia; they couldn’t do it, so they called me, and I did it for them. It takes the stress out of the holiday for them as they had me in the background assisting them.”
Melbourne, Australia
I use Expedia if clients are on a budget, mainly if they have issues. I can ring Expedia on their behalf while travelling, and Expedia answer the phone and fixes; a lot of websites don't help, like booking.com. Clients have booked with them as cheap, but no one is there to help if a problem arises. Some international sites like Agoda aren't covered by insurance. It really depends on the Traveller how confident they are.
At most destinations where we send clients on their travels, we have contacts. Travel agents always try to use them or reputable companies for tours, transfers and hotels. We are a bit old school, upmarket; our suppliers usually have contracts or have met tour hotel managers; some even come out and visit the office from all over the world, so we use them as they go the extra mile for clients, they look after them, we build relationships with them so we can trust things go well for our clients when they travel. Even Airlines will have reps we call if someone is stuck at the Airport to help. Generally, all goes well because we [travel agents] have planned well.
Bali, Indonesia
Day tours and transfers are something else, though; so many to choose from, but once again, I find, generally, they are good. After booking a hotel, tour or transfer on the website, Expedia or whoever I [Gayle] always contact them directly, creating a relationship before the client arrives. People booking online through 3rd party should always contact the supplier directly afterwards to reconfirm booking as sometimes booking doesn't go through. Also, some third-party booking engines aren't liable if a problem occurs, so always reconfirm. I had clients book a Chateau on booking.com once, and when they got there, it was all boarded up and closed.
Honestly, travel agents are booking directly a lot these days, too, I think there are more sites on travel than any other subject with too much info.
New York City, USA
Booking Accommodation through Travel Agents
Generally, some Travel Agencies buy in bulk, like Helloworld, for example, sometimes they might buy 30 rooms in popular Hotels for the whole year! They get a better rate than Expedia because they buy in bulk, and the Hotel has guaranteed room occupancy for a year whether people are there or not, hence why sometimes travel agents can get a room at popular Hotels, but clients can't get it directly. It can be big machine travel if you know what I mean. But that is why we [travel agents] build relationships. If a hotel overbooks, our relationship with the hotel ensures they look after our client over others; cheaper isn't always better.
Have a holiday coming up that you need to book? Be sure to contact Gayle at Travel on Capri on the Gold Coast. I promise you’ll be in the best hands. +61 7 5592 3349
Business Class, Qantas Airways
My toolbox for booking my own trips independently
One of my favourite travel hacks when booking flights around the world, especially with connections, is a handy website called flightconnections.com
With this website, you input your origin and destination, and the website will categorise all the possible routes, including the fastest and least transfers, which airlines to use and what day they operate. It gives you a full overview of flights without searching through airline websites or Sky Scanner, where they promote sponsored links.
If you’re looking for the most budget-friendly airfares, I always search through the Sky Scanner website first and sort the search results to the cheapest. However, don’t book through this website, as the booking options lead you to third-party websites. I go directly to the airline website and find certain flights and bookings through the airline website. This is an absolute must.
It is important to know, if you book through a travel agent or third-party website, only that agent can make changes to your booking, even if the airline cancels or amends your flight.
If you book directly through the airline, only the airline has control over your booking; a travel agent cannot access it. Whoever makes the booking, the airline or agent, is ultimately the only one who can make changes.
If you’re stuck in the middle of the night on a layover because your flight is cancelled after booking through an agent and the travel agent's office is closed, you’ll be standing at the airline desk frustrated. Most travel agents in an office have an emergency contact number you can contact, but third-party websites can be a hassle to try and reach.
Waikiki, Hawaii
By now, you should have a pretty good idea about how to navigate booking your next trip. Take the pressure and stress off your shoulders and leave the organising to a trustworthy travel agent, or if you’re feeling confident enough, have a go at booking all your plans yourself. Good luck, and have fun on your next holiday.