With multitasking becoming a common ability for most individuals, it is difficult to find time to make travel arrangements for your upcoming escape. Fortunately, it is possible to provide a travel agent with basic information about where you would like to go and allow someone else to do all the legwork. Before you know it, the plans will be ready for your review and can be booked as soon as you approve them.
One of the benefits of allowing a travel professional to handle your vacation arrangements, is that he or she is much more likely to be aware of any type of special offers or discounts that fit into your basic ideas for the vacation. Often, these discounts are not advertised in a place where unknowing clients will be looking. This means you would never be able to find them even if you did take the time to make all the arrangements yourself. As a result, you may find yourself paying less for airfare, enjoying a discount on the rental car costs, and staying in a nicer hotel room at a lower daily rate.
In addition to saving you money, there is also a good chance your travel agent will be aware of circumstances that may not be easy for you to discover. Agents tend to know when particular hotels are undergoing remodeling or if construction is taking place next door. If the idea is to have peace and quiet during your vacation, the agent can easily avoid booking you into those hotels, and can find something that provides all the amenities you want and still offer plenty of quiet time for relaxation.
Agents are also very helpful when you only have a vague idea of what you would like to do with your vacation. Perhaps you would like to spend some time near the waterfront but have no firm ideas about whether you would prefer a beachside setting, or time at a lakeside retreat. Your agent can investigate any options that fit into this broad category and develop plans using each option. At that point, all you have to do is pick one and the booking can begin.
Working with an agent does not mean you have to be left out of the loop until all the proposed plans are ready for your review. Many agents provide an email address that clients can use to reach them at any time. This means that if you think of an amenity you want at the hotel, such as a gym or steam room, you can quickly forward an email to your agent and make sure that is taken into consideration. The process is quick, easy and allows you to get right back to whatever other tasks are on your plate.
Reviewing proposals for your trip can be handled in more than one way. If you have the time, you can drop in at the agency and meet with the travel agent face to face. For people with very little spare time, there is often the option of receiving information about the proposed travel plans by email. The agent can include an overview of the plans in the body of an email, and then attach documents you can open and review at your leisure. If everything is in order, simply contact the agent and confirm which plan you prefer, make payment arrangements, and then turn your attention elsewhere while the agent takes care of everything else.
With reputable travel agencies, you will find that a great deal of effort goes into creating just the right travel plans for each customer. Lesser firms will offer stock packages that are very rigid in nature, where nothing can be changed and the discounted rate does not apply. When you are working with a top quality agency, they tend to think outside the box and tailor vacations in any way necessary. While you may begin with a package deal as the foundation for your vacation plans, the agent will seek to customize the elements of the package while still providing as many price breaks as possible. While this type of service does require more time, the end result is well worth the extra effort.
Over time, your agent will become familiar with what you like in terms of destinations, hotel accommodations, and other amenities and amusements. This will make it much easier for the agent to focus on vacation ideas that will be of interest to you when vacation time rolls around again. Developing a rapport of this type will translate into a quicker turnaround on delivering the proposed plans for a vacation, making it possible for you to quickly strike one more line item off your list of things to do.
Jennifer Bailey is a freelance writer who writes about travel and leisure, often focusing on a particular aspect of vacationing such as working with a travel agent.
