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If I've Said It Once...

Everyone needs a travel agent

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There I said it.

I don't know what it is about the Internet that makes everyone think they need to do everything themselves. Doing things myself makes my head hurt. There's too much to KNOW. Way too much.

And travel agents KNOW it. It's like, their jobs. They have access to it.

I fell in love with my travel agent just booking hotels for me. I wanted a last minute hotel room near Disneyland and I didn't want to sit on the phone, scour websites or try to figure out the best deal. One of my favorite stories was the first time she booked me at the Hojos on Anaheim. MousePad was full of people crying that they LOWEST they could get at motels on KATELLA was $120 a night. I braced myself. $120 a night? I waited too long. This is going to be really bad. Hojos won't be low.

Until my wonderful travel agent came back with $70 a night for me. Uhm, really? Why aren't these people calling their travel agents?

Months ago I booked my package at WDW, and it was my travel agent who stopped my hyperventilating (momentarily.) Straight out of the gate, she had a recommendation: This hotel, this room, this many days park-hopper.

But, but, I'd heard things about that hotel... And within a few minutes we had been through the pros and cons of the resort (All Star Music,) the Family Suite and the alternatives. I booked. The best part was that she would watch the prices for me. If something better shows up, I can always upgrade. I told her my price range. We haven't been able to upgrade yet, but I was able to book knowing that I hadn't signed my life away. I can always move up if I want to.

Last night she stopped my hyper-ventilating again.

At this moment I have to stop and say: Ok, I realize that not everyone has the luxury of calling their travel agents' cell phones on Saturday evenings at 5:30 pm. But you'll just have to trust me when I tell you that she laughed and happily answered every question I threw at her.

I was so overwhelmed - how do I pick the RIGHT website? Orbitz? Priceline? Travelocity? Direct through the Airlines? What if I pick THE WRONG ONE.

How do I pick the right airlines? Delta is evil. But how do I know which airline ISN'T evil?

Within a few minutes someone I trusted very much was endorsing the airline that had the least expensive fair (Continental - I've now had two travel agents who do not know each other at all endorse Continental,) and the website with the lowest Continental fare. And I have a plan for getting travel insurance.

I still need the internet. I'm getting lots of good ideas about what to do once we get to where we're going. I am getting familiar with WDW. And I met many of the people I'm sharing the experience with on the Internet, too!

But I am SO grateful that there are still travel agents out there because every time my blood pressure is about to burst, she has the magic words and information that bring it right back down.

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  1. olegc's Avatar
    here here! When we travelled in Jan 2007 we used AA miles to fly BUT used a travel agent for everything else. Despite the fact we were on a whirlwind 4 day and did not spend a lot of time in the hotel (Pop Century) we enjoyed using the agent because they not only got us the price and type of tickets but made recommendations on food, reservations, and timing. Great stuff.. (don't know when we'll be back - gotta convince the other half ;-) )