Booking a Tour Package
Doing It Yourself: All the major all-purpose sites sell packages, as do discount package sites like Go-today.com and Site59.com. Surf a number of them to get an idea of which one comes closest to what you want, and do some price comparisons. Then, to really get an idea of whether the package is worth the hype, break it into its individual pieces and price each segment (air, hotel, etc.), remembering that packages are always priced per person, while hotels often are priced per room.
The Agents' Argument: The U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA) requires its members to make their tour packages available to travel agents, and they are paid sales commissions. Consequently, most agents will not charge for booking a package. There is one caveat: Some agents now charge planning fees that are deducted from the cost of whatever you buy -- a way of avoiding people who come in for the sole purpose of picking their brains for hours, with no intention to buy.
Picking the Right Travel Agent
With more than 100,000 travel agents working in the United States, the challenge isn't finding one, but choosing the right one. Here are tips for doing that:
• Ask friends and colleagues for a referral, just as you would when looking for a dentist or contractor.
• Check affiliations. Membership in organizations such as the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) indicates that the agent has agreed to a code of ethics. (They can be excommunicated from the group for failing to adhere to them.) You also can dig one level deeper and ask for the industry affiliations of a tour operator they've recommended. The U.S. Tour Operators Association, for example, not only vets its members but requires them to put money into an escrow account in case they go out of business. To find ASTA members, visit www.travelsense.org. The site allows you to search for agents by location, specialty, your destination, or all three at once.
• Check credentials. The Travel Institute, a nonprofit training center in Massachusetts, offers certification. A CTA, or Certified Travel Associate, has completed at least 12 travel-related courses, has worked in the industry for at least 18 months and has passed a test. A CTC, or Certified Traveler Counselor, has completed at least 24 courses, has at least five years experience and has passed a test. The institute also trains destination specialists. Certified agents, and those further certified as specialists, are listed at www.thetravelinstitute.com, with links to each agent's site.
• Ask for references. A good agent should have satisfied customers willing to share their experience, says Alexis Benson of the Travel Institute.
• Ask questions. Ask where they've been, where their colleagues in the office have been, and where they've sent large numbers of people. "If no one in the office has been anywhere but Cancun and you're not going to Cancun, maybe they're not the ones you want," says Heather Dolstra of Democracy Travel in D.C.
• Listen for questions. Agents should feel you out before suggesting a destination or particular cruise line. "If you tell me you want to go to Mexico, I shouldn't say, 'Great, I can set you up in Puerto Vallarta,' " says Kathy Sudeikis, president-elect of ASTA. "Agents should be asking what trips you've taken in the past that you've enjoyed, whether you prefer quaint, rustic or luxurious, or if you had to choose between a Hyatt and a Motel 6, which would it be. They should ask you what you like to do: If you like sightseeing, you have to go to certain places in Mexico."
• Decide if you need a specialist. Increasingly, agents are marketing themselves as specialists in either certain types of travel or certain destinations. Many agents interviewed said they can research an unfamiliar destination, but admit that it will take them more time than planning a trip to a place they know well. All acknowledge that familiarity breeds expertise, but on the other hand, as Dolstra put it, "Are you looking for someone you can have a relationship with in planning lots of trips, or a one-shot Johnny?"
-- Cindy Loose
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Agents say they are best equipped to match you with a reputable tour operator and match your desires with a tour that's right for you. They might even be able to save you money. "We are promotions central; my e-mail inbox would horrify you," says Dolstra. "Some of the offers are junky, but if a good deal is out there, chances are it's come to our desk."
Experience teaches travel agents the right questions to ask both of clients and providers, they say. "Just the other day, two senior women came into my office with a brochure for a trip they thought was perfect for them," says Sudeikis. First she talked to them about what they were most excited about, then called the tour operator and pinned down details. "Not only didn't they go on that tour, but they went on another one that was four days longer, it did more of what they wanted, and when all was said and done, it ended up costing less, too," says Sudeikis.
Can a consumer find a better price than an agent's best price? "It depends on the nature of the trip, how complicated it is and how much time they are willing to spend shopping," says Goldstein. "If an amateur armchair agent has sleepless nights and spends three hours on the Internet, he could find something more price-appealing, perhaps. But again, he doesn't know much about what he's getting and may not know whom he's getting it from. Since there is little or no cost associated with going to an agent, why not use our expertise?"
Bottom Line: If you already have a pretty good idea where you want to go and what to expect once you get there, then invest some time in focused online window-shopping. If you have only a vague notion of a destination, the shopping alone could drive you crazy. If you're nervous about giving your money to an unknown entity, then let a good, experienced agent broker your deal, especially if they're not going to charge a fee.
Planning an Exotic Trip
Doing It Yourself: Unless you've been there, done that -- or know someone who has -- finding that great African safari or planning a trip through Russia could be challenging. Generally, a search engine will come up with tour providers. If they're strangers to you, check that they belong to a reputable trade association, like the USTOA. Pay by credit card so that if the company goes belly-up before you leave or return home, you have a chance of getting your money back. Tourism and visitors bureaus for particular states and countries offer a wealth of information, although none would recommend one tax-paying provider over another.
The Agents' Argument: The farther afield a traveler gets from his comfort zone, the more he needs us, agents say.
Travel agencies looking to survive in the leisure market have increasingly turned to specialization as a niche, says Karen Dunlap, CEO of Travel-On. Specialties like Caribbean travel are even getting diced down to the island-by-island level. And agencies that advertise themselves as generalists often bring to the table a lot of specificity.
Travel agents add the most value when directing clients to destinations that require a lot of knowledge and thought -- safaris, for example, says Goldstein. You not only have to identify a safe and reliable provider but know which countries have the animals you want to see and the migration patterns of those animals, to say nothing of what's happening in a volatile region of the world.
Clients often come to a travel agent with only the vaguest idea of how long it takes to get from one part of a country or continent to another, how much time is needed to explore a given locale, what prices are fair, what travel documents or shots are needed, or even what weather to expect, agents say. Often, they even delude themselves about what kind of traveler they really are.
