Why I still use a travel agent

How time flies. It was just a few weeks ago that Karim and I were enjoying our travels to Amsterdam and Germany. It was a lovely trip. A much needed vacation or as the Europeans say, "holiday." Our travels blessed me with the opportunity to reconnect with Erica, a friend from high school and attend our friends, Coco and Jens' wedding. The trip is filled with memories I will cherish.

One of the reasons I really enjoyed my latest trip is due to my travel agent. Shout out to Travel by Simon? Yes,they still exist. Your probably saying that's so 1980s. Well, the 80s did have their highlights. It brought us Purple Rain, the royal wedding of Princess Diane and Prince Charles and the fall of the Berlin Wall. While having a travel agent may seem like a throwback to the past, you can't beat the customer service he or she will provide, that is when you have a great one like I do. He was there to help me out before, during, and after I booked the reip.

I recognize that we live in a world where many things are just a click away. Want a pair of shoes, a new dress or toilet paper in bulk, just order it online. Hotel and travel isn't any different. There are discount sites like Travelzoo, Kayak, Priceline, Hotwire, Booking.com, Cheap Air to name a few. I have used a few of these discount travel sites in the past, but in the last few years I've started going back to using a travel agent because in addition to a good price I want great customer service.
In our talks Simon reminded me that, "Discount travel site competitive prices have changed the business, but where they don't deliver for consumers is on impeccable customer service. Many travelers want that and are willing to pay more for it." He's right. I'm one of those travelers.

What's better then finding a cheap fair and travel deal at an all inclusive resort? For me, it's having a person work with me on my travel arrangements that is willing to go the extra mile to give me the best travel experience possible. In my case, that means helping me rearrange travel plans at the last minute when I realized I screwed up my return date or last minute trying to book a flight back home when I realized I missed my return flight back to the states. 

Every traveler may not be looking for that experience, but for me it's worth the money when I travel.