PORTLAND, Maine — There are a lot of factors that go into booking your next getaway, with rising fuel prices and changing pandemic restrictions among them. More people are turning to travel agents to help navigate the changes.
"Travel agents have gotten much more sophisticated," Christopher Elliott said.
"They’ve gone from being order-takers to advisers," Elliot said of agents can help ease some of the stress of travel.
"A travel agent is somebody that’s in your corner, so when something does go wrong—and that happens a lot these days— a travel agent can be there to help you get out of trouble," Elliott said. "They are trained professionals. They know what to avoid; they know which countries to avoid, which type of suppliers to avoid, hotels, airlines. ... They’re not going to book you on a bad airline."
The popularity of travel agents dropped when sites like Kayak, Expedia, and Hotels.com were created. Elliott said that while you can use those free sites to get a rough idea of what your travel should look like and how much it will cost, it makes sense to go to a travel agent who can help tie all of it together.
"Travel agents sometimes will belong to a consortium," Elliott said. "That means all of the travel agents get together and they have more buying power, [then] they can then negotiate a better deal or upgrade or a special amenity when you check in, and those things have a lot of value. You’re not going to find those online."
He also said safety is key when it comes to your booking.
"Every country has different restrictions, different testing requirements. You can’t rely on what anyone is telling you or what you’re seeing online or even what your airline is saying to you," Elliott said. "What you have to do is check and then check again before you leave to make sure you’re meeting all of their requirements. Also, no one really knows what’s going to happen, so it’s possible there’s going to be another outbreak—that’s always a possibility—and you need to think about travel insurance as well."
Here are Elliott's recommendations for where to find a travel agent:
- A well-traveled friend's recommendation
- American Society of Travel Advisors
- A travel consortium like Ensemble Travel Group