FIVE REASONS TO UTILIZE A TRAVEL AGENT

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For those who don’t know me, I want to start by sharing a little about myself! I graduated from NDSU with a degree in tourism, which led to my career as a work from home travel agent. I’ve had a lot of feedback coming in from friends lately asking me about my job, questioning it or wanting to know more. I wanted to do my business a little favor by sharing a short blog post on the benefits to using a travel agent!

Starting out with the #1 reason, ITS FREE. I’ve had numerous people tell me they never considered using a travel agent because they think it's going to cost them more money. It costs you absolutely nothing to utilize me! I am paid a commission through hotels, cruise lines or tour operators that I book my clients through.

I truly want to find you the best deal. Hours upon hours are spent searching for the best hotels, cruises or tours for my clients. A lot of people don’t understand how much time and energy actually goes into travel planning. Traveling as much as I do, I know how expensive a vacation can add up to be. You want to have a great experience, but you also have a budget. It's my job to make it work!

I want to save you time and money. Travel professionals like myself have access to special discount codes or promotions that different suppliers offer. Clients can save an additional chunk of change right off the bat just for booking through an agent. Travel agents have the ability to create a custom itinerary specialized for you- pulling together everything from flights, transfers, hotels, tours, and so much more! That being said, let a travel agent do the planning for you- so you can spend your time on other things.

I don't charge hidden fees. When booking through online travel operators, (Expedia for example) you often think you're getting a great deal up until you arrive at checkout where you are (more often than not) graced with additional fees. This can add up quickly- putting you over your budget before you know it.

I am available to you 24/7. If you encounter a problem during your vacation, I’m a simple phone call away. I've heard horror stories from others about sitting on the phone with customer service for hours trying to fix something that went wrong with their online reservation. When you utilize a travel agent, we have the ability to fix these issues for you by calling the hotel directly.

A good travel agent will always take the time to get to know their client so they can uniquely personalize the vacation. I can make recommendations you may have never even considered or known about! After all, it is my job to make sure you have a great experience.

I hope this post gives you the push to utilize a travel agent the next time you want to take a vacation. More specifically, to think of reaching out to me! I specialize in international travel and love to spend my time researching new destinations and/or share my experiences from the amazing places I've been. Reach out to me directly at bailey.blondell@cruiseplanners.com with any questions or travel inquiries you may have!