It seems you cannot watch television for more than an hour without seeing an
advertisement with William Shatner talking about Travelocity or that silly
gnome talking about Orbitz. These travel
web sites have been very successful at facilitating travelers to book their own
airline and hotel reservations online.
So with this huge push from the internet to take over the travel
industry, one has to ask, “Are travel agents obsolete?”
If you have browsed some of these travel sites, you have
observed that they are amazing in the diversity of travel options that they
make available. And it is impossible to
deny that many thousands of people have taken advantage of these services. As a business traveler, however, your needs
are somewhat different than the typical airline passenger.
There are some very specific services that a living and
breathing travel agent can provide that simply cannot be replicated by an
automated web site like Travelocity or Orbitz.
Some of those services that a seasoned business traveler would be hard
pressed to live without include…
§ Focus. You as a business traveler are not arranging
this trip for entertainment. You have
specific business objectives in mind. So
if you must take time away from preparation for
your business task to worry about travel itineraries, hotel and rental
car reservations and the like, that is time that you are not being productive
for your business. If you can call a
talented travel agent who knows your travel profile well and delegate those
arrangements to that agent, they do their job in finding just the right
accommodations for you and you are freed to do what you do best, focus on your
business and the upcoming business trip.
§ Economy. It is difficult to find that balance between
finding the accommodations that fit the demanding schedule of a businessperson
on the road and is respectful of the companies travel budget as well. If you use an automated online travel
service, you may have to sacrifice convenience, schedule or location for
economy. A good travel agent will work
hard to get you the right itinerary while getting as close the corporate travel
cost restrictions as possible. And they
will do it without taking up a lot of your time.
§ Back
up. You don’t need help if your trip
goes completely as planned. But if you
encounter problems on the road, you can find yourself in need or rescheduling
flights and finding new accommodations to work around canceled flights, weather
issues or other unexpected interruptions to your plans. These travel disasters are not mindful of
your tight deadlines to meet your business goals. But if you have a travel agent who is
dedicated to providing you service, he or she can find those alternative routes
and resources to do all they can to get you to your destination so you can
conduct your business on time.
§ That
personal touch. You may have travel
preferences that you want to achieve with each trip you take. A travel agent has your profile and your
travel history so they can do what they can to accommodate your
preferences. But moreover, if you have
specific special needs such as a diet limitation or a need for accommodation
due to a disability, it will be a travel agent that sees to it that your needs
are provided for and you are well taken care of on the road.
§ Complications. If your travel itinerary involves making
connections with other business partners who are traveling from diverse
offices, complex travel schedules and itinerary challenges that just cannot be
described to the generic screens of an online travel service, you can explain
these complications to your travel agent and they can work with other travel
agents working to organize the meeting and see to it that your itinerary meets
your requirements.
While the online travel services do provide a valuable and
affordable alternative to the general traveling public, it is easy to notice
their limitations if you are trying to book a trip that is tricky or if you
have specific needs that the screens do not anticipate. That is why working with a human travel agent
guarantees that this travel professional will dedicate themselves to the task
of making sure your trip works to your specifications and that you get to your
destination ready to conduct business and be successful in your achieving your
goals.
