7 Reasons Why You Should Use a Travel Agent to Book Your Next Trip
By AAA Travel Editor Laurie Sterbens
If you love to travel, dreaming of your next trip and planning it can be almost as much fun as the trip itself. While the internet has made researching destinations and booking a trip easier and more accessible than ever, the many options for flights, cruises, hotels, and tours can overwhelm even the savviest of travelers. Add to that the new and ever-changing travel restrictions related to the pandemic and suddenly your vacation can go from dream to dread! If your plans include traveling in the near future, you may want to consider working with a travel agent. Now more than ever, these travel pros can work their magic to help you plan your trip and keep everything running smoothly.
1. Travel Agents Save You Time
Travel agents can take the guesswork out of researching and evaluating the many options available to travelers, saving you time and the hassles that often come with vacation planning. With years of experience and knowledge about destinations, transportation options, and vendors, an agent can eliminate hours of online research time. Agents don’t just save time researching and making decisions. They can also handle changes and other issues that may pop up before or during your trip.
2. Travel Agents Take the Stress Out of Planning
Agents help clients with all types of situations and are immersed in travel full-time, so they’re aware of details you might not think of when planning on your own. Their knowledge and experience also give them the foresight to prevent potential problems.
3. Travel Agents Offer Expert Recommendations
A knowledgeable travel agent will make personalized recommendations and offer tips on destinations, what to see and do while on vacation, the best and worst times to travel, and much more. Agents don’t just gain knowledge from their own travel. Their knowledge of destinations is also constantly updated by their clients.
4. Travel Agents Have Been There, Done That
Travel agents are often well-traveled, having visited the destinations and experienced the vacations they recommend to travelers.
5. A Travel Agent Can Handle the Unexpected
Between weather delays, natural disasters, flight cancellations, lost luggage, and much more, a lot can happen on vacation. Travel agents act as the traveler’s advocate in the event something goes wrong, helping navigate the challenge of making any necessary itinerary changes.
6. A Travel Agent Can Help You Navigate Changing Travel Conditions
Keeping up with the details of planning a trip is challenging enough. Now travelers face pandemic-related restrictions that change frequently and vary across borders, as well as hassles with refunds and penalties for cancellations.
7. A Travel Agent Can Help You See the Big Picture
It’s easy to get lost in the details with travel planning, but travel agents can help keep you on track to have experiences you’ll remember for a lifetime.
Start Your Next Vacation with AAA
AAA Travel provides peace of mind when you travel — before, during, and after your vacation! Members enjoy the advantages of membership including exclusive benefits, map routing, savings with the AAA Discounts & Rewards® program as well as recommendations for AAA Diamond-designated hotels and restaurants across the U.S. and Canada. Let AAA provide the rest of your travel needs with AAA Travel Guides, Digital TourBook® guides, access to travel agents and counselors, and travel insurance. Your next vacation starts with AAA — your complete travel solution. Visit AAA.com/Travel.
