What is the benefit of using a travel advisor instead of booking on my own?

A good analogy is to think of travel advisors like financial advisors. In each case, we listen to our clients’ needs and recommend products that best fit those needs. Sure, you could do this yourself but unless that is all you do, chances are you don’t have the time to research every product, evaluate historical trends, and monitor industry updates. That is, however, our job and we are constantly keeping our ear to the ground so that we can keep our clients informed, just as your financial advisor does with your retirement account. 

Is it cheaper to use a travel advisor?

As with financial advisors, we do not control pricing for what we sell, we are just middlemen. Just as the stock market determines the price of the stocks you buy through your financial advisor, the prices for the travel services you purchase through us are dictated by our suppliers (i.e. hotels, resorts, cruise lines, etc.) and much like financial advisors, there are several different ways we make our money. Some will work off straight commission for the products they sell, others will charge a fee to manage your account, others still will charge a fee and collect commissions. 

There really isn’t a wrong way, which is best for you is a matter of personal preferences though generally speaking you can expect more white-glove and/or concierge services if you are paying a fee whereas agents working off commission are more likely to not offer those services. Regardless of how we are paid, all good agents will streamline your vacation planning process by going straight to our network of trusted, preferred brands and calling upon our extensive knowledge and experience to make sure you don’t end up in a dingy room in a bad part of town or booked on shady tour that will leave you stranded in an unfamiliar country. When you consider how costly such mistakes can be to correct, then yes, advisors can save you money.

Do we book flights?

Yes and no. Flights are a trickier beast in that they made a conscious effort in the early days of the internet to go straight to consumers and, in the process, they cut out travel advisors. Unlike with most hotels and cruise lines, there is no agent portal for us to book our clients’ flights. We either have to book as your proxy on the consumer site or use one of our consolidators who cater to agents. With the former, it’s legally dubious since you are required to accept carriage contracts and terms of service (which we must do on your behalf and may or may not stand up in a court of law). With the latter, they often charge service fees since airlines no longer pay commissions to travel professionals. In the day of uber-competitive air pricing, most clients would rather save the fees and book themselves. 

That said, we will book air if it is part of a package with a hotel, resort, curated tour, or cruise in which there is a commission built into the package price OR if the client is willing to pay a 10% booking fee for the time and effort involved.

Do we have any specials/deals?

We are a fully independent agency, meaning we are in no way affiliated with any brand. The brands we sell control their pricing, and their promotions. If you see it online, we can book it too, but our contracts with each of our suppliers forbid us from offering rebates or sales. That said, we have taken out group space on some cruises whose rates may be lower than currently offered public rates. These are usually sailings on school holidays when demand is higher and on brands closer to Jacksonville, FL (either JaxPort or Port Canaveral), which also tend to be more popular with our clientele. They may also come with added amenities (like onboard credit) that are not available to the public. However, we cannot possibly take out group space on every cruise so the chances of us having a deal that meets your travel dates and requirements is low unless you are extremely flexible.

Do we have a cruise/tour/trip…? 

As we are a travel agency and not a tour operator, we don’t have any inventory of our own. All vacations that we sell are supplied by 3rd party companies who are vetted by us or our consortia and found to be reliable in both quality of service and of product. If you tell us what you are looking for, we will search these suppliers for the one(s) that best fit your needs.

Is there a discount for children? Seniors? Military?

Some cruise lines do offer discounted pricing for select classes of traveler. During our initial conversation, please be sure to let us know if you think you may belong to such a class. In the case of child rates, it’s important to know that child pricing only applies if there are more than two people in a cabin. If one parent cruises with one child, for example, that child will still be charged an adult rate because it is occupying the 2nd guest berth in the cabin. However, if both parents take a child on a cruise, the child will pay a discounted rate since it is occupying a 3rd berth. This pricing scheme applies to all children, even infants. There is no “infant rate” on cruise lines. Even though they may not be eating the ship’s food, they will still be required to pay the full rate for whichever berth they occupy (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.). 

In the case of senior, military, teacher and first-responder discounts with cruises, there are often public-facing promotions with much better rates and terms and most cruise lines do not allow you to “stack” or combine promotional rates so it would be in your best interest to take the public promotion instead. We always check if the discount is better than the current promotional rate, however, and will let you know if it is. Some cruise line will offer an onboard credit (obc) or other perk to military personnel, but this is not universal. We will always let you know if the cruise line you select does offer this (if you advise us that you may qualify).

For hotels and resorts, some offer discounts while others do not. In most cases, we cannot book military rates at a hotel without charging a booking fee as these rates are non-commissionable. Likewise, we cannot book AAA rates. AAA is a travel agency, just like us, so asking us to book their rate would be like asking McDonald’s to accept a Burger King coupon. Point blank, we are competitors.

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