10 reasons why travel agencies don’t work

…for me.

What’s the first thing you think to do when you want to visit another country or go on vacation? Why, consult with some travel agencies, right?

I have been traveling since the year 2000 and unfortunately I cannot say that they have been any help and here’s why:

1. Travel agencies do not listen.

Maybe I’m just not the kind of person who would benefit from buying from a travel agency. When I travel, I have a purpose, I know exactly what I want to do, experience and see. Every time I’ve contacted a travel agency I’ve told them my plans and they either ignore them completely and end up offering me something different altogether or they offer me something somewhat similar.

In every case the offer far surpasses my budget and doesn’t match my interests. So in order to do X you also have to buy doing Y.

2. They usually have fixed packages which cannot be modified.

Photo: www.sodahead.com

You’ve read the “9 cities in 12 days” headlines, right? And I just can’t see the point in making a trip to be in one amazing city for one night and quickly check out whatever’s open

I’d much rather spend a few more days, settle a bit and get to know the place a little deeper, wouldn’t you?

Sure, you will always be a tourist, but even so, I believe travel should enlighten and educate you and when you’re barely able to jump off the tour bus to have a quick stroll, there’s not much you can experience.

And it’s frustrating when you want to modify the plan, adjust it so that you can get a better taste of a place and it’s just not allowed, you either conform to the preset arrangement or you do it yourself.

3. You are stuck with the allocated time, going at everybody else’s pace.

“You’ve got one hour to visit the Louvre! We’ll see you here at 3 pm”. How infuriating. You’re with a bunch of people and they’re all being herded around and told how much time you’re allowed to be at a certain place.

4. They get annoyed by your requests.

In my experience travel agents start off being very nice, trying to get you to buy. Once you start asking for very specific needs to be met, they start losing interest. They see you as the irritating customer who just won’t buy what is readily available and in my experience, they may very well stop answering your emails.

5. They don’t provide you with comprehensive information.

The information they’ll give you is what they already have in their documents, there’s no customizing and if you have questions which are not answered in the brochures they have, it’s very common that they just won’t answer them in a clear way.

Travel agencies also only know the touristic information of a site, don’t expect them to provide you with any information about why it is important or what it’s place in history was.

6. They are always trying to up sell you.

You can bet on it. If you’re on a budget travel agencies don’t like it when you ask for the cheap hotel or the cheapest airline and they’re going to try to get you to buy the expensive one. They’ll go as far as to say that they don’t have any other information. I am amazed at the fact that they act as if people didn’t have access to the internet.

7. They do not go out of their way to find you a deal.

Travel agencies sell “packages”, right? But I’ve found that most of the time, the packages end up being more expensive than making the plan and coordinating all logistics yourself.

When you plan yourself or hire a specialized consultant (not a travel agent), you can find so many deals online, so many ways to save and even ways to make your trip run smoother and be more effective.

8. They do not have suggestions for off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Like I’ve said, the pre-established plans is what they offer. Want to hang out with the locals? Want to make a side trip to the neighboring town? Want to go visit that waterfall that people talk about? Forget it. It’s not part of the plan.

9. They charge 15% over the price of the total plan.

This is the estimate I’ve made and I haven’t been given any added value, at all.

10. It’s very hard to find a good one.

I gave up trying! It is so much more fulfilling to do what you want, when you want, where you want, do you not agree?

I realize that I may just have had bad experiences with some travel agencies, it may just be me, but I don’t see any benefit in hiring a travel agent to plan my trip anymore, especially with the availability of information on the internet, because you can plan it yourself.

Or, go a different route and hire a personalized consultant who gets you and is willing to put up a plan for you that’s exactly what you want and that will provide you with the experience of a lifetime.

Go on the comments and share what your experience with travel agencies has been like!

Have you found a really good one?
What did they do for you? How was your trip?
All comments are welcome, see you next time!