Or Why You Should Trust a Professional Travel Consultant to
Assist With Your Trip Planning Needs
Mistake #1 – Booking a trip on the internet because “I Can Do It Myself”.
Yes you can. The internet is the greatest library resource in the world and although making travel arrangements might be something accessible and what you might do every now and then, for a professional travel consultant it is a full-time occupation and one that is usually borne out of a passion and wanderlust for travel and cultural experiences. The scope of what a dynamic travel consultant can do to create and enhance a trip is extraordinary. What do we do as consultants? We listen. We confer with you about your interests, hobbies and personal tastes. We ask details about your previous travels to give us a greater understanding of what you may have liked and what you didn’t, to better prepare our personal suggestions and recommendations. The more we know about what excites you in travel, the more insightful and personalized your travel experience will be. We create complete itineraries, including those that require the most detailed travel planning and arrangements. We do this with an expertise that is developed from experience and passion and we execute superior results in the most cost-effective manner. We attend seminars and ongoing training about destinations and travel suppliers to always be in the know. We travel the world with our clients in mind, and chances are we have personal first-hand knowledge of the places you want to visit.
Mistake #2 - Booking a trip on the internet because you think doing it yourself gets you a better deal than a professional travel agent can get.
This myth gets my top prize for what the internet has presented in duping the consumer to believe. The fact is the benefit of working with an experienced, reliable travel professional will only ENHANCE your travel experience in every respect. Speaking for our agency, not only can we obtain the most competitive rates, we often find additional savings through our contracts, programs and affiliations and provide many benefits one would not get booking on their own, as we do cost and value comparisons from all our technology, supplier and personal resources to save clients time and money. Perks to our travelers vary depending on the trip type but can include complimentary hotel upgrades, free breakfasts, onboard cruise credits, free pre-or-post cruise hotel stays, special car rental rates, savings on select air travel and so much more. With global relationships, clout and buying power with travel suppliers worldwide, all of those benefits are passed on to the client to create an experience that far surpasses what the consumer would obtain by booking themselves in cyberspace. With our vast relationships with resorts and hotels worldwide, our clients are recognized by hotel managers who take extra care just knowing they are valued clients of Leaders In Travel.
Mistake #3 - Booking a trip on the internet thinking you’ll never have problems where you’d need live help and an advocate to assist you.
While we all hope to believe that “nothing will happen to me” and smooth sailing will always be in store, life happens and issues arise that make us change our plans, cause delays, work related issues, weather, emergency, medical and so on. Your travel consultant is about SERVICE. First and foremost, our #1 goal at Leaders In Travel, is to exceed client expectations each and every day. I cannot express the countless “Thank You’s” we as travel consultants receive from appreciative clients who we help assist get to their destinations as quickly as possible during weather problems, while others may be stuck at the airports for extended periods of time. Or when clients may have an emergency need to cancel or change plans and are within certain penalty periods and we their advocate go to bat often getting the kind of results they could not get on their own. We’ve gotten calls for help from travelers who made the mistake of booking on the internet what they thought was a “luxury” hotel from its photos or from what they read in one of those “opinion type sites” - only to find out it was in actuality a dive when they went to check in. You really never know what you are getting into with the internet. Some sites that look reputable might not be so after all as scams abound. Then what do you do? What you can trust in with confidence is that from the initial booking process, while you are away and well after your welcome home, a professional travel consultant is there for you every step of the way to consult, plan, guide, enlighten, provide value and access, troubleshoot and help resolve any and all matters on behalf of a valued client.
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