Travel agents operate on the same terms that agents in many other industries do:  we have suppliers and vendors we know and trust, and those suppliers pay us a commission on the sales we make.  Easiest comparison we like to use is to a real estate agent or broker. This includes hotels, tour operators, cruise lines, car rental companies, and more.   Larger, corporate online agencies operate the exact same way only they are not offering you an agent to represent their suppliers with personal knowledge but rather a point-and-click portal of information. Examples include Expedia, Orbitz, etc.

Will it cost me more to use an agent?

The suppliers set the price with commission in it so you are going to pay it regardless—it’s either being paid to an agent, an online agency, or absorbed back into the company supplying the service.  In any scenario, the cost is the same, so it’s to your benefit to use an agency.  Airlines typically do not pay any commissions so agents generally add a service fee when ticketing airline reservations.  Our fee is thirty to fifty dollars per ticket depending on complexity of the itinerary and number of airline tickets on the same reservation.                 

Why use a Travel Agent over a larger online agency?

Because we are people, and we have a direct line.  Call us, you won’t have to wait on hold or listen to a keypad menu only to be routed to an automated system.  We will answer, we will call you back, text you back, email you back.  You don’t have to go online and submit a request.  It’s as simple as this:  we offer personalized service, provided by people, and that is what you get.                          

Because we listen.  An agent’s job is to consult with the consumer, to ask questions at the early stages of planning and develop a comprehensive list of suggestions based on the client’s wants and desires for a travel experience.          

Because we remember you.  When you want to book another trip, we know where you went last, we know what you did and did not like about that trip and how to make your next even better.

How can you help me prepare for my trip?

We have personal travel experience and our hundreds of clients do too.  Each of us has a network of knowledge built through years of experience that helps us better inform you.  For example, did you know that if you enter Chile through Easter Island you avoid the Reciprocity fee at the airport?  Did you know the wrapping you see on luggage at carousels in the airport is for theft prevention and not protection?  Do you know that you can cruise out of a US port without a passport as long as it is round trip to that port but if you have a problem at a foreign port or need to get home in a hurry, you can't fly back to the USA without a passport?  We constantly access our database and experiential knowledge to better inform and prepare a client for a trip of any type in hopes to make your experience a more enjoyable one.