My husband has been working in the travel industry in some form or another since he graduated from college.

He currently works for an agency that does leisure travel. Family vacations, honeymoons, destination weddings, resorts, Europe, Disney, scenic railways, cruises, etc.

When we were dating and he would meet my friends for the first time and tell them what he did for a job I often heard the response of 'Travel agent? They still exist?'

The answer is yes, travel agents and agencies still exist, even with the advent of the internet and 'ease' of booking trips on your own.

So, if you can easily book trips, airline tickets, cruises and tours on your own through the handy dandy world wide web, why on earth do you need a travel agent?

This answer was made clear to me after Adam and I were married and I went with him to his office at 9 o'clock at night in order for him to fix an issue with a client in Thailand who needed to switch their flight back to the US because they got sick the day before they were coming home.

Do you want to be the one calling the airline in a foreign country to switch your ticket last minute when you're sick?

I thought not.

Therefore a travel agent, plain and simple, has your back when things don't go quite as you planned.

In order for a travel agent to help you with issues though, you do need to book your trip through an agency.

That sounds like a no brainer, but it's no good calling up some random travel agency when you're on a trip that you didn't book with them so they can help you with a problem, because...they can't (They don't have your personal details, booking number, flight information, transport info, etc., etc.).

If you don't book with them, they can't really help you.

So a good rule of thumb is to book your trip through an agency first thing, not on your own.

A travel agent helps with planning your trip too. Using a travel agent is helpful when you're booking because they do have good relationships with vendors, resort chains, industry representatives, etc. They know their stuff. They can work the system for you. They can pricematch. They can get you private transfers instead of a big bus. They can get you resort amenities you wouldn't get if you booked it on your own.

It's best, though, to go in with an idea of what you're wanting to do before you contact an agency.

It is highly frustrating for a travel agent to get an initial trip request that reads, 'I would like to go on vacation. We are thinking we'd like to go in late September, but maybe August or the end of July. It doesn't really matter. We like to hike, but we also like the beach. Or we also thought of going to a resort. Or maybe Disney World'.

Uh, so...how can I help you? Are you looking for July, August or September? Resort, Disney or hiking?

A firm date range and a solid idea of what you want to do is extremely helpful to a travel agent. They have relationships with many vendors and companies and cruiselines, but the whole process is made so much easier if you know what you actually want.

That doesn't mean they are unwilling to help, they do want to and will gladly put a trip together for you, just best to have a good idea of where you want to go, what you want to do and when.

Travel agents do travel themselves, but how often really depends on their job within the agency or industry.

When Adam and I were dating and first married he went on many FAM (Or Familiarity) Trips with other agents to the Dominican, Jamaica, Cancun and Cabo. During these trips the group would do site inspections of the different all-inclusive resorts and be wined and dined by the various resort chains. Sometimes it was a lot of work and other times it was more of a long weekend vacation with a one or two site inspections thrown in. That being said, the day-to-day job of a travel agent is not them traveling, but working in an office and being there for you when you are traveling.

Much of a travel agent's job is putting out metaphorical fires. Many, many times they are 'on hold' with a vendor (Such as Funjet, Disney or Delta Vacations) to get an issue fixed. Sometimes they have to wait for hours, literally, to talk to a representative for a simple request such as adding a baby to a lap for a plane ride.

Be nice to your travel agent. Getting a trip together can sometimes take days or weeks. It depends on what is involved. Piecing together a Europe trip can be quite a process and takes some time. Allow enough time for your travel agent to get things together; flights, transportation, hotels, tours. Be patient while they work on it.

A travel agent cannot control the weather. There's almost always a chance of rain in Cancun, but usually it's mild. I've been on a few vacations where, yes, it rained, but it certainly didn't ruin the vacation.

A travel agent also does not control plane delays, due to weather or any other circumstance. Therefore it is not their fault when flights are delayed and you have to wait in the airport for hours. They can help you though, by potentially finding you another flight or helping when flights are cancelled.

A travel agent cannot control which room you are put in at your resort. You can most definitely choose a room type (Such as ocean view, partial ocean view, swim out, resort view or various suites), however, which specific room within those types (Such as floor number, how close you are to the spa, etc.) will vary. You also can request a room with a king bed, instead of two queens, but it is simply just a request. The resort is not obligated to fulfill requested; what you end up with is often based on availablity.

Some tips when traveling or working with an agent:

  1. Always get travel insurance.

I can't tell you how many times my husband has offered travel insurance to a client and they decline saying, 'Oh, we're going to go!' and then later have to cancel due to unforseen circumstances and then not get a refund due to cancelling.

Or they decline the insurance, go on the trip and then in the middle of the vacation end up with a burst appendix and have to have emergency surgery and spend the rest of the time in the hospital.

Should have gotten the insurance.

2. There is also no such thing as a last minute deal.

This is especially true around high travel times such as Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Summer Vacations.

If you want a spring break trip but wait until two weeks before you want to go, there is a good chance that everything will be sold out. You can't wait until the last minute to book because you won't be able to get what you want when you want it. Either that or you will get what you want, but pay a much heftier price for it simply because you waited.

3. Book bags at the time of booking your trip. Don't wait until the last minute.

4. Read your travel documents. A good travel agent will send you travel documents; an itinerary with all the details like airlines and flight times, tours, transporation, hotels, etc. Read them. Read their emails. Most likely if you have a question about the trip it has already been answered within their communication or in the travel documents. Feel free to reach out and ask them though if you don't see the answer to your question.

Oh...and that whole COVID thing...did you get stuck somewhere two years ago in the panic of everything shutting down...???? In 2020 my husband did nothing except book trips for two and a half months and then spent THE REST OF THE YEAR cancelling all the trips then rescheduling then cancelling and rescheduling.

There are many, many aspects to being a travel agent. I hope this has given you some of the feel of what it is like to be an agent.