Why Hire a Utah Travel Agent?
by Rachel Ward, Designer Travel
A professional travel advisor doesn’t just plan your itinerary; they provide expertise, save you time, and ensure that your trip is seamless from start to finish. They offer personalized service that takes into account your unique preferences and requirements, along with access to exclusive perks and deals not available to the general public.
By leveraging these advantages, travel agents elevate your travel experience, ensuring you enjoy every moment of your journey.
Wise travelers know that the joy of the experience of traveling is exponentially higher when a travel agent is involved.
A good travel agent has expertise in specific destinations, cruises, or types of travel (luxury, family, adventure) that you need. They have firsthand experience and knowledge about the best accommodations, excursions, and hidden gems that you wouldn’t find on your own. A good travel agent is able to leverage industry connections to get their clients upgrades, early check-in, late check-out, or amenities that aren’t available when booking directly. Learn more about our insider travel connections on our travel blog.
A good travel agent will provide a tailored, personalized itinerary based on your unique preferences, travel style, and budget. Booking directly can be impersonal, but a good travel agent takes the time to get to know your preferences and plan accordingly. I love to travel and I love to travel my way, but when I’m planning an itinerary for a client I listen to what THEY want and how THEY like to travel and plan the itinerary for THEM.
At Designer Travel we specialize in custom itineraries and truly get excited to put together a unique travel experience with fun elements and personalization included. Read more about custom travel itineraries on our Custom Travel page.
A good travel agent can provide exclusive perks and amenities through your preferred relationships with suppliers.
These may include:
Room upgrades
Complimentary breakfasts or spa treatments
Onboard ship credits for cruises
Early access to special tours or events
A good travel agent is your best advocate. If something goes wrong (flights delayed, hotel issues, etc.), they handle it for you, reducing your stress and ensuring you still have an amazing experience. Most likely the agent has a good relationship with hotels and other travel professionals and can solve problems much quicker.
Booking direct often means dealing with customer service lines or 1-800 numbers, which can be frustrating and time-consuming for clients.
Stress the time-saving benefit. No more spending hours researching destinations, comparing prices, or reading reviews—a good travel agent does all of that for you, saving you precious time while delivering a better experience.
A good travel agent can provide exclusive experiences you can arrange that can’t be booked online, such as private tours, access to VIP events, or reservations at hard-to-get-into restaurants. A while back I was able to book my client into a theme hotel that was sold-out online.
It’s literally our job to create unforgettable, unique moments, offering a depth of experience that booking direct can’t provide. Plus good travel agents have been to many destinations themselves trying and testing so they can speak from experience the experiences they recommend.
A good travel agent will be transparent about all costs of their services. When researching travel agents ask them how their fees work. Many travelers think they will save money by booking directly, but they often miss out on the perks or support a good travel agent can provide.
In many cases, the cost of booking through a travel advisor is the same or less than booking directly, thanks to their connections and pre-negotiated group buying power.
8. Continuous Education and Expertise
A good travel agent invests time in education, such as certifications from in-depth training in a certain destination. For example, I did an extensive training program to become an “Aussie Specialist” in which I took a 20-hour course and received a certification. Travel agents have limitless opportunities for training and FAM trips where they visit destinations and do hotel site inspections which gives us first-hand knowledge about the destination you want to travel to.
A good travel agent can share insights on current travel trends, safety tips, or upcoming destination hotspots that online platforms won’t personalize.
9. Stress-Free Planning
We not only eliminate all the time-consuming research, we also eliminate stress from the planning process. You don’t need to worry about missing important details or overcomplicating things.
Booking directly puts the responsibility on the traveler to manage logistics, while a good travel agent will streamline and simplify everything. At Designer Travel we put all information for flights, real-time flight tracking, excursions, trains, rental cars, driving directions, transfers, hotels and other important information into a handy mobile app that keeps everything in one convenient place, making your travel experience the best it can be.
10. Reputation and Trust
Look for positive online testimonials for the travel agent or agency you chose. Choosing an agent or travel advisor that others have used and like is the first step to finding an agent who has a good reputation. Do they have 5-star Google reviews? The number of reviews isn’t always as important as the quality of reviews. Read what past clients have said. Look through their social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram to see what they have said about the destination you’re interested in. Leave us a 5-star review if you’ve worked with us:
Don’t waste time and money, hire an expert who offers much more than just booking, booking with an expert always provides better value than going direct.
At Designer Travel Agency, we are fun and easy to work with and ready to help you plan your next adventure! Call us at 801-935-8652.
Are you a travel agent looking to join an amazing host agency?
If you are an aspiring travel advisor looking to grow your business we invite you to consider our host agency, Trips & Ships Luxury Travel. The exclusive opportunities to learn and grow in the industry with like-minded advisor peers has been invaluable for our agency. Being a part of the “Luxe Tribe” has numerous benefits including marketing tools, FAM opportunites, trainings, and connections to the best industry partners through the Travel Leader Network and more.
Learn more at luxuryhostagency.com.