We visited this topic a few months ago, but being a former coach, I've found it's always good to review. The question often comes up, “why in the world should anyone want to use a travel agent?”. One of my comebacks is “why would anyone want to use an insurance agent, or a financial adviser, or for that manner a doctor?” Of course, we in the business consider it to be a profession that requires a certain amount of education, expertise, and experience, just like the insurance agent, financial adviser, or physician.
One of the ways that our clients have discovered our value is in the shopping and pricing out a travel product. When they go to an app or website of a tour operator or on-line agency, they are getting a price quote based on the proper buttons pushed. When a travel consultant offers a price, it is the result of training, skills, and expertise in finding the RIGHT price with the RIGHT supplier, in the RIGHT destination, all carefully chosen to make their clients happy. In other words, the price that the agent quotes are the result of professional research.
Another thought here is that the average traveler who takes one, maybe two trips a year generally has no idea how a travel agent does their work. They are not aware of the time, energy and effort, resources used, or vendor relationships built up over the years to give them the best quote available based on the clients interest and needs.
