Making the Right Travel Decision

Any consultant worth his or her salt, seeks to provide their clients with the best possible information so their clients can then take that information and make the best decision possible.  Making right decisions, for the most part, relies on having the correct information ahead of making that decision.  We rely on experts in certain fields to provide us with that correct info whether its health related, financially related etc.  We don't turn to friends who have not been to medical school to advise us on how to treat some health ailment. We don't rely on someone who has never worked on a car engine to help us determine how to fix our broken down car. We don't take advice from financially broke friends on how to better invest our money.  The same logic should apply when someone is wanting travel advice.  Turning to non-professionals can sometimes render bad decisions because the non-professional information was flawed and possibly even incorrect.

We see this a lot in the field of professional travel consulting.  We hear of travelers being encouraged to take a cruise solely because a passport is not currently needed for a lot of cruises.  But that information is only partially correct and may lead travelers to make the wrong decision for them and their family.  We have clients come to us and say they only want to visit 2 of the 4 parks at Walt Disney World because a friend said they didn't think the other parks had enough for small children.  Again, that is not a factual statement.  Similarly we have had clients say they don't want to visit a destination like Universal Orlando Parks and Resorts because too many of the rides have a height requirement of 50in or taller.  Clients were ready to not consider that option based on that one friend's comment.  The friend's comment was incorrect.   Many discount the idea of Mexico being a vacation destination based on friend's comments about safety in Mexico.  99% of the time, those friends are not stating facts but only passing on news stories that are also not stating facts. These are just small examples of how wrong information and opinion can alter a family's vacation plans.

It is our job to help clients sift through the gobs of opinions and counter some of those opinions with simple facts so our clients can make the best decision possible for what is right for them, not for their friends. We can help clients see that having a passport is still highly encouraged even when taking a cruise for a variety of reasons.  We can help clients see what is offered for all ages at every park that makes up Walt Disney World and then let the clients decide how they want to spend THEIR time.  We can provide actual ride heights showing that the majority of the attractions at Universal Orlando are under that 50in requirement.  We can even provide actual crime statistics that show Mexico is safer than places like the Bahamas, Jamaica. Punta Cana etc for tourists.

We have opinions too.  Clients come to us for our opinions.  But even our opinions are based one what we factually know about a destination or certain type of vacation. This is why we take the time and spend the money to travel to the places we sell.  We can then offer facts, personal experiences and opinion which gives our clients the best possible info so they can weed through the hoards of options and make the right vacation choice.

So the next time you get an opinion from someone who is NOT a professional travel consultant, reach out to us or find a professional who is a right fit and trust their skill and knowledge. It could make the difference between an ok vacation and a great vacation.

Travel Tip (Answer) of the Week

I really felt the need to address a question that I have been asked quite frequently. Sorry it is a bit longer than usual, but I felt some things needed to be said.

Getting Off To A Good Start

Ok...so you are sitting there thinking about taking a vacation, or as I like to refer to it, a journey. You are pondering all of the places you have thought about visiting and trying to figure out that first step. Do you search for hotels first? Do you look into airfare? What about things to do in a particular place? The questions can seem endless and sometimes can get overwhelming.

So I want to give you a first step that you might think about before doing anything else. Ask around and find a "reputable" travel consultant or agent. Notice that I said reputable. That is the number 1 qualifier for selecting a good travel agent. Like so many other professions in this day and age, there are hoards of people who claim to be professionals or experts in the field of travel while their actions and credentials are telling a different story.

Social media sites have been inundated with people who say they are the expert at XYZ and some put their trust and even their money with that person while never checking to see what qualifies them as being the so-called expert.

Numerous travelers can share their horror stories from various vacations where they put their trust in a travel agent that they selected off the internet. I am here to tell you that bad experiences can be avoided if you take one simple step before choosing your next travel consultant. Here it is.

Check for credentials and references.

Technically that is 2 steps, but really it is the first step in the process of making sure you have the best vacation possible. Asking for references should be mandatory and any good travel consultant will gladly send you a list of clients who they have helped and who have offered to be a reference for that particular professional. Then ask for credentials or ask about their own experience in travel. For example, there are designations such as CTC, CTA, ACC etc that tell you that a particular agent has a certain number of years experience in the field of selling travel and he/she has completed some extensive training and has passed an exam showing their proficiency in their field. I am currently a CTA which stands for "Certified Travel Associate" which means I have completed the mandatory hours of course work and successfully passed the exam awarding me with that professional designation. Designations set those who have chosen this profession to be their full-time job apart from those who only get into a profession for their own personal benefit and only tinker in the business.

This does not mean that every agent or consultant who does not have a certain designation is not proficient in the field of travel. Some agents may never be called a CTA, or CTC but their experience in traveling to a variety of destinations sets them apart from those who are not serious about being a true travel professional. So ask..."Do you possess any certifications or have you traveled extensively?"

Remember this; a travel agent's services are always free unless a fee is agreed upon upfront. Take advantage of all of the ways a true travel professional can help with the trip planning process and take a moment to qualify that particular person before allowing them to make any reservations on your behalf.

Have you had a bad experience with a travel professional? I would like to hear some of your experiences so please feel free to comment and share. I am determined to put the word "professional" back into the industry I love and you can help me with that by only agreeing to do business with those who are truly in travel to help and consult clients and who possess the highest level of professionalism possible.

Top 10 Reasons to Use a Travel Agent

It is one of the questions I get asked from time to time, "why should I or would I use a travel agent?" Well...here 10 reasons you might want to consider it:

1. You've Googled "Mexico vacation," and come up with 17.8 million responses. Need a little help editing those choices?

2. Remember when you used that obscure website to book your hotel, and when you got there you spent your beach vacation overlooking a parking lot?

3. How many hours were you on hold with the airline when your flight was canceled because of a snowstorm?

4. Did you really mean to spend your honeymoon at that resort whose one tiny pool was filled all day with 12 screaming children?

5. Who knew that when you booked that "villa" in Tuscany, it would be a small room with a kitchenette and no air conditioning? Funny, it looked much better on your computer screen.

6. No one explained to you that in July, it's winter time in Rio, and so you showed up there with nothing but five Hawaiian shirts and three pairs of swimming trunks.

7. How about the time you really needed a restful vacation, and you ended up in New Orleans during Mardi Gras and someone threw up on your shoes?

8. Yes, I guess that hotel must have used a telephoto lens when they took a picture of those guest rooms that you saw on their website.

9. I suppose contacting the Attorney General to resolve the fact that that Internet site has billed your credit card three times instead of once is the only route to take at this point.

10. It was definitely odd that there were no cab drivers at the airport at 3 o'clock in the morning when you finally landed in Costa Rica, but booking a transfer to your very remote hotel would have been a good thing to remember when you purchased your airline ticket and hotel online.

Always remember...a travel agent's services are free to the consumer unless a specific fee has been agreed to up front for some special services to be rendered.

Adopted from an article written by Ruthanne Terrero. Please visit the following link to read her article in its entirety. Travel Agent Central