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Every once in a while - someone will ask the above question. In this article we will try to answer this very important question for you.
There has been a trend in the travel business for many agencies to close their stores. Some of the office agents simply left tourism sales for other opportunities - but most of the career agents who love to help travelers with their plans simply reinvented the way they do business. If you were a regular customer of an agency that closed their storefront office ... in some cases an agent from the business may have contacted you to let you know that they are still available. Unfortunately though - the business plan at many storefront agencies simply said - sell the next walkin - something! If you are someone who visited a neighborhood agency whenever you wanted a trip - rest assured, a qualified travel agent - very interested in your business - is somewhere nearby and looking for you. The current trend is for a qualified agent to be available to you by phone [often from an office in their home] -- and that is working just fine.
Travel agents [the professionals] have invested many years in training for their career. Training takes many forms - from basic customer service training, computer skill improvement, participation at exclusive seminars and/or making inspection trips to exciting properties all over the world. There are special websites for travel agents only - where registered agents can go to learn the inside details about various properties or cruise ships and/or chat with the company specialists about their mutual concerns. Many travel agents are on a first name basis with important people at most of the popular resorts and with the various cruise lines. Travel agents often chat with each other too. What one agent knows or has just learned - spreads through the community quickly. In general - travel agents can find available trips in a matter of minutes, tell you more about the destinations and popular resort properties, discuss the side activities and excursions you can do while on your vacation, book a complete package that exceeds your expectations - all at a price you will be happy with. We know how to match available trips with prospective travelers! Most travel agents do not charge extra for their personalized service.
Some people think they can one-up the ability of a travel agent - [or the cost] - by simply going on-line and searching for their next vacation on the internet. While the internet is a great resource for all of us ... the experience and knowledge of a good travel agent cannot be replaced by a fancy web page which features a snappy search engine that finds a trip in ten seconds or less - based upon a few blanks you fill-in. Most of the highly advertised mega-travel sites on the internet have been programmed to promote and sell their most profitable trips. Most provide good information in the process -- but none of them can listen, talk and interact directly with you. None of the websites offer all possible properties or categories at a specific destination - they offer what they have to offer. Travel agents always deal with more than one tour operator who is based in or has the best airline departure schedules from your city. This means strong local competition and increased product availability for the most desirable destinations. Almost every day - we find a special trip for someone - often when they have been told that the same trip was not available or would cost more. Nine out of ten of our clients do not know exactly where they want to go at first - they come to us and allow us to help them decide. One out of ten of our customers is referred to us by another travel agency -- because they know our specialty and know we will give their caller the best possible service. We return favors.
Travel agents are the number one purchaser of vacations and cruises. Think about that for a moment ... where you might be dealing for your once a year vacation with a certain resort or cruise line -- travel agents are dealing on behalf of multiple customers - year round. The tour companies and cruise lines go after our business by offering various incentives and giving us the special attention {we deserve}. When an individual deals with a public call center directly - they want to make the sale for sure - but you are still a one-time caller to them. Typically - when we are dealing with our reps at the various tour and cruise companies - we make it a practice to mention recently completed sales - or even take the opportunity to have them check the folder for another client. We work them just as much as they work us ... Finally, not a single company we know is in a position to mention or discuss their competition - travel agents are and we do.
The final cost of your trip is the bottom line for both of us. We want you to have a great trip to a property [or on a cruise itinerary] you picked. We want to help you decide where to go at a price that meets your budget. We do this because we want you as our client -- and quite often we do earn your future business. Many of our current clients were referred to GBTC by one of their friends who had a great experience dealing with us. If you are going to a resort - we can usually detail or even specify the type of room you will be assigned. If you are cruising -- quite often -- our agency clients receive room category upgrades - for free. We do not charge extra for any of our normal day to day services. We are paid a small commission by the tour companies or cruise lines - only after your trip has been completed. In most cases -- the price they offer you directly - is exactly the price they offer us ... in other words - if you deal with the tour [or cruise] companies direct ... you really don't save a dime. They keep the commission.
Many people think travel agents make a whole lot of money by charging extra for their services - money they could save by cutting the agent out of the picture. This is simply not so in most cases. It has been our experience - and the experience of our many repeat clients ... that travel agents can: 1) save on the total cost of your trip -or- 2) put you into a better category or higher rated property for the same cost. This is our goal in business -- the reason travel agents are still in business -- and why we believe you should use a travel agent for your next trip. We make our living one trip at a time -- not much per trip -- but we book dozens of trips to the exciting properties on a continuing basis. Travel agents - and the sales we do make - are highly respected within the tourism industry. The best way you can benefit from using a travel agent is to contact us regarding your next trip. Please give us a try. There is no additional charge to discuss your next trip with a highly qualified and interested travel agent at GBTC Travel.
Please Call - GBTC 770-963-9846 -or- email agents@GBTCtravel.com
Now you know -- Travel Agents provide experience and knowledge -- all for Free !
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