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Travel Agent for group trip?

So i'm planning a trip to the Caribbean for a fairly large group of people (i think last year was like 22?) and i'd like to do as little work as possible. Last year i did Apple Vacations (their group department) and it was a nightmare. i had to bitch out the sales guy to get him to honor the group discount, and they told me if i got 21 people, the 21st person would get a free trip. Of course, there were a bunch of caveats that prevented me from actually getting that discount... but whatever.

I'm basically looking to have someone A) find me the best deal, and B) be the point of contact for everyone to book their respective trip. I've never used a travel agent in my life, so i'm not even sure what they actually do, or if they add a cost, etc. Is there a "trip advisor" type thing for travel agents? i don't really see offices around much.

Posts

  • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
    Travel agents typically work on commission, and that would usually be 10% of what you pay for hotels and other tour packages. No commission on airfare though, or at least that had gone the way of the dodo over a decade ago and I doubt it's returned since. The result being that sometimes travel agents will be reluctant to get too involved with airfare since it tends to be time-consuming (especially if people want to use miles) and they don't make any money on it at all unless they charge a ticket fee of $25-50 per person.

    Anyway, the hotel/package commission gets paid to the travel agent by the hotels/companies they book you into, it isn't an additional cost on top of whatever you're paying. The only exception to this should be the possible airfare ticketing fees I mentioned. For a group your size an agent might be more flexible on the airfare since the total commission should be pretty solid. Depends on who you talk to though.

    Getting a 21st person free if you have 20 paying passengers isn't unusual at all, and is likely something you could arrange again. Just not with a shithouse like Apple Vacations. Mention it to any travel agent you speak to as something you'd like them to try to arrange and see what they say. If you end up working with someone who later says it isn't possible, double check them by contacting your hotel or tour package company directly - I worked with more agents than I would have liked who would be all too happy to get the freebie passenger/room and then tell their client it wasn't possible and pocket the extra money paid in addition to their commission.

    I worked for a luxury tour operator for a while 9+ years ago. If you went to a travel agent and said you wanted to go on safari in Africa, we were the kind of company they'd recommend. Some travel agents I worked with were great and really went all-out for the clients, most were just mediocre and really only cared about making their commission while doing the bare minimum to keep their clients happy, and a sizable minority would gladly screw their clients if it meant more money for them. I wish I could point you to a good resource for finding a good travel agent, but nothing comes to mind. Best I can think of is checking any possible agency for yelp reviews, or maybe Angie's list. It really shouldn't be important to have an agent local to you though, so don't feel compelled to stick to your general area. If you know someone who has a travel agent they like 2,500 miles away, there isn't any strong reason why you couldn't use them.

    Even 10 years ago travel agents were beginning to die out as the internet made it much easier for people to book travel that was previously considered difficult on their own. Not too surprised that it's hard to find a decent agent, or even info on possible agents, now. If you have an AmEx card I believe they have a travel section on their site that can refer potential agents for cardholders. Might be worth checking out anyway.

  • Dr. FrenchensteinDr. Frenchenstein Registered User regular
    i do have an Amex card! i will check out if they have any resources. thanks for the tips!

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