To Be or Not to Be Your Own Travel Agent

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     When it comes to traveling, finding the “best deal” is a must! In the article Booking Flights and Hotels: Online Agents or Direct? author Stephanie Rosenbloom weighs the pros and cons of making travel reservations through an online agent or becoming your own travel agent. 

1.) What are the advantages of booking with online travel agents like Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, or Travelocity? 

     Although the current online travel agents may face some stiff competition from rookie travel sites, it is not to say that people should avoid using them. By booking through an online travel agent, the traveler is essentially working with a middleman. Basically creating a “one-stop-shop” for travelers, an online travel agent takes care of finding the competitors’ flight and hotel prices. George Hobica, the founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, noted the “double edge sword” of working with a middleman. As weather is often the culprit of travel delays, a company like Expedia may provide better service to those stuck in a storm. The company can easily provide the traveler with alternate methods to get to their destinations with short notice. Online travel agents oftentimes bundle things such as plane tickets, hotel rooms, and car rentals together. They are able to do this by giving customers odd times for flying, empty hotel rooms, and less popular cars. So if a traveler is not concerned with the limited luxuries and amenities provided, online agents may be the most economical choice.

2.) What are the advantages of booking directly with airline companies or hotels?

     In more recent times, there has been an increased push to become your own travel agent and eliminate a travel agent - or middleman- of any kind. Oftentimes there is an additional fee to pay for the work of the travel agent, thus, booking direct seems to be the most economical choice. Although, travel agents provide man discounts, airline companies and hotels have increased special packages and reward programs for those that buy direct. PhoCusWright researchers estimated that the number of travelers who booked directly with alternate lodging business has increased 8 percent since 2010 (Rosenbloom). Remember the scenario with the traveler who ran into weather delays at the airport? If he booked with an online agent, he may run into problems with online agent’s strict cancellation policies. On the other hand, if the troubled traveler booked directly with the airline, he could have arranged for alternate options at the airport and called the hotel (which he also booked direct) to explain the delay. By booking direct, the reservations are purchased independently from one another making it easier to tailor them to specific travel needs. Furthermore, booking direct allows for more favorable travel times and hotel rooms specific to one’s preferences. If a traveler a more cost effective alternative to online agents, he can eliminate the hassle of a middle man and become his own travel agent.

3.) What do you suggest for those making travel reservations?

     Over the past decade, leisure travelers have turned to online travel agents when planning for a vacation. While once seen as having a stronghold in the travel industry, according to research done by the research company PhoCusWright, the number or leisure travelers using online travel agents has dropped 37 percent since 2011 (Rosenbloom). Clearly, this statistic wouldn’t seem to hold well for the future of online booking sites such as Expedia and Priceline. According to the founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, George Hobica, budget-conscious travelers are just using sites like Expedia and Priceline to compare prices rather than for booking. New alternate travels sites such as Google Flight Search, Hipmunk, and Hopper are specifically geared towards individuals searching for the best deal. Applications such as Kayak, SeatGuru, and Hotel Tonight have furthered self-service in the rapidly growing and highly competitive travel industry as well. All and all, there is no specific route to find the best price. There are advantages and disadvantages for using online travel agents or booking directly, thus “for now, you can still shop around.”

FUTURE RESEARCH:
     Clearly there are many options available to budget-conscious travelers. Deciding on which hotel to book, for instance, can be difficult for some. Popular hotels chains such as Marriott, Hyatt, and Holiday Inn seem to be in every major tourist destination, but the rooms vary in price depending on the location...What contributes to the varying prices of travel destinations?