A Note From Paul:   
Don't try this at home!

Greetings All!

Some months ago I published an e-zine article and blog post titled  "Three Things That Can Go Horribly Wrong When Booking Online".  I'm running that article again because a recent incident makes it worth revisiting.

Four  clients were on a "Golf & Whiskey-Tasting Tour" of Scotland when they ran into trouble with their car and weren't able to make it to their reserved hotel.  It's festival season -- there were no hotel rooms to be had in the entire country. After hours on the phone with no good news I was afraid my guys would be sleeping in their car. Then my good friend  Bill Hill, a tour guide extraordinaire in Edinburgh and an all-around gentleman, offered them a roof and a soft bed... in his own home. This is the kind of thing we in travel dream of. Thank you Bill, I am forever in your debt and I highly recommend you to anyone reading this.

Now, I am not suggesting that all my clients just knock on Bill's door if they find themselves in need, and I hope I never impose on him again. But I tell this story to make a point:  This is the kind of service you get from a travel professional.  You get an advocate, someone who works for you... not the airline, not the hotel, not the car rental agency, you.

And for those of you still booking your travel in the internet... try getting service like that from Travelocity or Orbitz!

You know, it never ceases to amaze me how people think they're getting a good deal by booking their own travel on the Internet. Smart people, wise people, people who wouldn't think of diagnosing their own illness, or defending themselves in court. Yet they feel no compunction about booking their own travel, and just assume that -- since they booked it themselves -- they're saving money and getting the best deal.

Fact is, in most cases it costs no more to book through a Travel Consultant, and many times we can save you money. And when you consider the possible down side of booking on the internet, it's a no-brainer!  What's the down side, you ask? You just saw one example above.  Read on for more...

                                                              

P.S. -- There's nothing worth more than your recommendation!  Please forward this to friends and associates who might be interested.  

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Three Things That Can Go

Horribly Wrong When Booking Online

ONE:  Your airline doesn’t talk to your transfer driver, who doesn’t talk to your hotel, who doesn’t talk to your auto rental agency, who doesn’t talk to your airline...

You went on one website to book your ultra-low-cost air, then to a hotel site for your half-priced room (all at the same price that a travel agent could have gotten you!)

You’ve spent 2 hours on the phone doing something that would have cost you no more money and a lot less time if you

had just called your Travel Consultant. And now... your flight is cancelled! Like dominoes, so begins the “Cascade of Calamity”.

Having all of your reservations in one place assures a sort of “continuity of information”. The moment I’m notified by the airline that a client’s air is delayed or cancelled, I’m on the phone to the car rental agency so my client won’t be charged for a missed rental. I’m on the phone to the hotel to arrange for late or next day arrival. And I’m on the phone with the airline to make alternate flight arrangements, saving my client time, money, and boatloads of frustration. Meanwhile, Mr. “Booked It Myself On The Internet” is juggling frantic phone calls from Gate A5 at LaGuardia, and praying his iPhone battery lasts.

TWO: You’re in a foreign country. That guy who just walked by looked a bit, ummm... “sketchy”. But no worries, your fannypak is safely... WHERE?! Did you drop it? Did someone pick your pocket?! Your money! Your passport! Now what?!

You try calling “Travelorbitzosity dot com” to tell them you’ve lost your passport. Yeah, good luck with that. Do they know where the U.S. Embassy is?  Puh-LEAZE! You’re talking to someone in Bangladesh! Can they get you money? Can they deal with your credit card companies? Can they help you at all?!

In a word - no.

The fact is, you’re just one of the tens of thousands of people they deal with every day through their call center. Helping you out of a jam is not their job, and it’s not part of their knowledge base. They exist to sell you stuff. Period.

When you book your travel through a Travel Consultant, then find yourself in a jam, an entire network kicks into action. We know the process for getting a replacement passport, and we walk you through it. We can wire you money, we can alert the airline to your lost ticket, we can and will do everything we can to get you out of that jam and safely home. Try asking “The Internet” for that!

THREE: Your entire trip was a bust! The airline lost your luggage. The all-inclusive “luxury” resort put you in their worst room - the one in the back, facing the parking lot, with the mildew. The cruise ship gave you an intestinal bug that you’re still trying to kill before it kills you...

If you complain to the airline, or the resort, or the cruise line, let’s face it - you’re one lone traveler. Sure, you’ll get lots of sympathy, if you can get someone to listen. But will you get a refund? Or compensation for your loss? Or satisfaction in any form?! Maybe, maybe not.

Your Travel Consultant, on the other hand, deals with that airline, that resort, that cruise line daily, sending them tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in business every year. When you complain, they sigh and apologize. When we complain, they listen!

Now, can we remedy every situation, make up for every lost vacation day, heal every psychic wound? Of course not. But we have the knowledge, the resources, the contacts and the influence to get attention and action.

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So there you go! Three very good reasons why smart people trust their travel plans to the professionals.

Until next week!