Why Consumer Travelers Should Use a Travel Agent (continued)
Travel Agents Can Help You if Problems Occur
So you arrive at your hotel in a strange city only to find there's no record of your booking and the hotel is full. The desk clerk is uncooperative and you're tired. What do you do?
If your travel agent has 24-hour emergency service, you can simply call them, first to clarify if the booking was correctly made, and what your rights are with the hotel you're at, and, if necessary, to help rebook you into another nearby hotel.
A travel agent can also help you negotiate resolutions to problems after you return from your trip. They might have access to a supplier through different channels, and might have more leverage, either directly or through industry groups they belong to, so as to encourage the supplier to make a fair resolution to any outstanding problems you have.
Summary
Contrary to some people's expectations, travel agents continue to add valuable extra services to people like you, even in the Internet age. Subtly but vitally, many times they can help you in areas you hadn't even thought about or were previously unaware of.
Using a travel agent costs you very little -- if anything -- and in return they might not just save you money, but might also save your eagerly awaited vacation from potential pitfalls and problems.
