#TravelAgents Archives - Life is Better Traveling

Travel Agents Save Wintry Weather Disasters

It is only the beginning of March but believe it or not, people are planning and booking their winter vacations for next year. Why? Everyone loves to travel to warmer weather and the Caribbean and Mexico are usually the top places we book. A few days relaxing on the beach and taking in some good amounts of Vitamin D makes everyone’s spirits lift up. Unfortunately, wintry weather can disrupt travel plans. It is a known fact that travelers who book through a trained travel agent professional have many advantages over those who “go it alone.”

Here are some of the advantages when you book with a Life is Better Traveling travel professional:

1. Life is Better Traveling Travel agents are trained to monitor situations like winter weather that may impact their clients’ travel plans. As such, they also can work on alternative travel plans and can likely have those in place the moment the need arises. In some cases, such as weather, airlines are not required to provide accommodations. Travel agents can proactively find accommodations for their clients in when weather disrupts travel plans.

2. If changes in travel plans are necessary due to weather or mechanical issues for example, many times, travel agents can rebook clients for no additional charge or are able to obtain travel vouchers and/or refunds that clients may not know are due or available to them.

3. We stand ready to assist clients who may encounter major transportation delays or cancelled flights. If necessary:

We will help our clients secure other flight arrangements.
We will work to rebook hotel and car rental reservations.
We will work to find alternative modes of transportation to get our clients to their destination.

4. With limited airline seats available, Life is Better Traveling travel agents have the resources needed to quickly rebook clients and reserve the next available seat.

Travelers who book on their own either have to “roll the dice” by calling an 800 number or standing in a lengthy customer service line to try get rebooked. Using a travel agent can essentially move you to the “front of the line.”

Fill out the form below to get started planning your next European Vacation. Looking for a motor coach tour, self-drive, or private tour, we can easily put together the perfect European vacation for you and your family’s needs.

When you book your vacation with a member of the Life is Better Traveling Team, you are supporting local families and business. Thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past 4 years, we have become an AMAZING travel agency due to your support!

Travel Agent Scams Local Families

Liz Hough on

For the past couple of weeks I have been writing about reasons one would use a travel agent and to watch out for hidden fees with those large Online Travel Agencies (OTA) like Travelocity. I recently learned that in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, a lady who was a travel agent had been scamming people out of their hard earned money. She had a brick and mortar office, was a member of the local chamber of commerce, was “licensed” according to the news station (but there was no elaboration on what they meant by being licensed), and even generated invoices for booked vacations. Unfortunately it appears that she had her own debts to pay before her client’s vacations bills. I am sure after reading this you are reconsidering using a travel agent, right? Don’t be! I am going to give you some tips on how to make sure that your travel agent is legitimate and how to avoid being scammed out of your hard earned money.

Tip #1: Check their credentials. Ask them if they have taken any course work related to travel and tourism. Do they have certifications in the travel industry, are they rated on Angie’s list, the Better Business Bureau, or another reputable business rating website? Are they part of any networking works like chamber of commerce, Business Network International (BNI), or the Women’s Business Network (WBN)? And you should always ask for references! Asking for a past client’s phone number or email address to give them a referral should be easy.

Tip #2: When booking with a new travel agent, only give the deposit amount required to secure your booking, payment for any trip insurance, and any service fees your travel agent charges. Service fee amounts should be clearly stated on anything you sign. Unless you are booking within a 90 day window of departure, you should not have to put down the full amount. If your travel agent is requiring you put the full amount down, ask to see the supplier’s brochure and look in the very back for their deposit requirements. If you feel uncomfortable about booking at that time, politely say “it was more than you were looking to put down at this time so you will have to get back with you later.” Then get up and walk out!

Tip #3: In a world where credit cards are so easily used and they seem to be like potato chips where we all don’t just have one, please always use your credit card. There is built in fraud protection on most, if not all credit cards nowadays. Use this card to make your deposits and final payments. I would recommend against using a debit card unless you have been working with this person for years. Please be aware of any travel agent who ONLY takes checks as their form of payment as it is very easy to set up an account to take credit cards. Always check your credit card statements to ensure that the charges discussed are the exact charges on your bill. And don’t be afraid to ask questions if you find an error. An honest agent will review everything to find any mistakes.

Tip #4: Once you have made your reservation, your travel agent should give you an invoice with a reservation number of the supplier being used. If they have not, please ask them for this information. This gives you the opportunity to call the supplier directly or go on the supplier’s website to verify your booking. Now this sounds easy enough, but if you are part of a tour group that the travel agent has put together you will not have supplier reservation numbers. The best way to double check your tour is legitimate is to call one of the hotels you will be staying at and ask them if your group is booked.

Tip #5: Always listen to your instincts. If you don’t click with your travel agent then please don’t feel like you have to stick with them. Find someone who works well with you and your family. If you feel like something is wrong, ask a lot of questions or just leave. You have the right to ask questions. My mother has always told me that “if it sounds too good to be true then it is too good to be true.” There are deals out there that are really good, but do some research. Before talking with your travel get an idea of the cost of the vacation you want to take but remember that your travel agent can sometimes get you the same price or lower with added amenities.

Now you are prepared to work with any travel agent!

Beware of Booking Travel Online: Read the fine print.

Liz Hough on

I recently had a friend ask me what to do when she needed to change their flight that they booked through one of these large travel booking engines or in the travel business what we call an Online Travel Agency (OTA). The problem was that the airline they were using was now using Expedia or Travelocity exclusively and not offering direct booking on their website. When they needed to change the flight, they had to call the booking engine company directly and not the airline. They had a lot of trouble speaking with a person and once they did they were charged all these extra fees to change the ticket. These fees were almost as much as the cost of the original airline ticket! So why do we use these travel booking engines, is it easier?

So many people ask me “why should I use you or any other travel agent when I can just book on-line?” People who are looking for a “deal” only think that they can get that online. Unfortunately, when you book online if something goes wrong it could end up costing you many hours, energy, and money to get it fixed. My friend not only had to pay the airline fees to change the flight (which can be up to $150 on domestic or $200 on international) but they also had to pay the travel booking engine fee. For example, Travelocity’s fee to reissue an airline ticket is $40 per passenger in addition to the airlines fees.

I looked further into these “fees” that some of these online booking engines charge. I found that Travelocity also charges a “Processing Service Fee” for all cruise line reservations. There is no set amount so it may vary depending on the price of your cruise. When booking vacation packages they have a “Facilitation Fee” that you pay them for facilitating your travel arrangements. Again, there is no amount so it probably is a percentage of your total amount of the vacation package. All of these fees are incorporated into your final amount. So double check when you get to the payment page the additional fees from the travel booking engine should be clearly listed.

Other travel booking engines like Expedia have similar fees but you really have to look deep in their website to find them. If you don’t have the patience to do this then I would suggest going through the booking steps until you reach the final payment page to see how much the additional fees are and then decide if you want to continue.

If you did or didn’t know that you were paying these fees, do you still feel the same way about booking online? Now my question is, why not pay a travel agent service fee to have a real life person to talk to and handle your reservation for you? Some travel agents don’t have service fees but to me the ones that do are the one that are serious about what they do. When we think of lawyers they charge a service fee and the more they charge we think the better they are. So why not think this way about your travel agent?

I truly believe that if you are paying a service fee to a travel agent you should be able to get that person on the phone every time you call them and they should take care of any and all changes for you. Having a travel agent also gives you peace of mind that when something goes wrong you have someone who is in your corner and already knows your information and details. You won’t have to repeat it 10 times like my friend did with the booking engine company! Also, travel agents can sometimes get you incentives that you won’t get from booking on-line. Want a free massage, a suite upgrade, a $250 resort credit, or a free tour? Yes, these are all incentives that, if available, a travel agent can provide to you. When you book on-line you get what you order. If you book a standard room you will get a standard room. That’s it, no frills.

When it comes to finding a travel agent find someone out there who has a niche for where you want to travel. Try them out. They may or may not be a good fit for you. When picking a travel agent make sure you do your research. You don’t want somebody who doesn’t know what they are doing or hasn’t been to the places they are selling. I am speaking from experience, having had a great travel agent for our first Mediterranean cruise. She helped us find tours we never would have found on our own. So when you find a travel agent you love, DON’T LOSE THEM!!!! Good travel agents are like good doctors, they are hard to find but when you find them hold onto them, even if you have to pay a service fee! Besides you will be spending a lot of money on your trip and you want the special touches and reassurance that a travel agent can give you.