Michael's travel blog. Exploring my travel experiences in depth!

My blog will be highlighting my personal experiences as well as my clients.  There are many slogans about why you should always use a travel professional. My hopes are that my blog will demonstrate the value of travel professionals while getting you excited to get out and take an adventure, cruise, trip, packaged trip or specialized event.

I hope you enjoy the advice offered as guidance to helping you make the decision to continue or start using a travel professional.  The internet is amazing, full of wonderful photos, reviews and some rather hateful reviews & information about travel.  Have fun searching out future places!  When you're set on a location give us a call or your nearest travel professional, let us be your guide, "your people" - everyone should have people.  "When you travel with an agent you never travel alone". not my quote but a similar quote from the ASTA organization we are members with.

Here are some Myths / Facts and misc. information that will be helpful with deciding which Travel Professional will be a great match for you and yours. 

Myths / Facts:

• Using a Travel Professional costs you more. / Actually we have many value added benefits you won't ever get on the internet or booking on own.  We belong to consortia allowing for buying power, resulting in added perks on many products.  Perks can be gifts, travel credits, special upgraded rooms, early check in, complimentary late check out and more.
• Travel Professionals sell travel / Well you can buy travel without support or expertise on the internet, it's that simple the internet sells travel!  What Travel Professionals do is provide a service, expert advise, matching your desires with the perfect partner company.  We are your personal concierge, advisor, planner and execute your travel plans exceeding your expectations.
• Travel Professionals only guide you to companies they prefer. / Truthfully we target suppliers who've exceeded our clients expectations; we aren't loyal to a company  or supplier. A Travel Professional is loyal only to one person or group of people, their clients! There is no disputing this fact! If you're not pleased with the company we select you'll not come back nor recommend us to your friends.  For us it's about the relationship!
• Travel Professionals charge fees that increase the costs of my trip. / We do charge fees for some services, that's part of running our business, staying in business.  When you compare fees for our services vs. your personal time and energy researching endless links on a web site only to become confused, frustrated and lost you'll realize the incredible value we offer.  Our agency charges fees for your airline tickets for many reasons, we research the best routes, we work for best seating and more importantly we track your flights, and offer 24/7 emergency services with one call for all ticketed passengers.  By the way, read your invoices from some of the large online travel sites, you'll see a "service fee", don't be fooled by their low price.  We are upfront about our fees, they're not hidden in the final page of your trip offer as you enter your credit card or payment information.
• We have no control over our trips with a Travel Professional. / I've only heard this a few times, what I interpret this to mean is someone has booked a non-refundable package on an online website and have no recourse for a change or cancellation.  Using a Travel Professional you'll be amazed at the fact all our bookings are flexible based on general terms, however if you want rock bottom pricing without care of the final room type, cruise cabin, tour level then book on line.  You get what you pay for in that case, for some that's exactly what they want, it's a great way to achieve low cost travel without benefits or protection. 
• We want lowest pricing with best results! / Travel Professionals will work with you to provide value, excellent options.  Value will always trump price!  We prove that everyday bringing back our clients over and over.  You work hard for your vacation dollar, don't ruin your vacation by trying to save 5%. You may get a non refundable, smoking room next to the garage door on the second floor of the hotel in a major metropolitan area!  Maybe you'll believe the description "close to popular sites and town" - that's relative to life style; for me that means walking or easy public transit; for hotels it may mean a 10 to 15 minute drive into town, or longer.  
• It's hard to find a qualified travel agent! / Travel professionals are all around you, not all Travel Professionals are a perfect match, that is true.  However we're a family and will often find the right match or contact one of our trusted suppliers to step in and help you create the perfect vacation.  If your Travel Professional doesn't succeed in exceeding your expectations he or she will not have the privileged of being of service in the future. Travel Professionals survive on providing excellent service all while building relationships with you.  It's really all about you, right?  I think so!

Thank you for reading.  If you have any questions about travel reach out to me, it's about you not me.
Michael