5 Reasons You Really Need a Travel Agent

Disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post for Vincent Vacations.  However, all opinions are 100% our own and we stand by Vincent Vacations and all that we endorse.

I love travelling! I love seeing new places and trying new food. I love staying in hotels. In fact, I would love to stay in a hotel right now… and sleep until 10 in the morning… and drink a whole cup of coffee. Wait! What was I talking about?

My husband and I got married in Hawaii. It was a gorgeous wedding with some of our closest friends and family. I have never been the type of girl that had my whole wedding planned by the time I was 5 years old. I didn’t realize that the day after I got engaged I would be getting asked what my plans were for my wedding. Once we decided that we would get married in Hawaii, I knew that I needed a travel agent. I was getting questions from my parents, my future in-laws, and friends about all the arrangements. At one point I actually thought “people must quit their job in order to plan their wedding.” I started to stress a little bit, and then I called a travel agent. My travel agent helped me find the resort for our wedding. I was also able to direct all questions to her. My family and friends could call our travel agent directly and she could help them set up exactly what they needed. Some people stayed at the resort, some stayed at a vacation rental and some stayed on the whole other side of the island. She helped everyone figure out exactly what worked for them. I didn’t have to answer any questions… and the best part… she made sure everyone left the resort the day after the wedding so we could stay there for our honeymoon!

So if you’re planning a vacation of any kind, here are a few reasons you’ll want to call a travel agent.

1. Travel agents don’t cost extra money.

A lot of people are actually surprised to find out that travel agents don’t actually cost you any extra. Lia Vincent of Vincent Vacations doesn’t charge for vacation packages. Usually travel agents will only charge for things like business travel arrangements since they have a tendency to change or be cancelled. But with vacation packages they don’t charge any extra. It’s a no cost way to have a vacation totally planned for you.

2. Travel agents really can get you better deals.

Believe it or not, travel agents can find better deals. They are constantly in the world of travel, so when airlines or cruise lines or resorts have special deals, travel agents really do find out about those before you do. If you want to spend hours on the computer and phone trying to find the best deals and organizing everything, then you probably don’t want to use a travel agent. But if you have a job or very little free time, call a travel agent.

3. Your travel agent probably has first hand knowledge of the place you want to go.

Vincent Vacations only books you in places that they are familiar with. That way they know if it’s kid friendly or if you’re going to get a ton of dirty looks for bringing your kids to an adult only resort. Since they are familiar with the locations they can tailor your experience to fit you. Do you need a place that has child care for your kids so you can go do adult stuff? Or are you going to have your kids with you the whole time and you don’t need child care? Are you finally going away from your kids and want to make sure that you’re in a hotel where other children aren’t going to keep you awake at night? Your travel agent has an in-depth knowledge of these types of places.

4. Your travel agent can help you if something goes wrong.

Since Vincent Vacations books in locations that they are familiar with, they have local contacts. This might not seem like a big deal until there is something like a natural disaster. You might not have cell service and you might need to change your travel arrangements at the last minute. Instead of you standing at a pay phone (do they even have those anymore?) while trying to get a hold of the airline or a hotel, your travel agent can do that. Lia Vincent books in places she is familiar with, so she has local contacts. She can be the one that hangs out on the phone all day in a place where she has cell service and the time to work it all out for you.

5. You get to relax.

With a travel agent, you can tell them what you need and then relax. You don’t have to spend all day every day planning your vacation. You don’t have to spend your whole vacation trying to figure out the one glitch that has occurred in your vacation. You don’t have to be the bad guy when it’s your wedding and you want every one to leave at a certain time. (The travel agent will work that out for you.) Aren’t vacations all about relaxing? Why stress out before, after, or during? Call Lia at Vincent Vacations and let her do the work for you!

If you need more convincing, check out Abbey’s story…

I would highly recommend using a travel agent after an experience my husband and I had on our honeymoon. A hurricane hit on the last day of our honeymoon, the day we were supposed to leave. The island was without wi-fi and the airport was closed. We were going to have to stay 3 extra nights at our own expense. Lia with Vincent Vacations was incredible, she put us at ease and was able to get us on the earliest flight home, the following day. She completely took the stress out of the equation. Several couples we met did not have a travel agent and were not able to get a flight until several days later. This was my husband and I’s first experience using a travel agent and it will not be our last. Vacations are supposed to be worry free and relaxing and when you use a travel agent from Vincent Vacations they are just that!

Abbey and her husband on their stress-free honeymoon!

Vincent Vacations is a great place to start if you’re looking for a travel agent. They specialize in beach vacations and Disney vacations.

 

Don't you want to hang out with Mickey Mouse on a beach?!
Lia loves to book Disney Vacations!!

They have a team of mom’s that work all over the city (OKC, Edmond, and Norman).

Lia's Team at Vincent Vacations
Lia’s Team at Vincent Vacations

They will meet with you in person or over the phone to find out exactly what you’re looking for and help you have the best vacation ever. It’s time to start booking your summer vacations now. If you want to start now, join Vincent Vacations as they co-host a Caribbean Night at Hyatt Place NW on January 26th, 2016 at 6:30pm! Sandals and Beaches Resorts will be on hand to give an informal presentation. So give Lia a call and let her start planning your best vacation yet!

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Carrie Gould
Hi OKC! I'm Carrie! My husband, Steven, and I met in college but never dated. Many years later, we reconnected and fell in love. After a whirlwind romance and gorgeous wedding I gave up my Texan status and moved to Oklahoma (he was worth it!) He spends his days on the road travelling all over the state of Oklahoma. We are the proud parents of our adorable 2 year old, Caroline and precious baby Benjamin. There is very little sleeping going on at our house. I am a music lover and a wannabe crafter. I am very good at following directions but not so great at creating my own masterpieces. I was a math teacher for 6 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Before being a teacher, I worked in the actuarial field, which is what I am doing part-time now. As a family we work hard to live a simple life, create great memories, and love the Lord with all our heart. I am so excited to be sharing my family with all of you and connecting with other local moms!

5 COMMENTS

  1. I haven’t ever used a travel agent. Mostly due to misconception number one about travel agents having a fee. So, I guess i’m confused on how they get paid? If by the individual companies they use, then does that mean they could miss a really good sale with a company they don’t get a commission from? I just feel like if I knew how the process worked I would feel more confident handing over the reins… and I WANT TO TURN OVER THE REINS!

  2. Hi Jess!
    Yes we get paid from the companies we use but almost all companies will pay us even Expedia so no worries. The only time we run into something where it’s a no compensation for the agent is the vacation rental by owner or Air B&B situation where it’s someone just listing their own house or apartment which is always a risky thing so something we try to avoid. (There are no repercussions if something is not what they say on their personal listing.)
    For all cruises, Disney, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Expedia, American Airlines Vacations, Delta Vacations, United Vacations….I could go on and on…they give us a commission and it’s the same rate for you. (And a lot of times they give us promo codes so we get it even a little less!)
    I hope that helps! We would love to help you plan a vacation!

    • Thank you so much! I am definitely going to use an agent! Since you are in the city, we will definitely be contacting you! How did I not know this about travel agents! So glad I asked! We have a southwest card… Would we be able to use the points for flights? No worries on not replying to this one I can ask when we get closer to the event. BUT if you do reply how far out is typical to talk to an agent?

      • It just depends on what you are wanting to do. We can book most airfare 330 days in advance and SWA usually about 6 months.
        When people have SW points we set up everything around that with hotel and car or airport shuttle and then the points are booked for air separate.
        Cruises you can book usually up to 18 months in advance.
        Looking forward to helping you in the future!

  3. This post has cleared up a lot of misconceptions for me regarding going through travel agents to book vacations; what a great service, that would take the burdens and worries off my shoulders! I will definitely consider Lia and Vincent Vacations for my next vacation!

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