People often ask me, “What is the difference between a travel concierge and a travel agent?”
A travel concierge is a professional travel advisor. A true travel professional will have many years of training and will be affiliated with a host company that works with travel professionals only, not agents. They take the time to get to know you, and provides detailed information to ensure that you have a cruise and vacation package that meets your budget requirements. Most importantly, they look out for your safety so you can enjoy a hassle-free vacation. When you work with a travel concierge you have the comfort of knowing that if something goes wrong, you have someone to contact before, during, and after your vacation.
A travel agent is a salesperson who sells only certain cruise line, hotels, or vacation packages. They do not give you different companies to choose from. They are usually on a quota system, which means they need to make a required number of sales to keep their job with that company. They will pressure you and try to close the sale within the first telephone call. You will not have any support after this call.
I see a lot of good “deals” online. Can’t I just book a cruise or vacation myself? In most cases, the internet is NOT a smart place to go to book a cruise or vacation unless it belongs to a professional travel concierge that you trust. A lot of the websites are thrown together by people in other countries. They have boiler rooms with people answering the telephones as a second job. Giving your personal information to these strangers is not a good idea. Many of them make will more money selling their customers’ contact information and credit card numbers than selling travel packages. They also know where you live – and when you are going to be away from of your home. Pretty scary!
You will get the best deal by going through a travel professional. A travel professional can get you better rates, plus they can often get you special amenities from their host company, as well as from the cruise companies.
“How do I know if I am working with a travel concierge (professional travel advisor) or a travel (sales) agent?”
On your first call to a travel concierge, the travel professional will ask you questions, offer to do some research, and provide additional information.
On your first call to a travel agent, the salesperson will do a hard sell and try to get you to buy now; they pride themselves in how quickly they can get someone to give them a credit card number.
Which one would you rather work with?
Peace of mind: Priceless!
Travel Concierge, Sara Raney, is an Alaska and Antarctica Specialist. Having traveled to over 100 countries herself, Sara has the knowledge and experience to make travel plans and special arrangements for her clients (things you wouldn’t even think of) so that you can relax and enjoy a wonderful, memorable, hassle-free vacation!
Join Sara on one of her escorted cruises to
Alaska, Panama, Canada/New England, and more!
Sara is the author of the Amazon best-seller: “Senior Travel Guide: How to Survive Squatty Potties and More!” (available on Amazon and on major cruise lines).