The Travel Company Edinburgh
  • Home
  • Our Services
    • Business Travel >
      • Flights
      • Hotels
      • Car Hire
      • Transfers
      • Rail & Ferry
      • Visas
    • M.I.C&E >
      • Meetings
      • Incentives
      • Conferences
      • Exhibitions
      • Events
    • Honeymoons & Holidays >
      • Holidays Website
      • Activities & Tours
      • Motorhome Rental
      • LOGANAIR >
        • Aberdeen
        • Barra
        • Benbecula
        • Bergen
        • Campbeltown
        • Donegal
        • Dublin
        • Dundee
        • Edinburgh
        • Glasgow
        • Guernsey
        • Inverness
        • Islay >
          • Distilleries Tours
        • Isle of Man
        • Kirkwall
        • London
        • Manchester
        • Norwich
        • Stornoway
        • Sumburgh
        • Tiree
        • Wick
    • Scotland & UK
    • Travel Insurance
    • Medical Travel Companions
    • Poppyscotland
    • Before you travel
    • Country Entry Requirements
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Book an Appointment
    • Our Memberships
    • Gallery
    • Blog
    • Privacy Policy

Blog

Pros and cons of booking online and using a travel consultant

13/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Along with the growth of all kinds of internet businesses, online sites selling various travel services have been increasing in popularity in recent years. Hence, one of the first decisions that has to be made when planning a trip is: do I put the trip together myself or use the services of a professional travel consultant to do that?
 
We often hear that online reservation systems are now so efficient that all purchases can be made on the internet, and travel agencies are redundant. People tend to forget that a web page does not function on its own and there is always a travel agency behind every online portal. An IT-system is only a tool. We offer our clients both options: we try to help in making this important decision and we give you the pluses and minuses of both travel planning options.
 
The biggest advantage of an online selling environment is the lower price that is achieved thanks to the low costs of maintaining a portal. Seasoned travellers also value the options offered by the online portals such as a function to compare prices, read the opinions of other travellers and make a reservation quickly.
 
The strongest minus of an online selling environment is the vast amount of information, in which a less experienced client can get lost. A low-cost online environment usually does not give the option of asking for advice and help. On many online environments, there is no simple way to change travel plans or correct them if something goes wrong with a reservation. We often meet clients that do not know where to get help if they have problems with travel services purchased from foreign online portals.
 
The biggest advantage of a traditional travel agency is convenience and saved time: instead of hours spent on searching for information on your own, a professional travel consultant will offer the best travel solutions and help to find the right piece of information from the large array of information. A travel consultant not only assists during the time of reserving a trip and the trip itself but also provides help and support in the event of potential problems. TTCE supports its clients 24/7.
 
The minus of a traditional travel agency is the service charge that is usually a bit higher than the margin of online sales environments. However, this is not always the case because an experienced travel consultant is often able to find cheap travel options that online portals do not automatically offer. We also have access to fares that cannot be published online.
 
In summary: while a traditional travel agency gives a higher sense of security, online sales portals give a small saving. However, this small saving is often lost by the booker not accessing the best fares or rates. Remember, fee will only add up to around 3% possibly 4% of your overall travel spend. An experienced travel consultant can easily save this with the other 96% to work on. A TMC is a management company not just a booking tool, we are here to manage and control your spend as well as add security and convenience to your bookings.
 
Hence, we recommend that you use online travel agencies if
you are a seasoned traveller who is ready to accept higher risks for lower price;
you plan a simple trip from one point to another that does not require using different airlines and means of transport;
you have a good command of foreign languages and you can represent your own interests.
 
We recommend that you use a traditional travel agency if:
you are a client who lacks travel experience and may need advice and help in their mother tongue during the trip;
you plan a more complex trip involving various means of transport or airlines where you may experience unexpected problems;
you prefer comfort and security while travelling over a little saving.


Want to find out more, contact me at mike.halliwell@ttce.com or call me on 07841 920752.

Alternatively contact the office at edinburgh@ttce.com or call 0131 467 7000
 

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    November 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Best Travel agencies in Edinburgh
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0131 467 7000  edinburgh@ttce.com

​Click here for:
Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice.


Many of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information, or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate

Book with confidence. We are a Member of ABTA which means you have the benefit of ABTA's assistance and Code of Conduct. All the package and Flight-Plus holidays we sell are covered by a scheme protecting your money if the supplier fails. Other services such as business travel, hotels or flights on their own may not be protected and you should ask us what protection is available.   To find out more please go to www.abta.com Our numbers are W9294, C7292, J2696. 
​

The air holiday packages advertised on this website are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, as we act as an agent for licensed tour operators and we can ATOL protect our own tailor-made itineraries for you. The names and ATOL numbers of each tour operators are displayed with each holiday offer shown and when enquiring with us about your holiday we will advise who is ATOL protecting your booking and confirm their ATOL number. Our ATOL number is 9150. You can check an ATOL number here
  • Home
  • Our Services
    • Business Travel >
      • Flights
      • Hotels
      • Car Hire
      • Transfers
      • Rail & Ferry
      • Visas
    • M.I.C&E >
      • Meetings
      • Incentives
      • Conferences
      • Exhibitions
      • Events
    • Honeymoons & Holidays >
      • Holidays Website
      • Activities & Tours
      • Motorhome Rental
      • LOGANAIR >
        • Aberdeen
        • Barra
        • Benbecula
        • Bergen
        • Campbeltown
        • Donegal
        • Dublin
        • Dundee
        • Edinburgh
        • Glasgow
        • Guernsey
        • Inverness
        • Islay >
          • Distilleries Tours
        • Isle of Man
        • Kirkwall
        • London
        • Manchester
        • Norwich
        • Stornoway
        • Sumburgh
        • Tiree
        • Wick
    • Scotland & UK
    • Travel Insurance
    • Medical Travel Companions
    • Poppyscotland
    • Before you travel
    • Country Entry Requirements
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Book an Appointment
    • Our Memberships
    • Gallery
    • Blog
    • Privacy Policy