In these times when many unqualified and fake travel agencies compete for your attention and claim to know their onions, picking the right one is essential for a good travel experience. Beyond getting a travel agency that is good at what they do, it’s also necessary to consider their reliability and track record. With the plethora of choices competing for your attention, it’s easy to get confused. This begs the question – “How do I choose a travel agency?”.
Choosing a travel agency will require you to do your due diligence – verify that they have the requisite certification, check out what other people say about them on Tripadvisor and Google reviews, and verify if their services meet your travel needs.
With over two years of experience working with different travel agencies, I have gained some insight into their operations, and how to choose a bonafide and certified travel agency from a quack who paid $200 to purchase a certification. By the end of this blog, you’ll know exactly how to pick the right travel agency and how to differentiate the good ones from the bad. Set? Let’s get into it.
How do I Choose a Travel Agency?
1. Certification and Licensing
When deciding on a travel agency, ensure they are certified and licensed by a recognized regulatory body. This shows a commitment to ethical operations and following industry standards. Travel agency licensing associations include the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), which is the world’s largest trade association for the travel industry, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Members with the ASTA certification can be verified by searching the “verify a member directory” while for the IATA, a membership verification code is used to confirm that a travel agent is truly certified.
Being licensed by a reputable association such as those mentioned can give you rest of mind, knowing that the travel agency operates within the bounds of laws governing the industry. This is the first on the checklist for a reason – it is too important.
2. Reviews and Reputation
When choosing a travel agency, you need to pick one that is reliable. One of the best tools for verifying reliability is review by other clients. An easy way to find reviews is by googling the travel agency and looking through Google reviews or TripAdvisor. Well-established travel agencies will have many reviews from their clients over the years showing that they have been in the game for a long time. If the agency gets lots of good reviews, that indicates that they are reliable and trustworthy. Lots of bad reviews = red flag. Avoid these agencies.
To illustrate, here are a couple of reviews gotten from Tripadvisor. If I were looking to reach out to Darleng Tours (the Agency on the left), I would be confident knowing that it is an agency that’s more than a decade old and has people singing its praises compared to the flights channel (agency on the right) for instance.
It’s also important to look local when looking out for a travel agency. Before exploring the options available online, ask people that you know and trust if they have recommendations for a travel agency that gave them a good experience. Many times, the best form of reviews are word-of-mouth reviews and not necessarily the ones online.
3. Customer Support
The importance of good customer service cannot be overemphasized. A good travel agency will prioritize customer support 24/7. An easy way to figure out if an agency has good customer service is by observing their response time to emails and calls, the way they communicate with you when you contact them for the first time should also give you an idea.
Good customer support if necessary for addressing issues before, during, and after your trip. Issues and emergencies can come up at any point in your trip. Having your travel agency at your beck and call at such times can be a lifesaver. Ensure that they offer different customer service options – chats, calls, and emails – for your convenience. Trust me, you don’t want to find out the importance of this the hard way.
4. Specialization (Range of Services)
It’s paramount that the travel agency you intend to pick specialize in your travel interests and preferences. Many agencies specialize in different types of travel such as adventure, honeymoon vacations, tourism, corporate travel, and many more. This allows the travel agency to have deep knowledge about their niche. Hence, look out for a travel agency that is knowledgeable about your preferences in terms of destination, local customs, and activities you’d like to explore during your trip. Don’t select the wrong person for the job.
5. Value and Pricing
When deciding on the travel agency to pick, you’ll need to do some findings to get the best deal in terms of value and pricing. Go for agencies with affordable pricing that don’t sacrifice the value or quality of their services. Travel agencies usually have deals with airlines, hotels, tour operators, and other service providers, giving them exclusive deals and discounts. It’s important to ensure they do not refer you to these service providers merely because of commissions and at the expense of service quality. Look out for agencies that prioritize the value offered to their clients, balancing cost-effectiveness and service quality.
Now that we’ve been able to go into details on how to pick the right travel agency for your trip, there are some questions that I would like to address.
How do Travel Agents Get Paid?
Earlier in this blog post, it was mentioned that travel agents earn commissions from service providers.
As of 2020, travel agents earn approximately 85% of their revenue from commissions.
World Metrics
Typically, the payment structure varies particularly depending on if the agent works in an agency or if the said agent is self-employed.
Self-employed agents typically earn commissions from service providers. They sometimes charge a service fee for their expertise and time offered to their clients. On the flipside, the earnings of agents employed in travel agencies is made up of a mix of salary, commission, and other incentives, typically depending on their performance and the payment structure of the travel agency.
How to Become a Travel Agent
Becoming a travel agent requires a high school diploma, afterwards, you can proceed to obtain a certification in travel or tourism. This will present you as someone qualified to potential clients and travel agency employers. Developing skills like interpersonal skills, budgeting, itinerary planning, and travel booking system knowledge is necessary to become a travel agent. You can take advantage of internship opportunities and entry-level positions at travel agencies to gain valuable experience and expertise. Lastly, it’s crucial to stay updated on travel trends and destinations so you can provide valuable suggestions to your clients to build your reputation as a go-to travel agent.
To sum it all up, selecting the right travel agency is important to ensure you have a memorable and hassle-free travel experience. Consider all the factors mentioned above to make the best decision. Too long didn’t read? Here are the points again in summary:
- Ensure the travel agency you’re opting for has the necessary certifications and verify their membership
- Checkout what other people are saying about them on review platforms like TravelAdvisor and Google reviews
- Ensure they have great customer service before signing up with them. You don’t want to find out the hard way
- Confirm that the travel agent specializes in the type of trip you’re looking out for
- Prioritize affordable pricing without compromising quality
I wish you safe travels.
