Travel agent benefits can be the best travel insurance

There are still benefits to travel agents,

One of my clients, a local doctor, commented to me that when she mentions using a travel agent, some of her colleagues and friends often react with surprise – “You still use a travel agent?” “there are still Travel agent?” “Are there any travel agent benefits?”

This customer loves sharing stories of getting it right with their friends. His story is one of those stories. And, it focuses on real travel agent profits.

His son, who often books direct himself, was flying to Miami on American Airlines with his girlfriend for a five-day vacation. But, on the morning of the flight, he was in an elevator car that was turned backwards. Additionally, he was not wearing a seat belt and suffered head injuries.

Although the accident could have been worse, he suffered a slight concussion and a headache.

Although he still wanted to travel, there was always the risk of injury from a blow to the head, or worse, an injury that was not immediately visible. So, he rushed to the hospital for an X-ray. However, he had no idea what to do with his flights and hotel reservations.

Meanwhile, my client told me what had happened. I immediately called the American to clarify the situation. Because our agency group books a large volume of travel with the airline, we have access to preferred phone numbers that are not available to the general public. This is a real travel agent advantage.

As I explained to the phone agent, it would be impossible for him and his girlfriend to fly, but if the doctor allowed it, they still wanted to go. American Airlines reported that they had a red-eye flight with enough space, and they have a $75 same-day change fee. AA also had a flight with space the next day, but if it had traveled then, it would have been about $500 more per person. The agent explained that they can send documents from the doctor or hospital to Consumer Relations to learn about a refund after the fact.

Access to in-depth information is another advantage of a travel agent.

Then it would have been easy to make a change to a red-eye flight, but at this point we had no idea if he could get medical clearance. So, the agent I spoke to suggested I just make sure he didn’t show up to the original flight and call back. Access to in-depth information is another advantage of a travel agent.

As it turned out, exams and X-rays showed that he was indeed lucky, and that afternoon he was cleared to fly. The doctor also included advice on wearing seat belts in the future.

At this point, I called American again. This time the agent lectured me on not changing the ticket in advance. He said it should have been changed at the time of the original flight cancellation and that doing so now would be too expensive. Uh, except that earlier in the day, there was concern that he might have suffered a serious brain injury. As I well pointed out, American Airlines really didn’t want someone taking off on a cross-country flight and having to land for a medical emergency.

It cost $75 per person – a real profit.

Short version, the second agent spoke to a supervisor, American turned them into a red-eye, and only charged $75 per person. That was a monetary travel agent advantage.

The next thing the travel agent got was that I called the hotel and told them that the client was now arriving at 7am the next morning. I asked them to please keep the room to themselves without leaving, so that the passengers could check in immediately and sleep. (This is a separate post, but even when a room is guaranteed for late arrivals, hotels sometimes charge a no-show fee if travelers arrive in the wee hours and turn over the room if not warned in advance.)

Everything went well. They arrived, slept for a few hours, and were at the beach the next afternoon. This was not some supernatural effort by our agency on their behalf. However, it took being a professional, knowing who to contact, and taking care of the situation when the customer was certainly not in a position to take care of it himself.

This is a perfect example of why travelers should use a travel agent.

Also read:
The five worst travel mobile phone scams to avoid
What to Expect for Hotel Room Servicing?