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Travel agencies are private businesses that provide individuals with travel and tourism related services including car rentals, hotel booking, and travel insurance. The rise of online booking has led to the decline of active travel agents in the United States. However, there are many benefits to booking trips through travel agents. If you are a frequent business traveler, you likely know the hassle of arranging your own flight, hotel and other travel accommodations. Travel agents can help reduce the stress of corporate travel policy in many ways. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of booking with a travel agency, keep reading below.
Better Value
The first major benefit of booking through travel agents is that they can provide you with better value all around. Although many travelers today have found that they can find the lowest prices for themselves online, travel agents provide the best value for your money on private planes and business flights. A cheap plane ticket may not be worth the sacrifice of inflexible cancellation, a poor seat assignment, or making the wrong choice in the lyft vs uber decision. Travel agents can help you find the services, hotels and transportation that is worth your money.
Help Making Decisions
Travel agents can help you make the tough decisions regarding business travel. If you are an indecisive person, this is a huge help. However, if you are a business traveler trying to get the most value out of your flight tickets or other travel accommodations, it is even more important. Travel agents can help you find not just the cheapest plane tickets available or the cheapest hotel rooms, they can help you decide on the travel solutions with the most value. This is invaluable for corporate travelers.
Saves Time
Another important factor to consider when it comes to booking through a travel agency is the amount of time it will save you, unlike research and development companies. Especially when traveling for business, planning your trip in addition to preparing for meetings and other activities can be a stressful experience. Travel agents will spare you by doing all of the research and bookings instead. This allows you to focus on the more important aspects of corporate travel preparation.
Expertise
Expertise is what sets corporate travel agents apart from online bookings the most. When you use a travel management website you may find some good deals, but you are not getting the true expertise of a seasoned consultant. Often, although you may feel you have an eagle eye for deals, a travel agent would wind up costing you less. Travel agents can help to guide you in the right direction for more than just airfare and hotels. They can also assist with important details like travel insurance, destination travel and even the best places to grab a quick meal. No website can do all that.
Personalization
The great thing about using a consultant for your corporate travel needs is that they will soon learn your habits, preferences and needs. When you work with one agent for several trips, they are picking up on how they can make travel easier for you each time. For example, if your employees eat healthy and want to stay on track on a business trip, informing your travel agent is all it takes to make sure dinner meeting reservations are only booked at healthy restaurants. If you want to work with someone who can learn exactly what you need when you travel, hire a consultant rather than booking trips for yourself.
Travel Budgeting
With a business travel agent, companies need to track the travel spend for each trip. An agent can provide advanced travel spending reports for efficient bookkeeping. This give corporate travelers full transparency on pricing, avoiding any confusion or hidden fees. Moreover, some travel agents have access to platforms that provide real time reporting for travel expenses. Of course, this would create value for travelers who need to keep track of expenses carefully.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is one of the greatest benefits travel agents have to offer. When you book with an online service you are on your own. With travel agents, you have an emergency contact for any and all of your travel needs. Whether you miss a flight or need to switch hotels, someone is there and ready to problem solve. If you want the comfort of knowing that there is someone ready to help you at all times during your travels, consider booking with a travel agency.
Travel agents are an excellent resource for corporate travelers. Knowing the ins and outs of the transportation world and helpful travel gadgets help them find you the best deals available for your trips while still avoiding cheap franchises that may put a damper on your business travel. Even better, travel agents are always available to assist and take the stress of traveling off of your shoulders. Consider these benefits the next time you need to go on a business trip.
