In just a couple of days, Z and I will be making our way to Cancun, Mexico for our first AI (all-inclusive) experience. Yeah yeah…we heard about all the recent problems over there, but we decided to be ignorant (not the best approach in life generally speaking) about it and take a chance. If something bad happens, I guess that’ll be just our luck. We’ll be careful…we promise 😉
Our vacations in the last few years remained in the states, and we tried to keep it budget-friendly by doing a lot of road trips. The US has so much to offer that we seriously didn’t have any regrets doing smaller trips. However, this time around, we felt like we were overdue for just complete relaxation and splurged vacation. Since we went on a cruise before, we decided to get a feel for this AI experience that so many Americans talk about. We would have had a couple of opportunities to be there for some friends’ destination weddings, but medical life isn’t about making sure you can’t go to those types of weddings on relatively short notice.
Of course, when Z decided that AI experience is what he wants, the COO of the household (aka me) went to planning mode right away. But here is the thing, people – there are SO MANY AI RESORTS. I like options, but boy was it a lot of options to choose from!
This got me thinking about hiring a travel agent. You would find it surprising that travel agents still have careers in this day of the internet age (it’s ok, I didn’t know they still existed), but it became one of the best decisions I made in a while. I know there are so many travel websites out there (heck, even Costco vacation sells AI resorts at a really good price), but when you work full time and managing the entire Beh household operation (it’s not easy when the other half is completely unavailable almost all the time), the last thing you have time to do is sit down for hours and looking for a resort and vacation package that works best for you, all within a budget. Ok, perhaps my internet research skill just really sucks. I started out with one travel agent I was referred to by an acquaintance but ended up not being the best fit for me. Finally, with the power of NextDoor app, I found a local travel agent guy that jived really well with our (my) needs.
See…travel agent is kind of like a real estate agent. Not everyone is good. And maybe they are all good at what they do, but you do still need to go through a little bit of personality matchmaking if you really want this to work in your favor.
What does a travel agent do for you?
Essentially everything. For me, I gave my guy a budget and sent some preferences. For instance, Z and I are foodies. We definitely wanted a resort that had a wide variety of dining selections to choose from and consistently make good food. That was almost as important as a well-maintained beach and its view. Also, since we don’t have kids, we weren’t looking for kid-friendly resorts. Not heavy drinkers, but a good cocktail is always a plus. Nice lineup of entertainments but no late night club scene. Either you get asked about all these preferences or you tell your suggestions up front, and then the travel agent is supposed to provide you some vacation packages that fit everything you are looking for. Trust me, you will still get 2-3 options even if you think you are being super picky. Once you choose your #1, then the travel agent books everything for your – flight, resort, transportation, booking excursions/tours, etc. All you need is provide your credit card. 🙂
What is really an all-inclusive resort?
All-inclusive resorts are particularly common and very popular along the coastline of Mexico. Other countries offer similar vacation packages – some places are truly all-inclusive while others might be some exclusions. All-inclusive resorts include all the food, drinks (yes, unlimited alcohol), airfare, ground transportation, some water activities, entertainment, room service, gratuities, and tax. It’s like they want you to be as laziest as possible. Excursions or offsite tours usually cost extra but at a very reasonable price.
Types of a travel agent/agency
There are definitely national travel agencies with a team of agents available. I’ve noticed a lot of them specialize in Disney vacations and all-inclusive. I did initially start with one of the national travel agencies to get a quote for our trip, and while the customer service was great, I felt like it was too standardized. For example, after receiving some options, I had follow-up questions such as airline choice (we preferred Southwest over some of the other airlines recommended) and safety (media is all about it right now), but I felt like the answers were standardized and not reflective of that travel agent’s opinion. The travel agent I ended up working with was unaffiliated with any national agency; he was an independent, local travel agent. I thought the conversations I had with him were more genuine and helped me understand his recommendations while he learned about our preference more.
Do you have to pay the travel agent?
Most of the time, no. There might be some travel agents that charge a small fee for certain circumstances, but most of them get paid by commission. They usually get a commission from the tour company that they purchase the vacation package. In my case, I didn’t pay a dime to mine. Again, very similar to a real estate agent situation. Definitely, ask in advance to avoid any surprises.
Travel agent or travel websites?
1. Price
Honestly, it was hard to say. I think the package a travel agent provides is very comparable, if not better, than some of the vacation packages offered on travel websites. Granted, some travel websites provide exceptionally budget-friendly options (case in point, Costco). Most vacation packages by travel websites are really well put together so you can’t go wrong with any reputable travel websites. Also, booking directly with the AI resort can sometimes give you the best pricing. Finally, if you regularly travel and accrued a lot of flight and hotel points, tailoring your vacation around those available points can be immensely helpful. Since we don’t travel that much, this was not an option for us. It just all boils down to your willingness to spend some time and do research. Some people love the process of developing a vacation plan, and others either don’t have the time or need some help from an expert to gather some options first.
2. Customer Service
I have heard every now and then that the downside of using a travel website is that you work with whichever random travel agent/customer representative of that company when things go wrong. This is particularly troublesome when you are needing to deal with an issue because it loses continuity in service. In that aspect, I really really liked having a travel agent because it’s always the same person I can contact, and that person knows my entire vacation package inside and out. But, I will say the vast majority of people do book vacations using one of the websites, and most of them seem to enjoy their vacation without any problem.
What I particularly liked about my travel agent is that he gave me a call a few days ago to go over every little detail about our upcoming trip. It’s also nice that he travels to Mexico often so he is personally knowledgeable about that area and its processes. He not only emailed all of the travel documents (flight reservation, checklist, reminders, etc.), but he also mailed all of them to my house so we didn’t have to print anything out. When you have never been to a certain country, it is immensely helpful to have someone telling you what to do and what to avoid.
In the future, I would definitely recommend you to consider hiring a travel agent, especially if researching for hundreds of options is not exactly your cup of tea or you just don’t have a lot of time. The customer service you receive from a travel agent is a welcoming interaction compared to the ubiquitous options and information of the world wide web.
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