“I did make changes and that is part of the booking process for an agent”
The above statement was made by a prospect client who has been making multiple changes to a proposed itinerary which has been in the pipeline for the last 2 months. Several changes have been made to accommodate the client’s whim and fancy for her travel.
Her statement got to me, it annoyed me.
To me it felt like this was her entitlement , since she thinks of us as a travel agent – we must provide multiple changes and options without a compensation for our time and efforts. From our experience we have seen that many picky choosy clients take multiple iterations of itineraries and do not confirm the bookings either.
In today’s world, when you call an electrician/ plumber or any other expert to look at a problem, a service fee is charged.
Try using an app like Urban Clap/ Housejoy, there is a cost to the expert visiting your location and understanding the problem.
You pay a coach for their time in coaching you to be better.
You pay your CA for helping you manage your finances and taxation.
You pay a trainer to train your Employees
Do you pay your Travel Agent for the hours spent in designing your itinerary or for accommodating every little minor change?
As a Travel Consultant – I consider myself to be a travel expert. We have either done a recce of the destination or we have sent considerable number of travellers to the destination, due to which we are experts in details of the place chosen.
Over the last 6 years we have
Saved Millions of Rupees to our clients by proposing better flight routing to save costs
Eg: Airfare to Vietnam was approx. 89000+ per person, however with some innovative thinking fares were brought down to INR 58000, thereby adding INR 17000 PER PERSON for shopping during peak Christmas season.
Sourcing business class tickets, or tickets when they have been sold out!
Advised our clients on the right documentation for visas, especially if it was refused and ensured they got visas
Gave options for EVISA, so they can save few hours of waiting for visa stamping
upon arrival
Suggested alternate ways to get their visas for a honeymoon in Switzerland!
Created numerous memorable family holidays at International & Domestic destinations, based on the interest of the client
Come up with catchy ideas to engage a 5 year old to a 78 year old in the same holiday destination
Booked Wildlife enthusiasts on a custom vacation that helped them access their enthusiasm for wildlife on their holiday making it extraordinary
We have shared details for adventure sports like Paragliding, when we knew that that client was interested, but probably not aware of options at their destination of travel
Booked tickets on a slightly expensive corporate fare, eventually saving the client 1000’s of INR which would have been forfeited had they booked a lower non-refundable fare
Sent Solo women on trips across the world, safety being a prime mandate, with exotic locations too.
Arranged cabs from Karnataka to Tamilnadu with sanitized vehicles, food and water, GPS tracking for NRI Senior Citizen clients in the covid era.
Arranged for modifications while the client was on vacation seamlessly
Took a 16 year old Autistic child on his first visit to the mountains and snow, his first time of interaction with 20+ people and he loved it! He also Lived it up in the SNOW!
There are many such stories, few touching few with beautiful memories, few with some hiccups, which were handled with expertise.
We are Travel Consultants, Travel experts.
We are not TRAVEL AGENTS – who get a commission or act on someone else’s behalf. The era of working for a paltry commission are over and irrelevant today.
We deserve to be compensated for our time, energy and efforts in curating or customising a dream vacation.
We are in the business of Consulting in the Travel space. It is time, that prospects respected us for the value that we bring in.
This Industry is competitive, Online and Offline. We curate vacations, we help you and your family relax at your vacation, while we work at the backend.
Most often during vacations – Our fraternity cannot afford to take a vacation.
Especially while travelling, the world is dynamic and things could change or go wrong as they always will. Remember we have your back!
Respect our time and expertise
#TRAVELCONSULTANT
#NOTTRAVEL AGENT
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