As travel agents we hear a lot of funny responses when we tell people what we do. The responses range from people thinking our jobs are obsolete to friends and family members constantly asking for a “free vacation” hookup (spoiler alert…those don’t exist). Despite what people think, we are not always planning vacations while on one of our own (though we have been known to do that from time to time). Travel agents put our sweat, time and tears into earning our place in a competitive industry and we are proud of what we do. This week we have asked some of our Adventures by Jamie agents what they wish their clients knew about their jobs; and were surprised to see a common theme in their answers. Read on to take a peek behind the curtain and learn what your travel agent wants you to know.
WHILE WE HAVE SPECIALTIES – WE BOOK EVERYTHING
As travel professionals, we pride ourselves on helping our clients with any and all requests for travel. While we may prefer or “specialize” in certain vendors (Disney, all-inclusives, cruises etc…) that does not mean that we are unable or incapable of helping you plan the vacation of your dreams somewhere else. Don’t hesitate to reach out with any destination request, we are always eager to book new things and make you smile while doing it.
OUR SERVICES ARE 100% FREE
Yep! You read that right…free! “But how do you make money if you don’t charge us?” Well, we receive our payment through the vendors that you travel with.
WE ARE ALWAYS LEARNING
Whether we are attending the latest travel conference, reading the newest travel blog or meeting with our suppliers we are always learning. We focus on constantly evolving so that we can deliver you the latest travel information with confidence. You can rest assured when you book a vacation through a travel agent that we know what we are talking about.
WE HAVE FEELINGS TOO
We spend countless hours researching and planning incredible vacations for our clients; the amount of time that goes into planning some trips rivals that of a full time work week. That is why it hurts when you end up booking your trip by yourself. We are considerate of your time and all we ask is for that same respect in return.
WE WORK EVEN WHEN ON OUR OWN VACATIONS
When we travel we never fully “unplug”. You could say we don’t know how to turn our travel agent brains off (and that is a good thing for you!). When we are on vacation we are making sure we are scoping out hotels, local attractions and restaurants. We are taking notes, photographs, filming video and asking staff questions so that we can relay all of our vacation goodness onto you.
WE AREN’T MAGICIANS
As your travel agent we try our very best to check all of your boxes and do all while respecting your budget. However, no matter how hard we try we don’t have the power to make things cheaper than they are or make things magically become available. We try, but at the end of the day, we don’t have control over everything.
WE WORK HARD
Clients don’t know how much work we put into creating the perfect itinerary for their next vacation. Not only do we book your vacation but we spend hours changing flight arrangements, scheduling excursion reservations, providing necessary travel documentation, finding the perfect rental car; the list seems never ending. Don’t get us wrong, we don’t mind doing all of these things; we do this so our clients absolutely love their trip!
WE DON’T GET EVERYTHING FOR FREE
A common misconception is that as travel agents, we never have to pay for our own airfare or hotels. Let us be the first to tell you, this is so far from the truth. While we may receive discounts or offers to explore destinations every once in a while, a majority of our vacations we pay for out of our own pocket.
WE LOVE WHAT WE DO
While being a travel agent is much harder work than most people realize, we couldn’t imagine doing anything else. We love traveling vicariously through our clients and are ecstatic when they come home with their “vacation high”. Knowing that we can help couples, families, friends and individuals create lifelong memories to look back on when they need to smile means everything to us. We are here to help you have incredible adventures time and time again and wouldn’t have it any other way.
So you see, while we get to go to work every day planning dream vacations, our work is not all sunshine and rainbows (but there are a good bit of those along the way). Travel agents work just as hard as anybody else and we couldn’t be happier or more proud of what we do. Did you learn anything new from our list? Are you a fellow travel agent with something to add? Let us know in the comments what your takeaways are, we can’t wait to hear! Now go out there and explore the world. Adventure is out there!
Until next week adventurers; stay safe, have fun and most importantly…be kind.