Visiting honeymoon travel agents may seem like the most logical step when you get serious about booking your honeymoon. This is due to the assumptions that many couples make when planning the most important vacation of their lives to date.
Let’s go over some of these assumptions and the reality behind them because they can easily lead you astray when determining whether to trust an agent or to seek another path to honeymoon planning.
Assumption #1: A travel agent will do a lot of the honeymoon planning work so that you have more time to get ready for your wedding day.
You can expect to spend a lot of time talking to your travel agent, especially if you don’t know where you want to travel or you have a tight honeymoon budget. While an agent can do the manual work of looking up flights and researching accommodation prices and date availabilities, they still need your input when determining where you will travel, what you want to do when you get there, and the best dates for your trip.
The less you’re involved in the honeymoon planning process, the less your travel plans will meet your personal needs. In this way, a hands-off approach with your travel agent can really work against you in the long run. While working with a caring professional may ease some of your stress, it won’t necessarily make the planning process fast and easy.
Assumption #2: Travel agents can give you the lowest prices possible for any honeymoon destination, eliminating the need to compare prices online or call anyone else.
The deals that most travel agents offer are often the same ones that you could find yourself if you knew where to look online or if you took the time to contact venues directly. Most agents have experience with certain destinations, but very few are experts with insider information on all honeymoon destinations around the world. If you’re working with an inexperienced agent, they may actually have less information than you would gain from a couple hours of searching online.
Also keep in mind that travel agents much add fees to your total in order to remain profitable. They will at least charge booking fees, and many will charge you for the time that they spent creating your travel plans if you don’t follow through and pay for the vacation that they planned. It’s important to read the fine print before committing to any agent’s contract because the added fees may dramatically enhance the overall cost of your trip.
Assumption #3: A good travel agent knows all about the best honeymoon destinations, so they can help you make a wise decision.
Travel agents are often a lot like doctors in that they receive special promotions from hotels and other travel venues. They’re more likely to recommend vacation destinations and travel accommodations that will deliver a larger payoff for them personally, which is similar to how some doctors choose prescription medications for patients. In some cases, a busy agent may recommend whatever is fastest and easiest for them to book so that they can move on to the next paying customer.
Some agents are also more experienced and knowledgeable than others. While one may stick to the most popular honeymoon destinations because it’s all that they really know, others may suggest a variety of lesser-known alternatives because they’ve done their research and have worked with many other happy customers. The problem is that you never know which of these agents you’re getting.
A honeymoon travel agent can give you a lot of information about honeymoon
destinations, eliminating the time that you would otherwise have to
spend doing your own research online. The problem is that many don’t
take the time to really understand your vision of the perfect honeymoon.
They often fail to give all of the information that a couple needs to
make wise honeymoon planning decisions. You don’t know what you don’t
know, so you may not realize when you’re missing information that would
make a big difference in your honeymoon choice.
Many couples also assume that there are no other options besides planning their honeymoon alone and working with a travel agent. You do have the alternative of working with other professionals who specialize in honeymoon packages. You’ll get the information that you need quickly while accessing steep discounts that most travel agents aren’t authorized to give you. If you’re thinking about the discounts offered here on this website, you’ve already discovered a service far more advantageous than a travel agent.
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