Do the donkey work myself or?

LoopyPrune

Been quoted £1700 for a family holiday but when I checked out of boredom on the hotels own website plus a few flight only sites I can get the same set up offered for £1300. The hotel is booked direct with themselves, the flights booked with flythomson and the transfers booked with a 3rd company all display ABTA signs. Is this too easy or am I looking at a world of problems by trying to save a few bucks to put towards our spending money. Should add I would be paying by debit card, or is it best to book via credit card.

malkie76

A TA will only book the same elements and charge you a premium. Book yourself and enjoy the extra cash on holiday

mcc100

We always book independently, not only to save money but also to choose flights that depart at sociable times and also because we prefer 9 or 10 night holidays.

If you have a credit card I would certainly advise paying with it.

richardw

Do you want the benefits of the package travel regulation? http://www.yourtravelrights.co.uk/what-are-package-travel-regulations.html

Lincoln_Imp

Thomsonfly are not the cheapest either ,might pay to have a look round a few airlines or use Skyscanner to check prices

HXDave

malkie, a TA will also give you FULL FINANCIAL PROTECTION in the event of any company going bust, together with altering all the other elements should something change. We are also here to liase with tour operators should something change / go wrong.

Just look at the forums (especially the volcanic ash one) and see how many people are still out of pocket because they had flights cancelled but still had car hire / hotels / transfers booked etc etc etc, where with a package holiday booking people were not.

Its all well & good saving money to start with, but so many people have had their fingers burned last year trying to save too much.

HXDave

malkie76

So does my travel insurance, and/or my credit card.

Big companies often need to be chased for monies owed, but TAs are no different, and I very often see posts on these forums where TAs refuse refunds claiming that "the airline has your money" etc.

Liase with tour operators ? You don't do anything I couldn't do or alter myself independently.

TAs have their place - I use a corporate TA for business travel, and they secure many benefits not available to personal bookings (eg flexible conditions for non-flexible prices), but the high street or independent TAs are a total waste of money if you are in the slightly bit comfortable using the internet for research and making bookings.

HXDave

Malkie,

how does your travel insurance or credit card give you full financial protection? if this was the case, why are there long threads in the Volcanic Ash forum of people still out of pocket? people who will have travelled with travel insurance, and may have even paid by credit card?

Yes, Travel insurance & credit cards may give some (more over others, depending on policies & cards) protection, however nothing like the full protection of a full package holiday where, should 1 element fail, the others are re-protected or fully refunded. Additionally, there are very few (if any) package holiday customers chasing airlines for reimbursement of expenses under EU261/04. Why? Simple - the tour ops just put the stranded pax into hotels and provided meals as required, so no need for passengers to pay again and then (hopefully) claim back and then to be expected (like monarch airlines) to find hotel accommodation for £8 per night.

As far as liasing with tour opeators / airlines - what makes you think that we cant do anything different to what you can do? in fact, you would be suprised what i (and many other agents i know) have managed to get away with - things which no way would any member of the public get away with.

Malkie, i have no objection to people being their own travel agents what so ever, if they want to save money. after all, i can service the car mysel and save money, i can fix burst pipes myself to save money. However if anything then goes wrong, and the financial cost explodes, who is there to blame? Only myself.

Back to the OP, Then it is entirely upto yourself as to how you wish to book. If you feel confident that you can organise & manage all 3 seperate booking, keeping an eye out to just make sure that everything keeps to schedule, and prepared to spend 10 / 30 / 60 mins on phone (or maybe more) on the phone if things go wrong, then fair enough.

On the other hand, you could book all 3 elements seperately and everything will run like clockwork, and you will have no problems what so ever.

However, if you want someone who is trained fully to work on these services, be there if anything goes wrong to sort it out, then be prepared to pay that bit more. after all, each travel agency is a business like most other companies people work in, and they do have wages to pay, rents to pay, licence fees to pay, other overheads etc etc etc.............

and dont forget, with a travel agent you can normally book by paying just a deposit, rather than full payment that most airlines charge and some (but not all) accommodation companies.

whichever way you decide to book, have a good holiday.

malkie76

how does your travel insurance or credit card give you full financial protection?

I have a decent policy with a reliable company. True, you pay a little extra for the benefit of 100% safety in any event. I don't really understand why you contest this.

however nothing like the full protection of a full package holiday where, should 1 element fail, the others are re-protected or fully refundef.

Can you give a few examples of things or situations which aren't covered by my insurance ? Where is my protection lacking, so I know where to improve my insurance policy ?

in fact, you would be suprised what i (and many other agents i know) have managed to get away with - things which no way would any member of the public get away with.

Such as ? I'd be very interested to learn a few examples.

i can fix burst pipes myself to save money. However if anything then goes wrong, and the financial cost explodes, who is there to blame? Only myself.

I'm sure like any sensible home owner you have adequate accidental damage insurance ? That's where I'd turn should something accidental occur in my home. Same absolutely applies to travel insurance.

HXDave

Malkie,

I have a decent policy with a reliable company. True, you pay a little extra for the benefit of 100% safety in any event. I don't really understand why you contest this.

true for some insurance policies, but not for all. Yes, you pay a little bit more for the benefit of 100% safety in any event (are you sure it covers ANY event), but the OP is looking to do things cheaper if possible.

Can you give a few examples of things or situations which aren't covered by my insurance ? Where is my protection lacking, so I know where to improve my insurance policy ?

No, i cant. Simply because i do not know the details of your travel insurance, and what it covers / doesn't cover. Your insurance might be an all singing, all dancing policy that even sends round someone to wipe your bottom for you if requested, or it may be just a good standard policy, but how can you ask me what your policy wouldn't cover when i physically cannot see the policy. It's just like me saying to you, over the internet, do you like the colour of my new car sat there over the road in the car park.

Such as ? I'd be very interested to learn a few examples.

Ok, classic here for you. working as part of a 'miniple' travel agency (approx 40 branches). Recieves a phone call from area manager requesting help with a city break booking. had been booked with 1 letter incorrect in just 1 surname on a booking of 4 to paris, and asked if i could help. The manager of the branch it was booked in tried, and was told it would cost £300 to change (£75 per person). Area manager tried speaking with reservations manager, and again failed to get the charges reduced / removed. after 5 mins of chat with the reservations manager, name altered free of charge. Ok, he called me all the names under the sun, but the guy owed me a favour, which was duly called in. Ok, maybe a slightly extreme example, but with the more 'personal' contacts we make from travel functions, meetings, trainings etc we get to speak with people in organisations that as a member of the public you would never even know about, never mind speak with them. this is because they are there to look after the travel agents, and do whet they can to keep bookings coming in. if this means bending the rules a little, then so be it.

I'm sure like any sensible home owner you have adequate accidental damage insurance ? That's where I'd turn should something accidental occur in my home. Same absolutely applies to travel insurance.

i do have accidental damage, however i have not had a burst pipe - i was using that as an example. My point was if you want someone trained to do the job that you want doing (be it fixing a pipe, servicing a car, booking a package holiday) then you pay that little bit more for the comfort in knowing that it is being done properly. In fact, this is exactly what you said with regards to your insurance -

True, you pay a little extra for the benefit of 100% safety in any event.

your words, not mine.

Now with not wanting to enter into a long winded debate about this, i have put my advice to the OP, and you have put your's. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it is their choice.

HXDave

malkie76

Yes, you pay a little bit more for the benefit of 100% safety in any event (are you sure it covers ANY event), but the OP is looking to do things cheaper if possible.

My point is that a decent insurance policy is far cheaper than the premium you add on.

No, i cant. Simply because i do not know the details of your travel insurance, and what it covers / doesn't cover.

You appear to be unable to defend your earlier claim which was " TA will also give you FULL FINANCIAL PROTECTION in the event of any company going bust, together with altering all the other elements should something change.".

Can you give me an example of something you cover, or a service you offer which wouldn't be equally covered by a decent insurance policy?

Recieves a phone call from area manager requesting help with a city break booking. had been booked with 1 letter incorrect in just 1 surname on a booking of 4 to paris, and asked if i could help. The manager of the branch it was booked in tried, and was told it would cost £300 to change (£75 per person).

Classic case of TA nonsense - why is each person charged for a change to one persons itinerary? Besides, is the best example you've got that you can edit a database which is fully editable, but companys charge a premium to avoid speculators.

I've had no problem or cost making slight changes to bookings in the past by contacting the companies directly.

Like I say, can you provide a few solid examples ?

My point was if you want someone trained to do the job that you want doing (be it fixing a pipe, servicing a car, booking a package holiday) then you pay that little bit more for the comfort in knowing that it is being done properly. In fact, this is exactly what you said with regards to your insurance -

But I wouldn't class you (TAs in general) as being highly trained experts. I certainly don't think searching a database then adding 25% on top really qualifies as specialist training.

I don't doubt that you know a lot about various airlines, hotels and destinations, but nothing special that couldn't be found by 30minutes of spare time and google.

I pay for a decent insurance policy to cover unexpected events which could ultimately save me in the future. I don't class paying a premium for someone to book my flights for me as "the comfort in knowing that it is being done properly". They are two entirely different things.

Now with not wanting to enter into a long winded debate about this, i have put my advice to the OP, and you have put your's. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it is their choice.

I totally agree with you on this about the individual's choice, but when challenged to explain exactly why anyone would use the service of a TA you seem to come a little unstuck. Surely the sensible thing to do is book your travels independently, back yourself up with a decent insurance policy and enjoy the savings.