Ryanair & Premier Inn (Dublin) Book direct or through an agent

WLM21

Over the past couple of years, my wife and I have had several city breaks all over the UK. which have always included a Premier Inn stay, plus return train tickets from Newcastle.

Everything has gone perfectly .. no problems at all.

Now, we are considering our first overseas trip .. to Dublin, which will involve another stay at a Premier Inn, as well as direct return flights from Newcastle to Dublin.

I was all set to book, when a friend suggested I book through a travel agents, rather than direct.

I asked him why, but he didn't really have an answer, hence my question here.

What would be the benefit of booking through an agent ?

I am able to see the prices per night in the hotel and can select an airfare to suit our needs.

Am I missing something ?

eskbanker

If you book through an agent, the trip falls within the scope of the Package Travel Regulations, which can be useful if things go wrong or need to be changed, in that one company is then responsible for sorting it out, as a fully joined-up whole entity, rather than independent arrangements with multiple companies.

maman

It's obviously your choice but I'd agree with @eskbanker on the reasoning.

We had a city break booked in March 2020. Just days before we were due to leave, Flybe went bust and I had an almost instant refund from the agent because it was a package. 

A refundable hotel room would be a halfway house and some travel insurance policies might pay out if you were unwell and unable to travel. 

Just something to think about. 🤔

WLM21

Two great replies .. thanks very much

I'll pop into the travel agents tomorrow with my facts & figures .. if they have the same prices .. that's it, I'll pull out my debit card and book.

Just a thought, well another question

NCL - DUB return is working out at about £30 difference between Aer Lingus and Ryanair. 

AL   x2 7kg cabin bags plus 1 20kg bag. (booking each flight separately, for wife and I)
RA  x2 under-seat small cabin bags, plus 1 10kg locker bag   

Which option would you select ?

400ixl

On the opposite side, having a 3rd party in the middle can make for a mess if things don't go as planned or there are changes.

I'd maybe consider ATOL protection from an agent for a family holiday for 2 weeks to Ibiza and I wouldn't be able to wait for travel insurance to re-imburse any costs to make changes etc.

Personally I would book direct and have good travel insurance in place. Destiny is then in my own control for a city break. Same for more complex holidays which we tend to do, no way I would have a travel agent in the middle.

saajan_12

WLM21 said:

Two great replies .. thanks very much

I'll pop into the travel agents tomorrow with my facts & figures .. if they have the same prices .. that's it, I'll pull out my debit card and book.

There is some protection inherently by paying via credit card (S75), by purchasing travel insurance and by flying from UK or EU airports (UK261 and EU261). 

Booking as a package through an agent adds a 4th layer of protection from ATOL. However it also adds some friction, eg if changes are reported to the agent not to you, if the agent goes bust before they issue you the ticket, if they advertise an option that the hotel / airline don't honour, etc. 

So swings and roundabouts, with no clear winner. Re teh quote above, I wouldn't book by debit card if avoidable. 

WLM21 said:

NCL - DUB return is working out at about £30 difference between Aer Lingus and Ryanair. 

AL   x2 7kg cabin bags plus 1 20kg bag. (booking each flight separately, for wife and I)
RA  x2 under-seat small cabin bags, plus 1 10kg locker bag   

Which option would you select ?

This entirely depends on how light you prefer to travel and how long. Eg for a short weekend break, personally a 10kg cabin bag woudl be sufficient for us but wouldn't be for many friends. 

Also when you say booking separately, this can have implications 
- If the outward and return are 2 separate bookings, then if say the outbound was delayed / cancelled, there would be no responsibility on the airline to change the return accordingly. 
- If your booking is separate to your wife's, then if one was denied boarding (eg due to being over booked) that would have no bearing on the other's booking. 

Personally these are risks I accept, but it might be more critical for you to make sure you travel together.  

daveyjp

I'm off to Dublinin a couple of weeks and never even considered an agent.  DIY is easy enough and I like Emerald Air for short hops across the Irish Sea.

WLM21

saajan_12 said:

- If your booking is separate to your wife's, then if one was denied boarding (eg due to being over booked) that would have no bearing on the other's booking. 

 

One extra 10kg would be all we needed, as well as the two tiny under-seat cabin bags.

If Ryanair, I thought I could just book one 'basic fare' flight (no 10kg bag) and one 'regular fare' flight which includes the 10 kg bag.

Aer Lingus have a similar scheme, the base fare with only a small cabin bag, or the next level which includes a 20kg in the hold. Again, I was thinking of booking one of each .. we don't need the full 20kg, but there's no 'middle option'

maman

We only went to Belfast for 3 nights/4 days and carry on luggage was enough. The Aer Lingus cabin bag sizes are really tiny but we managed. 😁  I think your solution of having one larger bag as well is good. 👍

Easy bus transfer into the city centre in Dublin too. 

Bigphil1474

OP, if you book a hotel and flight with the same company you get the ATOL protection. So, for example, if you went on Expedia and booked your flight and hotel at the same time, you get the ATOL protection. You have until the next day if you book one or the other first (afaik). If you booked them a week apart with the same company, I believe you don't get that protection.