| Do I really need a travel agent? Can't I just do
this myself? |
 2.) The value of your money: Here's the rest of Jodi's story.
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Unfortunately, the
name and events are real. You may find some of the content disturbing. Yes
prices and restrictions can fluctuate hourly! In 2005 Jodi, a business owner,
invested over 200 personal hours planning a family trip to Ireland for 17
members. She was convinced that being her own travel agent would save the group
lots of money. She started with airfares on the Internet. After 2 hours of
research she had comparisons and information for the family. Her electronic
efforts offered no group discounts. She
spent another 3 hours on the phone calling 4 airlines asking to speak to Group
Sales. One rate was $300 higher per ticket and included a 2-hour layover in
Germany. The other three quotes offered a more reasonable route but were
still priced higher than those on the Internet.
Jodi needed money
down from her family before booking the flights on line. All 17 had to be
entered at the same time to ensure every person had a seat on the plane. She
received her first deposit two days later. The airfare
went up $75 - per ticket. She could not book. The next deposit came
in two days later. The price went up again. She could not book. Now there was a
risk. The flight was almost full and there may not be 17 seats available. By
the time the last family submitted their deposit, there were 20 seats
remaining. The tickets increased more than $200 - each, costing one sub
family over $1,000 extra.
In the middle of all this, Jodi and her
husband decided to take separate flights - just to be on the safe side. She
tried to get their flight times to match up, but after HOURS on the Internet,
her efforts were fruitless. On the day of departure, her husband had to leave
60 minutes before the group. On the return trip, he had to remain behind for
more than two hours. To complicate things just a bit, Jodi made this
reservation in her name, NOT her husband's. She was now booked on TWO flights
and her husband was land-locked! She made this startling discovery about 8
hours after her initial electronic booking. With another phone call, which
lasted two and a half hours and resulted in a $150 processing fee, all
was straightened out. By the way, Jodi and her husband had to pay yet an
additional $150 because his airfare had increased between the time of the
initial booking and the time this issue was resolved. That's less than 8-hours.
Well, the worst was behind her, or so Jodi thought. Now it was time
for the seating arrangements. Again she got online and proceeded to place
family units together. Unfortunately, after 45 minutes of trying to get a
family of four to sit together (or relatively close together) all was a mess.
Again she picked up the phone and asked for help. Another 45 minutes later, all
seats were assigned (but not guaranteed). The attendant was helpful
and managed to get most family members in close proximity. Now all Jodi had
left to do was to develop the daily agenda and itinerary, choose and book the
hotels, reserve the coach and driver, plan the meals, plan the shopping, golf,
and other events, and make sure everyone had their passports. In the end, all
had a wonderful trip, even if their travel miles didn't convert to award
points because they booked on a "discounted airfare."
Travel
Tyme monitors rates and is familiar with all policies and procedures. Learn
from Jodi's mistakes! Don't get caught paying more than necessary. We value
your money too! With Travel Tyme you'll get the best service AND the best
price!
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