Do people still use travel agents or is that irrelevant with all the information available online? I want to take my family on more trips, especially before the oldest one graduates in three years but I don't know what to do. Having someone recommend and plan a vacation sounds nice. I have used AI to gather ideas but would like someone to tailor a trip for my family. Any advice or suggestions are appreciated.

Yes, we are still a thing! This is my 10th year in business, and the start of this year has been my busiest the entire time.

I book trips that I feel I can add value to - through my training, experience, expertise, access to great suppliers, etc. I do not book everything that comes my way. Sure people can go to Expedia to book - but they may end up booking basic economy flights, book something with a 45 minute layover, etc. By working with agents we know what to look out for, we know which resorts are good fits based on your needs/wants, and what you might be miserable at.

Sometimes we have access to great perks and pricing, sometimes our pricing is the same. For instance, I have special pricing and possible extra perks with many of the luxury cruise lines (such as free onboard credit). Sometimes we may be a little higher, but I usually will explain why if so. You have someone to reach out and advocate for you if things go awry while traveling.

If something isn't my specialty, I let clients know. The worst thing is for me to plan a trip that I'm not familiar with and it not go well. So for me, I don't book a ton of US-based vacations. I do not book ski trips, national parks, etc.

I've probably booked 25+ Texager trips in the last 2 years.

Feel free to reach out or ask any follow-up questions.

Absolutely people still use travel advisors, and honestly, now more than ever.
AI and Google are great for gathering ideas, but they can't give you true first-hand destination knowledge. They won't tell you what it actually feels like to navigate a European train station with kids, which hotels are genuinely family-friendly or how to structure your days so your trip feels enjoyable instead of exhausting.
This has been my full-time career for the past 8 years, and I've built my business around firsthand experience especially when it comes to international travel and Europe.
Those trips come with a lot of moving pieces: flights, transfers, timing between cities, tours, and making sure everything flows seamlessly. That's where working with a professional who does this every day really makes a difference. Many of my clients are busy professionals and simply don't have the time to spend hours researching, comparing options, and trying to piece everything together. Instead, they prefer to hand that off to someone they trust so they can focus on enjoying the experience.
I always say: Google gives you information, but a travel advisor gives you clarity, confidence, and a thoughtfully designed experience. Something that's tailored specifically to your family, your pace, and the kind of memories you want to create especially for a meaningful trip like this before your oldest graduates.
Feel free to reach out with more questions my contact info is in my bio.

How are travel agents compensated?

Ikanizer said:

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How are travel agents compensated?

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Many things we book have commission built in. So it instance, if you book a cruise. Whether you book it direct with the cruise line, or an agent, the pricing is the same to you, but the cruise line keeps the commission if you book direct. Now sometimes agents have cheaper prices, this is just an example.

Sometimes agents charge fees. We have spent years and a lot of time and money on training and visiting many of these places we book. You are paying for expertise and time. Some trip components aren't commissionable, or very low commission, like flights. Vegas is a joke- my first Vegas commission was $4.56 and I never even got paid.

A lot of agents charge quoting/research fees as if you don't book, or if you cancel your trip, this is the only way to get compensated for the time we have spent working on a proposal for you. Not every agent charges fees. Some only charge for certain things. It is up to the agent.

A lot of travel agents on here seem very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. If we ever use a travel agent again, I'm absolutely using someone on here.

We used a friend's referral as an agent last year for an international trip, and it was a mess. Names misspelled on our bookings, our infant wasn't added as a lap child for the flight, we had to remind her to book our transfer from the airport to the resort. We asked for flights on American and she booked us on SunCountry at first. Mistakes all over the place.

Some people definitely see it as an "easy" side gig and don't really care about your experience.

I think it's just like anything else where you're working with a Professional to add value to do something that you could theoretically do yourself.

But, just like anything else, it kind of depends whether you're an enthusiast or not. And whether you know what you want to do or not.

Doing it myself

Example, last year, I took my "vacation of a lifetime" to my hometown in Saudi Arabia. I booked everything myself because:
1 - I was redeeming a ton of Qantas points to fly First Class on Emirates
2 - I knew exactly where I wanted to go and exactly what I wanted to do. Which in my case was nothing touristy. Because I was going to my hometown after 40 years away.

I didn't need a tour guide or any recommendations. I already knew exactly:

• The hotel where I was going to stay
• Where I was going to rent a car, where I was going to Uber
• And of course the flights booked on my points

I am a travel enthusiast so, for me, I'm willing to do things that others wouldn't in order to get the flights that I want. Like a 12 hour layover during the day in Frankfurt for instance.

For work, we have to book through a travel agent.

What's nice about that is that the travel agent has some sort of magical ways to rebook flights and hotels and deal with cancellations.

Also, working with the travel agent, we can specify the airlines, or the travel parameters - i.e. no layover longer than 4 hours, Premium Economy on International flights over 4 hours, normal size rental cars, King Size Bed, etc.

I can say that there have been several times on work trips with last minute cancellations and changes where I've leveraged the travel agent to do things that would have cost me a significant amount out of my pocket if I had to do them myself.

One of my best examples is a flight from Houston Hobby to Tampa that was delayed several hours and then cancelled around 11 pm.

Our corporate travel agent was able to rebook me on the 5:30 am flight, cancel the hotel and change the rental car and I never saw a bill for any of that.

Also, during my 6 1/2 hours between cancellation and new flight, I would have had to do the legwork to make that happen. Not to mention that Marriott definitely would have charged me for the no show at the hotel.

Some things you'll have to use a Travel Agent

I've been to all 50 States and 6 Continents so my last major goal remaining is Antarctica. For a trip like that, I'm going to need help so I'll have to use a travel agent since you can't just book your own flight to Antarctica.

Also, if you don't know anything about the area you're going to, a Travel Agent can offer great tour suggestions. As an example, my family when I was a kid, used a Travel Agent to visit Athens, the Greek Isles and Egypt including a side trip to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Rome and Paris were more obvious so for those, we just found our way around on our own.

I used a TexAgs travel agent for a recent trip with a big group. It was a great experience and much easier for all of us. I would definitely do so again.

Moe Jzyslak said:

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A lot of travel agents on here seem very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. If we ever use a travel agent again, I'm absolutely using someone on here.

We used a friend's referral as an agent last year for an international trip, and it was a mess. Names misspelled on our bookings, our infant wasn't added as a lap child for the flight, we had to remind her to book our transfer from the airport to the resort. We asked for flights on American and she booked us on SunCountry at first. Mistakes all over the place.

Some people definitely see it as an "easy" side gig and don't really care about your experience.

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Sadly, the industry is super easy to get into and there's no real regulations against training and all of that. So some are truly just getting in thinking it's an easy quick way to make money , in reality. it's not. I can't tell you the number of horror stories that we read online weekly.

Many see it as they will get perks and whatnot. And sure there are some of those, but not always and not immediately.

What they don't see is the amount of time we spend in the background fixing issues when they arise. Agents spending 4+ hours on hold to fix problems or shift plans (recent events like the big storms or cartel stuff in PVR). Being available 24/7 when clients are traveling for emergencies. I've sat on the bathroom floor at Hard Rock Riviera Maya on the phone with AA Vacations at 4AM while my family slept because they didn't pay for a clients flight and clients flights were cancelled. Worked to get them rerouted to another airport in the DR, had to change transfers, etc.

And we don't get paid until after travel (unless one charges fees). So when starting out, you may not get regular paychecks for years as it can take a long time to build up clientele.

Agents are really useful when you don't already know what you want. Looking at the website of resorts in a foreign city, they all look great. An agent knows which ones really are. They know reputable transfer companies so you don't get taken to the jungle and held for ransom. They know the excursions that are popular.
You don't have to have them book all facets of your trip. Use them as much or as little as you want. Even if it is just picking their brains here on texags.