10 Most Common Questions I get Asked as a Travel Agent
9. Where is your favourite place you have been?
A: This one is like asking a parent who their favourite child is. It is impossible to give the right answer. Imagine saying to a brand new client someone you have just met that your favourite destination is Thailand and they have been there and hated it. They will lose trust very quickly in your ability as an agent, no matter how good of an agent you were. Instead of giving you my “favourite” I will share with you my top 3
Vietnam, India and Russia, though these are constantly changing ;)
8. When is the best time for me to book?
Hang on a second let me just get out my crystal ball ;) The best time for you to book your travel is as far in advance as you can. Generally speaking, the closer you get to departure, the more flights and hotels are sold out and prices will go up. This is particularly important for peak seasons like Easter, Christmas, actually any Australian school holidays, and the European summer from June to September. Can you occasionally score a last-minute deal - absolutely you can, if you have no set destination/itinerary planned last-minute deals can be great, but will you get a cheap last-minute ticket to London in December absolutely not!
7. Why is Christmas so expensive for travel?
Christmas travel can be quite pricey, that is no secret. There is one word that makes a Christmas trip cost you more than any other time of year and that word is SEASONALITY. Across the world there are different peaks and troughs in travel, for example, Carinvale in Brazil in February, while not a peak travel period anywhere else in the world, Brazil experiences unprecedented demand for airfares and hotels at this time of year. At Christmas the entire world sees peak demand as people travel to spend Christmas with their loved ones, this sees airlines at capacity and as each seat sells the remaining few seats become more valuable ie a higher price. My hot tip is if you have the flexibility to do so avoid travelling between 10th December and 30th January, and you will see a drastic difference in flight prices. It is also about what is important to you, if you have dreamed of a white Christmas all your life, factor the airfare cost into your overall budget and have an amazing time!
6. If I wait will the price come down?
Ummm…… no. As I mentioned above if you have no particular destination in mind and are looking for a last-minute break to anywhere you may find some specials drop-in closer to travel, but from my experience, this will generally only happen in Low season ie: The monsoon season in Bali. Travel is all about supply and demand and the supply is finite, so the likelihood of seeing a price drop at the last minute isn’t common. As always there are exceptions to this, but are you going to see an airfare drop 50% in price for Christmas week, you would have a better chance of winning the lottery.
5. Why should I book with you when I can do it myself online?
Ahhhh yes, this one!! You are absolutely right you can book most things online these days, but what are you going to do when you arrive at your destination, jet-lagged, with kids running around, and in a foreign non-English speaking country and your transfer isn’t there? Booking with a Travel Agent, particularly a good one, will see your trip run smoothly - and for the odd time that things don’t go to plan, your trusty agent is there, round the clock, to offer support and make any necessary fixes. I hear a lot of you saying “Well that can’t be so bad I could fix that myself” and you are absolutely right.
However imagine you have just landed in Europe, that bucket list trip of a lifetime and you have booked on a 30-day tour. It covers all the highlights, and has all the inclusions - nothing more for you to pay for except your spending money! Everything is included, accommodation, transport most of your meals and day tours. You land, excited to kick off this adventure of a lifetime, and there is no representative that the tour company provides waiting for you (these are called ground operators, the people/persons on the ground actually providing the travel service). So you call the number tour company’s website and it has been disconnected.
After asking around to fellow lost and confused-looking travellers at the airport, you hear that the ground operator is refusing to take guests who have booked online through the tour company, as they have not been paid for this service, and that you will need to pay again, in full for a tour you had already paid for.
What happens then? That is an actual example of what happened to a group of my clients. Half the group booked with me, and the other half booked online. My clients were taken care of, I swiftly made the additional payment needed to the ground operators, which was not on-charged to the client, while the rest of the group had to decide whether to pack up and go home or pay for the tour again. My clients additional costs were 0, the group who had booked online were up for $9,000 per person to continue on this tour.
As you can tell I am very passionate about the value of travel agents having been one myself for so many years. Travel Agents are worth their weight in gold and not only give you first-hand advice, but can pick up the pieces when things go wrong.
4. Why do you need to know my budget?
Knowing your budget is knowing how I can meet your expectations.
Are you expecting a flight to Europe at Christmas for $100, that is not something I am going to be able to deliver to you. I was always (and sometimes brutally) honest with my clients about their budgets. Are you expecting an all-inclusive over-water bungalow in the Maldives for $150 a night, that is simply not going to happen. Budget is often a sensitive question for clients, as they feel that they are revealing their hand and will be charged according to the number they say, and this is just not the case. The reason I want to know your budget is so I can make your holiday as amazing as possible while sticking to a budget. For some people, their budget might be $100 a night, and for others it might be $1000 a night, either way, I don’t want to offend you with the quote I provide and never hear from you again because I didn’t meet your expectations.
3. Why were my friends flights cheaper than mine?
(Why does the price of flights keep changing?)
If you asked everyone on your flight from Brisbane to Los Angeles what they paid for their seat, they would probably all give a different answer, ranging from $1000 to $3000 in economy. While this may seem unfair, airlines can not stay in business if they do not make money, and the answer to this my friends, lies in the fascinating world of “Yield Management”
Imagine a giant chessboard, each square a plane seat. Yield Management Systems, armed with algorithms and data, meticulously and constantly analyses every single aspect of travel bookings, every internet search every keyboard click, every time a travel agent holds seats for a customer, and every keyword searched, these systems look at it all. If there is a significant spike in searches and bookings to LA, the price will continue to head skyward. If no one is searching for a Brisbane to LA, you will start seeing “Sale Fares” drop in, as this system’s main goal is to keep every seat filled.
Aside from supply and demand, these genius systems have parameters put into them to ensure the flight that is running can actually generate revenue for the airline, and not see it running at a loss. For example, if you take the Brisbane to Los Angeles flight we were speaking about above, the fuel bill alone on this one flight ranges between USD$25,000 and USD$35,000. Then you need to factor in:
Airport Fees (airlines have to pay fees and taxes for taking off and landing in every single airport they fly to)
Air Traffic Management and Flyover Costs - did you know the airlines have to pay for every different zone of airspace they travel through?
Crew Costs - Pilot Salaries & Cabin Crew wages
Lease/Ownership Costs of the Aircraft
Maintenance and Repairs of the Aircraft
Ground Handling Costs (someone has to pay the lovely people loading the aircraft with your luggage)
Catering Costs - every meal has to be made by a team of cooks and every snack and sip of water costs the airline money
Administrative Costs - from the team who operate the website to the call centre staff the price of every single airfare sold needs to generate enough to pay for it all
Insurance - we all know how much our home and car insurance cost us, Imagine insuring a fleet of aircraft where one plane can cost upwards of USD$248.3 million
There is so much cost that an airline has to outlay before even selling a seat, so, understandably, they need to get the right price for each seat and secure a certain amount in revenue to make operating that flight viable. This ensures they can continue flying this route in the future. Remember empty seats on planes are not a good thing - unless you are on a private jet ;) Empty seats lead to flight cancellations and eventually, it will lead to that route being terminated by the airline, love your direct flight from Brissy to LA? Then let’s hope its a full flight!!
2. Do I really need travel insurance
If you can not afford travel insurance you can afford to travel. A travel agent’s motto and a valuable life lesson.
The stories I could tell about clients spending $40,000 on a holiday and not feeling like $400 of travel insurance is “worth it”.
Picture this: your dream vacation detours into a medical emergency in a foreign land. No travel insurance? Buckle up for stress, unexpected bills, and memories you'd rather forget. Travel insurance isn't just a "maybe;" it's a safety net. It shields you from trip cancellations, lost luggage, medical mishaps, and more. From a broken camera to a broken arm, it ensures your adventure ends in smiles, not sighs. So ditch the travel roulette and invest in peace of mind
TRAVEL INSURANCE IS THE CHEAPEST SOUVENIR YOU WILL EVER BUY
1. How do I get upgraded to Business Class?
We have all heard stories of some lucky person arriving at the check-in counter for their flight and being handed the golden ticket - the one we always dream of, a complimentary upgrade to business class. What these stories don’t tell you is that more often than not, these upgrades are reserved for frequent fliers who have millions of points and enough status credits to make your eyes water. Loyalty reigns supreme when it comes to getting the elusive upgrade, and choosing an airline or alliance and sticking with them will see you able to upgrade, either with points or winning that upgrade lottery.
The type of fare your purchase will also factor into this equation. Got a bargain basement sale fare, then I would say you would be better off buying a lottery ticket than pinning your hopes on the upgrade.
Premium cabins are the difference between an airline breaking even, or turning a profit for a particular flight, so they are not going to give those seats away for free while there is still an opportunity to sell them. Business Class travellers often book their travel last minute, turning up at the airport with no ticket, and these magical yield management systems know this so the likelihood of them giving away a $9,000-$15,000 seat. I would say not likely at all.
While I know that may sound all doom and gloom, if you really want to fly in Business Class, my suggestion is to ask at check-in how much it would cost to upgrade just one of your flights. You will get the business class experience, without paying for the entire return trip in Business Class.
Well there you have it, hopefully I answered some of the burning questions you have had about how the travel industry works! If you have a question you just must know the answer to, please go to the top right of the website, hit the little envelope and send me a message.
Happy Wandering!
Jess :)