The Internet Vs. Your Local Travel Agency

While it can be easy to book travel with one of the online travel agencies such as Orbitz, Expedia or Travelocty, you might be surprised to learn the value of having a travel agent. I wrote an article discussing just that for Associated Content in October 2007 that detailed the reasons why you should use a local travel agent over booking on your own online.


Take a look at my article for other reasons why you should use a travel agent for your next trip. Click here to go to the article!


The reason why I am bringing up an old article that I wrote is that the topic is still relevant now. Additionally, I wanted to point out another potential problem you may run into when booking with an online travel agency.


Expedia has aired advertisements touting that you can book round trip flights using more than one airline, i.e. outbound flight on Continental and the return flight on Delta, for example. While this may be convenient and get you a great fare up front, it has the potential to cost you MORE in the long run if you need to cancel or change your plans.


Each airline has its own cancel/change fees, so if you have a flight itinerary with 2 or more air carriers, you will have 2 or more cancel/change fees. If you read the fare rules and restrictions on Expedia for a multi air carrier itinerary, it only states that there is a single fee, naming the outbound airline ONLY in the description. At the top of the page, it states "Please note that the most restrictive set of rules below applies to your entire itinerary." These statements would lead anyone to believe that they would only be charged 1 fee, but however it is unlikely. Expedia could be absorbing the second fee, however that does not seem practical or likely. You may have a leg to stand on due to the statement "Please note that the most restrictive set of rules below applies to your entire itinerary." if you argued your case to Expedia. Do you really want to waste spend your time arguing about fees?


Keep in mind that if you book any type of itinerary with Expedia or any other online travel agency and you need to make a change or cancel, you could be in for a not so great surprise when it comes down to fees.


As always, I would be glad to assist you with any travel plans! You can contact me via email at lisa@traveldivalisa.com or call 330-329-9178. Thank you!!  ~  Lisa  :)