More and more vacationers are turning to travel agents (or travel advisors, as some like to be called) to help plan their trips.
Earlier this year, my wife and I decided to vacation in Norway and Copenhagen for a week. So, I did my standard research—perusing online and reading guidebooks—but then I stumbled upon a travel agency specializing in Scandinavia, based in Minneapolis.
After going back and forth with an agent there, I nailed down an ideal itinerary. The agent helped us go where we wanted, stay in hotels we liked, and got us from place to place, once with a driver he arranged. We’re still talking fondly about the trip.
Who Actually Needs a Travel Agent?
Yet, at a time when you can find so much travel information online and through AI, many people ask: Who needs a travel agent (or, as they’re sometimes called, a travel advisor)?
The answer: You might want to get special perks and save money, time, and stress—especially for a trip with multiple destinations or somewhere you’ve never been.
“Travel advisors are also great at organizing things like honeymoons, anniversaries, and family reunions and putting all of those complex things together,” said Melissa DaSilva, interim CEO of the Trafalgar guided vacation company. “They can also help with trip logistics, letting you know if you’ll need a passport, visa, or vaccinations.”
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Travel advisors range from mass-market ones at Costco Travel to luxury-trip specialists. They get paid either through commissions folded into your overall trip’s price, flat fees of around $100 to $500, or annual membership fees, which can run into the thousands.
Fees are charged by 54% of advisors, according to the 2023 Phocuswright Travel Agency Landscape Study, and help avoid perceived conflicts of interest for lodging and tours arranged by advisors.
If your agent charges a fee or retainer, you’ll need to determine if you think the value will be worth the price.
When You May Not Need One
You probably won’t need or want a travel advisor for certain vacations, however, such as for simply booking an Airbnb, flight, or rental car or for using your points to secure lodging or airfare.
“If you’re just planning to visit a friend in another city, you can figure out how to book a flight pretty easily,” said Tanner Saunders, senior hotels reporter for The Points Guy.
Vacationers are, however, increasingly hiring travel advisors. In a 2024 survey of members of the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), 30% said that over half of their clients are using their services for the first time.
The reason? “People are going further, staying longer, and wanting to do more exotic, complicated things,” said Erika Richter, ASTA vice president of communications.
The Growth of Niche Travel Advisors
It’s become easier to find a niche advisor specializing in the type of trip you want to take. Those niches can be for particular destinations but also for things like cruises, solo travel, female travel, cultural travel, multigenerational travel, and end-to-end travel, where an advisor arranges everything from the moment you leave until you return.
Barbara Bialek, who has used the Unforgettable Travel agency for multiple trips, including an African multigenerational family extravaganza, explains her decision this way: “Why would I do heart surgery on myself if they know what they’re doing and I don’t? On our trip, they arranged birthday, anniversary, and bar and bat mitzvah celebrations with special thought, each on a different night.”
When Things Go South
A travel advisor can also assist you if things go wrong on the trip, such as a canceled flight or a weather calamity.
“I think about this all the time. You invest the time and money to go to Machu Picchu, and so much can go wrong,” said Don Jones, senior vice president at the Andrew Harper boutique travel agency.
“When flights are canceled, people who use a travel advisor don’t wait in line at the airport to speak to an agent to re-book or wait on hold with an airline representative,” said Richter. “The advisors have the phone numbers you don’t have, and they’re going to call their contacts.”
Kareem George’s Detroit-based Culture Traveler agency recently assisted a couple on a safari when one traveler contracted COVID and the other had a gastrointestinal infection. The advisor arranged for doctors to see them, armed with IVs and fluids. “Within 24 hours, the second traveler was up and running and ready to do the rest of their trip,” George said.
Here’s how to find a great travel advisor and work with one:
Finding a Travel Advisor
Anyone can call themselves a travel agent, and some people do so just to claim travel discounts. So, finding a talented, knowledgeable professional is key.
After asking friends or family members for recommendations, you might seek out travel advisors who’ve distinguished themselves. Travel & Leisure has its annual, vetted A-List Travel Advisors, grouped by location specialties, special interests, and cruise expertise. Conde Nast Traveler publishes an annual Top Travel Specialists list, sorted by destinations and trip types.
The American Society of Travel Advisors just launched the VeriVacation.com site with a directory of its Verified Travel Advisors. They represent about 10% of ASTA members and must take continuing education courses.
“Being a Verified Travel Advisor signals to the world that you really do take your job seriously,” said Richter.
At VeriVacation, after plugging in your destination, travel dates, budget, number of travelers and what you want to do, you receive names of Verified Advisors to match.
You can also search online for an advisor with expertise on where you want to travel. “Most companies that specialize in destinations will appear at the top of search results on Google,” said Graham Carter, co-founder of Unforgettable Travel, based in London.
Said Virginia-based travel expert Charles McCool: “Don’t think that because you live in New York City, you have to find someone in New York City. The right agent could be in Seattle or Denver. They could be anywhere.”
They’ll likely know the best ways to get from one destination to another, lodging choices to consider (and avoid), and where and when to spend time suiting your interests. This pro can also arrange tours, meals, museum and entertainment tickets, hotel and airport pickups, and a driver to take you anywhere.
“Within a couple of days, we can design a bespoke trip within the budget clients have to work with,” said Carter.
McCool hired a travel agent for his latest Ireland trip with his family. “The agent specializes in Ireland. It might have taken me four or five or 10 hours to do it myself, so I thought using the agent was a good tradeoff.”
When interviewing potential advisors, ask how they get compensated, what their expertise is in the kind of trip you’re hoping for, and which money-saving deals or perks they’d provide.
“Their hotel rates are not always the most favorable,” said Saunders. However, the advisor can likely snag hotel goodies like room upgrades, free breakfasts, $100 spa credits, or a bottle of champagne in your room.
The Andrew Harper agency says its members save an average of $1,100 per four-night stay because of the perks they receive. The agency’s annual memberships are $250 or $395, but the company may soon offer a $3,000 concierge annual membership with dedicated teams.
Consortiums like Virtuoso, Travel Leaders, and Signature Travel Network typically have partnerships with hotels and cruises, cluing them into discounts or deals unavailable to mere mortals.
Upscale boutique agencies often get breaks for chichi lodging.
“We have a subset of 330 hotels called Q Club that are usually smaller and more unique, hideaway-type properties we have visited that provide special experiences and value-adds to our members,” said Jones of Andrew Harper. His agency also holds weekly auctions for members featuring four to seven hotels, resorts, or cruises, typically going for around 60% of retail value.
The advisors can share insider tips to let you avoid unpleasant experiences. “You may know you want to stay at a certain hotel, but the advisor may know of construction happening there,” said George.
Sometimes, advisors can get you into popular spots you can’t on your own.
“Last year, the Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam was sold out months in advance. We called the museum for a guest and said, “How can we make it happen?” said George. His agency then bought a $150 annual membership to the museum, allowing it to buy the Vermeer ticket for the traveler.
Working With a Travel Advisor
Once you’ve found an advisor, tell them how much you want to spend on the trip, where you want to go, and how you want to manage your time. A good agent will take all this information as a starting point to begin collaborating.
“Someone may come in thinking they want one thing, but it turns out they may want something completely different,” said George. “That’s where you advise them saying, ‘Well, maybe this is a better match for what you’re looking to do.’”
A great advisor said Jones, also “gives the traveler permission to challenge the itinerary.”
Bialek ended up with the Sicily trip she and her husband hoped for through that type of conversation with their advisor.
“He gave us an outline and a price and said, ‘This is the trip.’ And we said: ‘We want to see more cities. We don’t need to sit on a beach,’” said Bialek. “And he came up with a whole new plan. It turned out perfectly.”
You may want to hire a travel advisor just for advice on some parts of your trip — like which neighborhood is best for an Airbnb or Vrbo stay — and then to book the other parts. Similarly, McCool said you could secure a hotel room or flight using your points, letting the advisor handle your other arrangements.
If you’ll take a guided tour and plan to spend a few days in the location beforehand to get acclimated, a travel advisor “is going to be great helping you find fun stuff to do during those days,” said DaSilva.
In short, the advisor’s job is to make your vacation as perfect as possible for you.
Said George: “We often ask our travelers: ‘How do you want to feel when you’re on the trip and after you come back? And how can we manage those goals so we can put together the best trip for you?’”
