A UK Chartered Accountant with over 40yrs of international travel and over 25yrs in the travel industry. Editor of http://www.thetravelinsider.net and developer of the TopTravelVoucher service at http://www.toptravelsites.com
Savvy travellers or travelers, when in need of information relating to specific destinations or activities, seek out travel agents with knowledge, experience and expertise of those destinations and activities.
It is not always easy choosing a travel agent. Many agents are called specialists, but sometimes the qualification to be a specialist is a simple test run by a tourism office or tour operator. Sometimes, these tests do not require the agent to have 'been there, done that, got the t-shirt.' Some of these tests are too simple and could harm the reputation of the travel industry if allowed to continue unchecked. A 'specialist' can mean, 'I know the brochure product' or 'I have seen a training video' or 'I have taken a test given by a Tourism Office.'
If you find a specialist, ask about their expertise. Ask them if they or their colleagues have any direct knowledge, experience and expertise of where you want to go and what you want to do, after all, it is your hard-earned money.
Experts are out there. Find them locally or use the internet and then do your bookings with them. You may have to use different experts for different destinations and activities, just as you would select any other professional for accounting, legal, medical or mechanical matters, except in your lifetime you will probably (or hopefully) spend more on travel than all of the others put together.
Reality Check: “I once tried a major chain of travel centres to get 2 tickets to Mexico from Canada. I was only offered 2 airlines. I then used an internet search and came up with 5 airlines and made my bookings online. Perhaps the travel centre did not earn commission or was not able to charge a fee for the booking or did not want an 'air only' booking or did they only offer their 'preferred products' which limits client choices?” The Nomad
If you do not need an expert agent you can use the internet to find all kinds of global travel choices and then you can make your booking directly with an online agent or travel operator. If you decide to make your own bookings directly with the travel operator you should not have to pay the full retail price which has a built-in amount for commissions to be paid to sellers of their travel products. Retail agencies that have their own in-house tour products which are sold through other agencies should also be prepared to sell at a net price for a direct booking from a consumer.
It is only fair that agents and agencies earn commissions and fees from travel providers such as hotels, lodges, tours, cruises or mark up their own tour products to allow for a third-party sale. They all have overheads which have to be covered to give local consumers the convenience of local shopping and it is important to support your local businesses as long as they offer excellent pricing and service. At the same time, it is only fair that consumers who make their own bookings directly with travel operators should not have to incur this extra cost. Fair fare prices should be available for consumers who want to handle their own direct bookings.
If you are comfortable with dealing over the internet directly with the travel providers and you want to get fair fare prices you can check out a travel website that was launched in April 2008 that, for members only, offers free travel vouchers that saves them the commission or fee elements in retail travel prices. The site offers thousands of travel vouchers for travel in over 70 countries ranging from simple B&B accommodations to complex adventure travel, all at net of commission prices. This travel site is operated by an online travel club that does not sell travel or make reservations and all monies therefore, are handled directly between the members and the travel operators.
The internet has just about everything a traveller or even a traveler could want, whereas agents and agencies can only offer limited selections of brochures from travel providers and operators. There are thousands of travel businesses that never get to see the inside of a travel agency or brochure, but they would still be prepared to pay commissions to sellers of their products. This online travel club allows travel businesses to promote their products and services at no cost except the requirement to issue travel vouchers that represent the normal commissions and fees in the retail price. 100% of these savings are then passed on to members who do their own direct bookings. As a member, all travel vouchers are free but if you do not want to join there is an associated website that sells the same travel vouchers without requiring a membership fee.
A tip from the website. When you make your own direct bookings, do make sure that the time in the time-zone that you are calling is appropriate as “it is embarrassing to wake up a Greek Sea Captain at one in the morning somewhere in the Greek Islands to discuss their listing.” The Nomad at The Top Travel Club.
This site is continually adding new travel selections and as long as you are comfortable and prepared to be a D.I.Y. Traveller or D.I.Y. Traveler over the web, you might find some interesting trips and adventures, some of which are not readily available elsewhere.
In closing, I hope you find the little bits of attempted English language humour humorous and as I consider myself 1 L of a Traveler, I say 2 L with travellers but at last I am happy to have found a web travel centre centered around saving me money. Apologies to both Websters and Oxford dictionaries.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A




Rejuvenate yourself in a Balckpool hotel
By: Matthew Lincoln | 04/12/2009All Blackpool hotels are constructed in traditional Victorian style and exhibit an elegant beauty and complexity. Blackpool guest house and hotels have beautifully decorated rooms which offer basic and modern facilities like color television, central heating system, tea-coffee making machine, hair dryer and ironing facilities.
Do not allow schedule management to spoil your trip
By: Ryan Fyfe | 04/12/2009When planning a holiday there are many people who like to plan almost every minute of the trip. They will devise a schedule and then much of their focus during the holiday will be managing this schedule. Each day will have a list of activities jammed..
Save Money in Waikiki - Cheap Eats That Won't Break The Wallet
By: chris rubenstein | 04/12/2009This is a great guide that I developed in the interest of sharing the tips we discovered on our vacation in Hawaii. We list some great local restaurants that won't kill your wallet!
5 Best nightclubs in Rome, Italy
By: James Burrows | 03/12/2009If you have scheduled a trip to Rome and are eager to sample some of the city’s nightlife, then you are sure to have the time of your life as Rome plays host to a large number of nightclubs, lounges, bars, cafes and restaurants. The people of Rome know how to party and their nightclubs are based on this ideology of entertainment and pleasure. Here is a list of the top five nightclubs in the city.
Essential Elements of a Luxury Barbados Vacation
By: Denise McCarthy | 03/12/2009If you're planning a vacation in Barbados you may as well go all out and plan a luxury Barbados vacation. After all you're going to the tropics, so why not get the whole experience and take the Caribbean vacation of your dreams.
Create Your Own Vacation Experience
By: moussa | 03/12/2009Vacation ideas may be something that come to you easily when . . .
Modern maps make planning a holiday easy
By: Ryan Fyfe | 03/12/2009When it comes to technology we really live in fortunate times. The availability of maps online makes planning a trip so much easier. With applications like Google Earth or Google maps you can know get a far better idea about how to plan your holidays..
Things To Do In San Francisco
By: Rick Lockwood | 03/12/2009This article maps out great things to see and do in San Francisco. Make the most of a trip to San Francisco check out this cool article for tips.
Is Australia a Questionable Destination?
By: Anthony Francis | 19/11/2008 | TravelA humorous look at Australian place names.
Pay for Performance (p4p) Advertising
By: Anthony Francis | 10/11/2008 | Online PromotionBusiness and Advertisers should partner to enable expanded business advertising when payment is based on the results of the ads (sales).
Truth in Travel Pricing
By: Anthony Francis | 02/11/2008 | Travel TipsTravel advertising needs to be more honest and adhere to higher standards of truthful pricing. There should be minimal need for any extra small print regarding the selling price of land, sea and air travfel. Europe is improving traveller protections in 2009 and the rest of the world should follow.
How to Reduce Search Engine Importance for Small Biz
By: Anthony Francis | 17/10/2008 | Small BusinessSmall business owners should network and syndicate with other like-minded businesses to join or create an internet directory that sends qualified prospects directly to their own websites.
D.i.y. Travel Should Save You Money
By: Anthony Francis | 28/09/2008 | Travel TipsAn online travel club offering free travel vouchers to members for travel in over 70 countries as long as members book their own travel directly with operators listed on TheTopTravelClub.com
Travel at Cost Prices not Retail Prices
By: Anthony Francis | 04/12/2007 | Travel TipsWhen booking directly with travel operators travelers should not pay the full retail price but a price net of commissions.
Please Communicate in English
By: Anthony Francis | 03/10/2007 | Travel TipsA humorous approach to travelers and travellers who have problems with the English language even if it is their own language.