it depends - you are in the US so you probably are getting the best rates through the Ritz....I got better rates through a TA than from my hotel directly in Puerto Vallarta though - it makes no sense I know...and the hotel would not meet the travel agent rates. I would go ahead and just get a couple TA quotes though - you never know - maybe they could get better rates for your guests, like mine did.
As far as flights - we aren't using the TA for flights - everyone is just booking direct through the airlines since they had better rates than the TA.