What is a travel agent supposed to do?!?

CantWait! · November 25, 2008

Hi ladies,

Can you please share what you used your travel agent for in the planning stages?

I may have misunderstood the purpose of a TA, since I've never used one before, but I was hoping she/he would help me find the best place (Caribbean location and property) that best suits our needs. So far, I've done all the leg work/research to try to figure out places and resorts. We've asked for more guidance, but we're getting nothing. Am I simply unrealistic in my understanding of what I thought a TA could offer us in the early planning stages?

Feeling a bit defeated...as we've gone back and forth between Jamaica, Playa del Carmen, Cancun....you name it.

Thanks for your help and advice.

Kari

TammyWright · November 25, 2008

well, they are there to help you but if you are a bride that is all over the place it can be really hard to sort of get you focused. (i'm not saying you are because i don't know your situation).

you may want to do a little soul searching and figure out with your fiance where you want to get married (at least what country) and your price range and then contact a TA.

CantWait! · November 26, 2008

I knew I'd get a little misunderstood by my post...but that's my fault for not being more clear. When we started with one TA, we were fine going with Jamaica. She told us that was the best island for us. Then she only priced out one option on the entire island and fought me tooth and nail when I asked for other alternatives so I could compare. When I pushed her a bit more, I discovered that she had a very close relationship with the resort she was pushing, and I can only assume was just looking for a commission and didn't care at all about us or what we were looking for.

So we switched to another TA, who told us that Riviera Maya would be better for us because of the travel options (so many of our group was coming from all over the US that it was easier to get to). Okay, so we could live with that. She asked that I go out to tripadvisor -- which I had already started doing -- and see if anything looked appealing in the Cancun area. I actually relied more on the great advice from this website, and said that Moon Palace seemed to be a great idea. Anything along those lines would be great. So that's what I got...packages for Moon Palace, and that's it. No other alternatives, nothing to compare against.

Sorry...I'm just needing to vent and thankfully, this was very helpful!!

Thanks!

TammyWright · November 26, 2008

well, i would really look at wedding packages and where you want to get married...because i know that if i am set on getting married at dreams cabo, rates for riu are not going to really matter to me.

sometimes if a bride says she wants a certain location, like cabo, and wants to be in a certain price range i will give her options of 4 or 5 locations and tell her the pros and cons of each...like, this resort is a little more expensive than the others but has top shelf liquor and wedding costs are lower...this resort is less expensive but is a party resort....etc.

if you told your TA that you want to get married at moon palace there is no reason that she would give you packages for other resorts.

CantWait! · November 26, 2008

Tammy, I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand. That's okay though.

JenniferSS · November 26, 2008

Wow!I was speechless- I can not believe that a TA would do that-I'm sorry but truly a professional travel agent would never send a client to tripadvisor and tell them to pick a destination wedding property based on the reviews! Nor would they push for one resort because of their relationship with them- I love Sandals & Beaches, I have an amazing relationship with them however they are not the best choice for every couple I assist.

Basically, with a March 2009 wedding you really need a travel agent advisor that is familiar with destination weddings and can quickly narrow down the properties that fit what you envision and your budget and start finding out if there is wedding availability !

Generally either destination would work out well- Riviera Maya may be a little better if you have a lot of people coming from the West Coast but the advantage really isn't that much greater overall to a DW in Jamaica!