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Why would anyone use a travel agent?

38,264 5,374 March 14, 2018 at 05:14 AM
Any more?

I hear ads for TA's on the radio.... and I think.... these people are still in business? One ad proclaimed "we don't charge extra fees". Well no shit. When I can book any hotel, airline, rental car, etc in the world from my cell phone, why in the hell am I going to walk into a travel agency?
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Dr. J Pro
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Joined Aug 2005
Baldilocks
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emelvee
03-14-2018 at 05:42 AM.
03-14-2018 at 05:42 AM.
Maybe people that don't want to take the time to search various sites and do the work themselves. It kind of depends on how much you value your free time.

Personally, there's no way I'd pay for a TA...I figure I can find at least as good a deal as they could. That was my experience when we worked with TAs at my job many years ago. I enjoy shopping for the best value, whether it's travel or just about anything else.
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User339811
03-14-2018 at 06:00 AM.
03-14-2018 at 06:00 AM.
Hollywood peoplekind use it.
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Fallacy
03-14-2018 at 06:29 AM.
03-14-2018 at 06:29 AM.
It depends. Some TA can actually get you better deals than what you can find on Expedia. They get a commission from the Airlines/Hotels/Etc. just like Expedia does. But they can reduce their commission and pass it on as savings to you.
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Life = YMMV
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teenbean
03-14-2018 at 07:21 AM.
03-14-2018 at 07:21 AM.
I know when I was researching cruises, I read that people would use a TA because they could get an extra perk, like credit on the ship or a gift basket in their room.
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Last edited by teenbean March 14, 2018 at 07:25 AM.
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FlashX83
03-14-2018 at 07:57 AM.
03-14-2018 at 07:57 AM.
Quote from Dr. J :
I hear ads for TA's on the radio....
People still listen to the radio?

Bet you don't hear any ads for travel agents on Pandora. All about knowing your market. Cool
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Jambi-rific in Seattle!
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Zoe Moon
03-14-2018 at 09:06 AM.
03-14-2018 at 09:06 AM.
People who aren't internet savvy, I have a relative who travels often and still uses a travel agent.
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Novakingwai
03-14-2018 at 09:24 AM.
03-14-2018 at 09:24 AM.
Quote from Dr. J :

I hear ads on the radio....
Who uses radio anymore? You're stuck listening to what someone else picks. With Google Play I can listen commercial free, download entire albums, skip songs as many times as I want, from any where in the world. Don't have to worry about tuning to different stations in different areas. Can't believe in this world of cell phones that radio stations still exist.
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Fallacy
03-14-2018 at 10:43 AM.
03-14-2018 at 10:43 AM.
Quote from Novakingwai :
Who uses radio anymore? You're stuck listening to what someone else picks. With Google Play I can listen commercial free, download entire albums, skip songs as many times as I want, from any where in the world. Don't have to worry about tuning to different stations in different areas. Can't believe in this world of cell phones that radio stations still exist.
How much does Google pay you to advertise their shitty radio service?
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Novakingwai
03-14-2018 at 11:19 AM.
03-14-2018 at 11:19 AM.
Quote from Fallacy :
How much does Google pay you to advertise their shitty radio service?
I actually enjoy it. You can skip, download, stream to your heart's desire. Or you can get radio, listen to the DJ's personal life, 5 commercials about a huge car overstock sale, and other generic ads, then maybe listen to a song you like.
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Fallacy
03-14-2018 at 11:39 AM.
03-14-2018 at 11:39 AM.
Quote from Novakingwai :
I actually enjoy it. You can skip, download, stream to your heart's desire. Or you can get radio, listen to the DJ's personal life, 5 commercials about a huge car overstock sale, and other generic ads, then maybe listen to a song you like.
There are other better alternatives to Google Play. It's not Google Play vs. radio, where Google play likely wins. It's Google Play vs. other streaming services, where Google Play often loses.
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Jambi-rific in Seattle!
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Zoe Moon
03-14-2018 at 11:58 AM.
03-14-2018 at 11:58 AM.
Quote from Fallacy :
There are other better alternatives to Google Play. It's not Google Play vs. radio, where Google play likely wins. It's Google Play vs. other streaming services, where Google Play often loses.
This ^^^
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Dr. J
03-14-2018 at 11:58 AM.
03-14-2018 at 11:58 AM.
Quote from Novakingwai :
Who uses radio anymore? You're stuck listening to what someone else picks. With Google Play I can listen commercial free, download entire albums, skip songs as many times as I want, from any where in the world. Don't have to worry about tuning to different stations in different areas. Can't believe in this world of cell phones that radio stations still exist.

I mostly listen to (local) talk radio.
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User1858048
03-14-2018 at 03:58 PM.
03-14-2018 at 03:58 PM.
Quote from Novakingwai :
Who uses radio anymore? You're stuck listening to what someone else picks. With Google Play I can listen commercial free, download entire albums, skip songs as many times as I want, from any where in the world. Don't have to worry about tuning to different stations in different areas. Can't believe in this world of cell phones that radio stations still exist.
There are two radio stations that come in without static/cutting out where I am, so there isn't much tuning around if something comes on I don't like. One country, one Christian (never listened to that one). The country station is on any time I'm in a vehicle, and occasionally in the tractor. They cover local news (vs. on the sat. tv having news from 150 miles away), emergency situations like weather, event announcements, county court, obituaries, etc. I don't listen to sports, but they carry all of the area high school games. Every weekday they have a call in classified show, sometimes free stuff on there too. It's free to advertise anything under $30, and anything over $30 (no matter how much over $30), is around $3, businesses advertising I think costs around $12 or so. People call in and comment on there too, some just talk too. Every month there's a call in show (statewide) that you can talk to the governor about things.

They also occasionally work with the area travel agent to put together trips, like to concerts (bus ride), or flight.

If I just want music, sure I'll do ~some Amazon music, but I don't much. Around the place, many areas don't have cell service at all, so I pre-download stuff. I guess I just prefer the radio. The people that work there are nice, and decent people to have a conversation with when you see them around.
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handyguy
03-14-2018 at 04:09 PM.
03-14-2018 at 04:09 PM.
Mine charges a $30 fee, found a great price for me, as soon as I cam e back to pay for it, it was 'lost.' Some agencies have special travel packages for locals. Expledia also lost my flight. If you buy from Expledia you can't upgrade at the counter.
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