Booking : Online Vs. Travel Agency

Booking your vacation online can reap huge benefits in comparison to booking with a travel agent; it gives you the opportunity to plan exactly what you want to do whilst visiting a holiday destination and gives you the freedom to create your own itinerary without the pressure of a resort style associate holiday.

Whilst there are some benefits to travel agencies you have to be willing to pay for their extra ´expertise´ and why would you do that when you have the world of reviews at your feet with Google and other search engines?

In this article I will explain all the benefits of booking your holiday apartments, flights and entertainment online rather than in one package with a travel agent.

Online booking has allowed administration fees to be slashed, as all of the work is being done by complicated booking systems – and this makes it much cheaper to book online. Air travel companies can now make sure that every seat on their plane is filled by offering discounts and likewise with apartments and hotels.

It has also increased competition, as using the internet now offers an amazingly quick comparison between companies, which increasingly is pushing down the prices of apartments, car hire, flights and much more (book flights well in advance to secure the cheapest deals).

The freedom to book the best apartment in your price range has been a huge draw to holiday makers with more than seven in ten people booking their holidays exclusively online and with the added clarity of the internet it is east to put your trust in secure online bookings – and know that your money is safe!

Booking online saves a considerable amount of time and gets you the holiday that you really want rather than a pre-planned resort style holiday. Nowadays it is as easy as clicking a few buttons to book a flight or a holiday apartment, and you can do this all from the comfort of your own home or even at work!

Compared to travel agents, booking online gives you the freedom to browse through thousands of holiday apartments at your leisure and most of these have been reviewed by previous visitors – meaning that you don’t have to trust that a high-street travel agent really does have your best interests at heart!

One downside to booking with a physical travel agency is that they take away the option of adventure and excitement from your holiday, with a set itinerary of things to do whilst at your resort you won´t really experience the country you are in!

If you want to make your holiday exciting and have a real experience, booking your own rental from recommendations of friends or online reviews can be the best way to get off the beaten path and into the cultural mix! After all isn’t that why you are travelling abroad anyway?

John has worked in the travel industry for over 20 years and worked in over a dozen countries. John also works offering vacation accommodation in Porto for visitors to Portugal. John also loves to read travel books and enjoys listening to jazz music.