A successful travel experience requires knowledge to ensure that all the components gel seamlessly and there is no unnecessary hassle. This page will provide you with useful tips and information to help make your journey or holiday stress free from the moment you make your booking to the day that you return safely home after an enjoyable trip.

 

A WORD OF WARNING

Given the current economic situation it is important that you protect yourself from potential financial loss caused by the failure of the travel company, airline or other supplier to whom you have made advance payment. Whilst an ABTA/IATA/ATOL licence will provide you with some peace of mind the surest way of ensuring a return of your monies is to pay the supplier (NOT a third party) directly with a credit card as currently any purchase over £100 is protected - this is a loophole in the law that doesn't exist outside of the UK but expect it to be closed soon as the financial institutions reel from the massive claims that will result from the failures. In the meantime if you want to assure yourself of proper protection I recommend you either visit www.protectmyholiday.com or purchase one of the few travel insurance policies that include financial failure protection although in both cases read the small print.

 

THE BENEFIT OF USING A TRAVEL AGENT/CONSULTANT RATHER THAN DIY 

On September 11, 2001 hundreds of thousands of travellers across the world suddenly had their travel plans disrupted by the WTC attacks. Fortunately at that time many were able to turn to their travel advisors for help with making alternative arrangements and/or obtaining refunds. Seven years on the growth of DIY travel through the internet means that a similar situation would result in those same people struggling to resolve their problem because they would have no one to turn to who could offer them a quick solution as the site through which they booked would not have sufficient people to cope with the workload and inevitably those people would not be as caring, skilled or experienced travel agents. This point was brought home to many on the 7th anniversary of 911 by a fire in the Channel tunnel which disrupted the plans of tens of thousands of travellers with Eurostar and Eurotunnel who were all shown in the media desperately using their mobiles and the internet to try and resolve their immediate problem finding only engaged tones, wrong numbers and quite probably in their desperation paying either inflated prices or worse still having to abandon their trip. The smart ones had made their arrangements through a personal travel consultant and simply had to make one call to pass the responsibility to someone who could resolve their problem and reduce their stress. Similarly, a day later, when the UK's third largest tour operator was placed in administration tens of thousands of people were suddenly left without holidays and faced with the prospect of finding someone who could help them and hours if not days trying to make contact by phone. DIY certainly has its appeal and benefits but those who work with and respect a travel consultant's role will be the happiest and more confident travellers.

 

One of the reasons I left the industry was the growing band of people who would seek my advice and recommendations and then book online to save themselves a few pounds or, worse still, those clients who had not even given me their enquiry, had made a booking that had gone wrong and then had the gall to ask me to help them! I have been accustomed to working on low margins and to rewarding my employees well for their efforts thus leaving myself with a relatively meagre income in relation to the hours I spent working but today, whilst I will still put myself out to help people, I expect to be rewarded for my own efforts and experience.