Top 5 Reasons You Should Use a Travel Agent

(upbeat jazzy music) – Hello, and thank y'all for joining us on another Legacy Travel Top Five video.

And this time, we aretalking about reasons or ways to work with a travel advisor.

When I did this list, I did it specifically onLegacy Travel advisors, but it could be that ortravel advisors in general.

And so, today, we'vegot Leslie back with us, and this is Lori's first one.

Lori is a sales manager.

– Oh! It's your first one?- For us here at Legacy Travel.

So with that in mind, I'm gonna kick us off.

– Yeah, please.

– With this.

– All right, go for it.

– Football seasonkickoff, that kinda thing.

– I get it, I get it.

– Okay, so my numberfive is, I hate the word, especially with us, 'cause we're not gonna be thecheapest option or cheaper, anything like that.

You don't wanna go to the cheapest doctor, the cheapest lawyer, youwanna go to the best one.

But a lot of times, workingwith one of my advisors is gonna save you money in the long run.

And there's several reasons for that.

They're gonna know the areas, know where to get thebest bang for their buck.

Also, for some of the tripswe book, especially cruises, we have a process to where we're continuallychecking the price, even after you booked.

The advisor will geta notification saying, hey, that trip went down, and then we go into negotiation mode.

We go to the tour operatoror the cruise line and we try to figure out what we can do to get the lower price.

Sometimes, it's money back.

Usually, they resist that, they try to give maybeon-board credit or an upgrade, something like that.

But anyway, workingwith one of my advisors, well, typically, probablygonna save us money in the long run but wedon't really advertise that 'cause we don't wanna be considered cheap.

What's your number five? – My number five isthat we're here with you every step of the way.

A lot of people think thatonce the sale is done, you're done with us, whichthat is not the case, that we are here with you before, during, and after travel, 24/7.

Now, it may not be me with you 24/7.

There may be a 24/7number that you contact, but we have someone withyou every step of the way, every step of the process.

And that's not to say if you book your tripfor next December now, obviously, I'm not gonnaemail or call you every day, but if you have questions, comments, concerns, I am here to answer thoseevery step of the way.

And then closer to travel, we're more in contact, we check in with you during travel, so it's not just like a thesale is done and we're done.

We are here every stepof the entire process.

– And let me jump in on that.

Right now, when thisvideo is being recorded, our after-hours number that we use, it is actually my wife'scell phone number.

(Leslie laughing) So this isn't some third-partyrandom call center.

You're getting the vicepresident of the company.

You're getting somebody thatknows what they're doing, and also, call forreally important reasons.

If it can wait until morning, wait until morning, please.

What is your number five? – I took a little bit different approach with just my number five, and I'm gonna say things that our travel advisors wish you knew would be to get insurance, travel insurance to protect yourself.

Nobody ever thinks thatanything is gonna go wrong and it's gonna be the vacationof their life and all that, and we fully, fully expect that to happen.

But the truth of the matter is, every once in a while, things come up, and so we just want what's best for you.

Little things like, say, you're traveling in Europe and you fall down somesteps and break your leg or your ankle, or whatever it is.

(everyone laughs)Sorry.

(everyone laughs) – I have a broken ankle right now.

– What do you do? People don't think that through.

So protect yourselfbecause we wanna make sure it's the best experience possible and that's for your protection as well.

– Yeah, it's always a little awkward, 'cause we feel like travelinsurance is so important, but the way we talk about it is, there's no way to talk about it where you're not making it sound like– – Exactly.

– A after-warranty thing.

– Terrible things, yes.

– That we're all trying to avoid.

This is something they're just trying to protect the client on.

It's a little bit of a pain on our side so we'd love to get thatproblem away entirely.

We never, don't sell insurance again and no one ever got hurt, but that's not reality.

Can you kick us off for number four? – Yes.

Number four, we build relationships.

– Oh! (laughs) (Lori laughing)- Yes.

So what I love about that isthat if you're going somewhere and it's your honeymoon, anniversary, or you just haven't been outof the country in a year, we'd like to let the resorts know that, that you're coming, thatyou're our special clients, that you're traveling with Legacy Travel.

Because I tell my clients all the time, if I don't hear a wordfrom you on destination, that is a successful trip because it means things are going right, you're having a great time, you're not checking your email, you're just enjoying yourself.

So that's the goal.

We wanna set everything up, make sure the resort knows you're coming, make sure they knowwhat you're celebrating.

So having built thoserelationships with suppliers, with hoteliers, it's really important, especially while you're traveling.

Because yeah, it just helpsus get the word across that our clients are coming, and they just hope you have a really good time in destination.

– And the reason that I chuckled'cause you brought it up is that one thing that I say, I believe my team will say ad nauseum, is that I see this is arelationship business.

We're at Stephanie's, we're talking to them, on top of this relationships is I probably get 11 or 12 eye rolls (ladies laughing)at the same time because they're so sickof hearing me saying that.

– Oh no.

– Never.

– But anyway, it warms myheart to hear you bring it up.

Miss Lori, what you got for number four? – My number four was Leslie's number five, and that is that our travel advisors are available before, during, and after you trip.

There's so many things thatcome up every step of the way, and they're here for you, and we make it very easy.

We have texting, emails.

Everybody works together in the office so even when the advisor isn't here, we have people that are here.

And like Phillip said, if nothing else, then Kathy's on the endof the call as well.

So that's my number four.

– Fantastic.

Mine is going to be, I'vealready forgotten it, gonna look at it, oh yeah.

Actually, it's about you.

– Oh dear! (ladies laughing) – So whenever we have avacation happen, a trip happen, Lori is usually the onethat's gonna call you and say, how did things go? What was the good, the bad, the ugly? What worked? What didn't work? And we're honestly very interested in how this affected you, and that is the primaryreason of the call.

At the same time, she's entering thatinformation into our database.

Every month, my advisors geta report that they go over that shows all the trips thattraveled the previous month.

Well maybe, a monthly report, and it shows the feedbackof what was said, the beginning of it.

They can click on it to get the full thing if they need more details.

But it's listed by the name of the trip.

So it's usually gonna be the hotel name, the cruise ship name, that kinda stuff.

So they are getting feedback for all the trips thathappened at Legacy Travel, and it keeps them up-to-dateon what's working, what's not working.

And it is typical.

You may have a really strongresort that's doing great, management changes, all of a sudden, we start getting bad reports, and my advisors get the data on it and then they start cooling that resort and say, okay, that'snot the one for us to do.

Or we contact the resort andfind out what's happening.

But these guys are reading the feedback on every single trip that goes, every one that we get feedback from.

So when you get the call fromLori, give her your feedback.

If you got a message from her, text her, email her, and callher to give some feedback 'cause it helps all of us with that.

And now, it's number three.

But before we go to number three, let's get this week's travel hack.

(Leslie speaks in foreign language) – I'm Leslie, and I'm here at the fabulous NamaleResort and Spa in Fiji.

And my specialties are Australia, Disney, destination weddings, honeymoons, and group traveling.

One travel hack that Ifind extremely useful is always having an externalphone battery with me.

You never know when you'renot gonna have an outlet, your phone's dead, or maybeyou're in another country where the outlets andthe chargers don't match.

Having extra battery to poweryour phone is so helpful.

Also, at night or during the day, when you do find a charger andan outlet that work together, you can plug this into that, and then your phone into this so you're charging the battery and your phone at the same time.

Hope this helps in your future adventures.

See you later! Bye.

– All right, we're back.

(Leslie and Lori laughing) So number three.

And Lori, you wanna kickus off at number three? – Yes.

My number three is, and this is straight frommy husband, actually.

He's like, “My time is valuable.

” (Lori and Phillip laughing) So your time is valuable, and this is our livelihood that this is what we do, we live and breathe it, so don't stress yourself out trying to do something on your own, and you can easily getburned in the process.

Let us do it for you.

Not get burned, but help you out.

(laughs) – Yeah, we do it every day.

And so things that may take alot of research on your end, my guys may know it offthe top of their head.

So yeah, that's a good point.

Time is valuable.

Time is a thing that I havethe most difficulty giving up.

It's something I'm veryborderline stingy with.

Mine is, well, in this day and age, you've got a segment of the bookings that are booked through, let's say, one of the big online travel companies.

You have some that arebooked directly to supplier, some that book with travel advisors.

It's very interesting.

With us, these cruise lines, these general managers of properties, they don't want to make my guys angry.

And the deal is that when they're dealing with the big online travelagency, they've got a contract.

And so, if X happens, Y is a result.

And if they're oversold, theywill walk their passenger, and they only have to provide them XYZ.

It's all in the contract, there's no emotion, there's nothing in there, there are no repercussions.

It's all spread out black and white.

Not the case with my guys.

And my guys, like I said earlier, they will tend to, based on feedback, steer our customers different places based on how the resort's performing.

So these general managers, theydon't want the human contact of getting a call from Lesliesaying, what are you doing? Why are you messing with my client? – 'Cause I will.

(Leslie and Lori laughing) – And I have talked toso many general managers, and they're like, wait, we're oversold.

It's either the directbooking that's getting locked or it's gonna be the online travel agent, 'cause they don't care.

It's a contract.

I have to give them what webelieve is an equitable room at some other property.

But with a travel advisor, good gosh, no, 'cause I am gonna hear about it, and then I gotta try towin their business back.

So just know that ifthings aren't going well, my advisors or Lori or Kathy are really jumping on the general managers or the cruise lines about it, and they take it serious 'cause they know that we move business based on how they're performing.

So my advisors are very nice people.

Don't get on their bad side if you're a general manageror a cruise line person 'cause they take defendingtheir customers very seriously.

What's your number three?- My number three, when using an advisor, Ithink it's healthy to know that we actually visit theplaces that we're sending you.

Now, I'm not saying I'vebeen all over the world, 'cause it's a big world out there, but if I haven't been somewhere, then one of my colleagues has, or another colleague has, and it's a very big teamatmosphere in this office.

So when I have a client, arepeat client that comes to me and they wanna go somewherewhere I personally haven't been, they can obviously chooseto use another specialist who's been to that destination, or, since I know you as my client, I can get with my colleague, go over some important factors about what you're looking for, and then I can present youwith the best options for you.

So I think it's important to know that we actually do get out and we travel.

It's required from our bosses.

They like to send us places so that we are giving youthe best possible vacation, we're sending you to the destinations that fit what you're looking for, and we're not just pickingout of a hat randomly and saying, this is where you should go.

So I think that's reallyimportant to know.

– And as the one that makes the budgets and exceed the budgets sometimes, I also have opportunity that I consult with other agency owners.

Legacy Travel spends aninordinate amount of money sending our people places.

The goal is to send someone to three to five destinations a year, three to five trips a year, and that number's gonna vary based on the type of trip it is.

The bigger the trip, you may go down to threetrips at that point.

But now, we think veryseriously the best way to get knowledge is to go by yourself so we spend a lot on that.

So now, we're at number two, and this is gonna be a little bit boring, 'cause it's the same thing you did.

(Leslie laughing) They consult with each other, and you're not getting just one of them.

It is really interesting to me, for people who have been in our office, it's like an open office spread where we don't have cubicles, everybody can hear everybody, and that's the way I want it.

And sometimes, I just sit back and listen to the amount of travel knowledge that's thrown around between them.

They don't even realize, it's like getting amaster's class in travel just by sitting in the office, hearing them throw around, well, do this, don't do that.

I'm going to this Hawaii, and I'll pass this Hawaiian island.

Anybody know the GM at this place? They're throwing information all the time.

So Leslie, 100% correct.

If you're getting one, you're getting all of 'em.

I think this probably is a good strategy to maybe sticking withthe advisor that you know and let them consult with the Hawaii, the York specialist, whoever it is, but it's your call, eitherway you wanna do it, it's fine with us.

But yeah, if you get oneof 'em, you get all of 'em.

Your number two.

– My number two? So Lori mentionedearlier we save you time, and it's not necessarily justduring the booking process.

Although, we do save you a lot of time, because you can spend, I dunno about you, but I go down the black holeof the internet sometimes and I don't even know how I got there.

So sometimes, that can happen with travel, if you click on one siteand it takes you another.

So we don't want that for you.

You bring to us what you needand what you're looking for, and we take care of the rest, from putting the package together to suggesting the right destinations.

But it's not even afterthe trip is booked.

It's sending you packingtips and travel reminders and last-minute reminders, how to check in for your flight, what to remember during traveling.

Call your credit card company.

So it's saving you all that time.

Also, you mentioned stress.

Not just during the booking process, but even once you're booked, we save you time in the whole process of leading up to your trip and taking it.

So I think that's huge becauseI don't know about you, but my time is very valuable, and I like to think yours is too so I think saving you time is invaluable.

– I agree.

– You're gonna be shockedto hear my number two.

– Oh! Bouncing down? – It's a relationship business.

– (laughs) Wow, a relationship business! Wow! I'm getting a little misty.

(everyone laughs) – It's the meds.

(Phillip laughing) – But what I will add to it is– – Unfortunately, I don't have any.

– Besides just our relationshipthat we have with hotels and we have it with suppliers, with tour operators, with experts, that's a huge, huge advantage.

Experts that are in this profession that we can just gainknowledge from and helps us.

We have business managers that come by the office all the time and tell us all the motionsgoing on with their companies, with their new products.

We're hearing it firsthand, and then we have arelationship with those people.

So it just really is to your advantage just the kind ofrelationships that we have.

– It's a special day, I'm just– (Lori and Leslie laughing) What's your number one? – My number one, bottom line, covering everything we've already covered is we want what's best for you.

A lot of people have the misconception that we're gonna steer youone direction or another based on numbers or sales.

That is not the case.

If we're suggesting travel insurance, it's because it's what's best for you.

If it's maybe travelingduring a different season, maybe outside of hurricane season, or during hurricane seasonto another destination, it's because it's what's best for you.

I think that that's what, in my mind, it always comes down to what'sgonna serve you as a client and make you happy at the end of the day and make your vacation a success.

So that's bottom line number one is we're always in itfor what's best for you.

– Very nice.

Your number one.

– My number one is our advisorsare very well-traveled.

Like Phillip said, we all go on three tofive-ish trips a year.

But when you think about it, everybody in our office, we'resharing what we've learned.

We're highlighting everything.

We're letting you knowthe dos and the don'ts.

It's like we've all traveled.

Like this year alone, we've had Australia andFiji and Iceland and Cuba and Europe all over the place, and Africa.

I mean, it's like we'veall been there this year because somebody in the office has.

Not to mention the normal Mexicoand Jamaica and Punta Cana.

We've just all been there regularly.

So it's to your advantage just, and we share everything with each other.

We go over all these tripsat least once a month, but as soon as we get back as well.

You really do have an advantage of just the knowledge thatthe travel advisors have of every place they've been.

– As an example, Lori, youtook five of our advisors? How many?- Mm-hmm.

– Five advisors to Jamaica to go check out somehotels a few weeks ago.

We do that every now andagain when she's doing that.

– Sorry Leslie, you weren't invited.

– I was not one of them.

– And it's a good educationand they have fun too.

I always get a little worriedwhen I hear the stories.

I get terrified, like, thisone, I haven't heard a word, so that terrifies me.

(Leslie and Lori laughing) So someday, I'll hearwhat happened on that trip but it won't be rightany time soon, I know.

Okay, my number one.

This is gonna sound like I'mdisagreeing with Leslie but– – Oh, no! – But bear with me on this.

I do come around, I end up with her point.

Like I do so many times, unfortunately, I cheated a little bit, 'cause I've mashed abunch into this last one.

But this— Well, you've gotta say it.

(everyone laughs) – The last one is that my travel advisors, their compensation isbased on what they sell.

And so, the reason you need to know that is that it really isn't fair to come spend, her time's valuable, spend a couple hours onher researching stuff and then you going somewhereelse and booking it to save a hundred bucks.

That just isn't fair.

You're not being fair tomy advisors by doing that.

The reason I'm reallybringing this thing up though about them being compensatedbased on the work they do is while they're working on your trip, in reality, they are also, in the back of their mind, thinking about your next six trips.

They want, in their mind, they wanna do such a great job that you come back to them, repeat business over and over and over.

So to get to her point, my guys are not going toput you at this resort over that resort because this one may be a little bit more expensive than that one.

They want what is the best for you 'cause they are intending for you to come back to them everyyear and do a trip for them.

So my guys are doing a greatjob for the repeat business.

So I never think like they'retrying to lead you astray.

They are wanting yoursecond, third, fourth, fifth, sixth trip down the road.

So they're always working for that.

So have confidence in them.

I have tremendousconfidence in these guys, and might be the best in the business.

– Absolutely, I agree.

– I think so.

– So thank y'all forjoining us for this one, and we'll see you next time.

– Bye!- Bye! (bright music).