Home Community General Travel The Departure Lounge (Off Topic) Travel agents – know any good ones?

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #2933
    Kiwiwings
    Participant

    Does anyone use Tandem Travel as a travel consultant? I’ve seen the advertising on Air NZ before.

    I don’t actually know how much money the company I work for spends on travel but I’m not a fan of the travel agency they use so I said I’d book my own and then forward receipts etc which has been fine but it’s a bit time consuming and tiring at times so was thinking about using Tandem Travel. Generally not a fan of travel agents but currently open to the idea of someone else taking over. Not sure what the go is on hotel loyalty programs whether you get to keep your benefits but AMEX FHR apparently you do so holding onto some small hope that Tandem Travel might allow something similar. Are they actually 24/7?? Do they have access to better deals on accommodation or cars etc? Will they only book your work stuff or can you use them to book personal as well?

     

    Or if there’s other agents you use I’m open to suggestions.

    #3371
    Kiwiwings
    Participant

    So it turns out tandem travel will charge $60 per booking which is flights, accommodation, cars etc and have flexibility to make adjustments in the next 24hrs. I suspect I would lose a fair bit of $$ this way. Unfortunately I think I’ll continue to employ myself 🙁

    #3412
    Adam Jobbins
    Keymaster

    Haven’t used an agent in many years (although my work travel gets booked through a corporate agent) and don’t really see the point. These days they don’t really have access to any better deals than you can find yourself, the only advantage I can see is you have someone to go back to when something doesn’t go right.

    I used Flight Center for a few trips many years ago now. They screwed at least one thing up every time – and while they were able to resolve it for me eventually, I feel more confident I can make my own arrangements without screwing anything up.

    Not conducive to a relaxing holiday when you’re standing on the beach of a remote island in Fiji barely holding onto 1 bar of reception making an expensive roaming call back to NZ to find out why the travel agent cancelled your boat transfer back to the mainland.

    #3413
    Steve Biddle
    Keymaster

    The only reason I’d use a travel agent these days would be to book something such as a tour that could only be booked through them.

    My last experience a few years ago with Flight Centre to book some complex flights on the same PNR that couldn’t be done online with Air NZ was a disaster. I knew more than the travel agent and she became very annoyed I wasn’t interested in buying extras such as insurance. Now I’m more than happy to pay the Air NZ service fee to get things done by them.

    #3423
    Kiwiwings
    Participant

    Looking for a travel agent for me was never about the deals (well they would need to come under budget is all), it was about someone else making sure flights accommodation and cars were booked and being able to tell someone your preferences, your budget. I don’t typically book all 3 of these aspects at once. Flights first, might wait for a deal on accommodation, even car pricing fluctuates. Once took a car from one company then returned and hired from another agency when the prices dropped a week later. It was a peak travel period. Inconvenient but much cheaper. It’s the cars I most often get caught out on and infrequently accommodation. I’m not a fan of the work travel agency so was looking outside. Then I can still use my own work credit card for collecting points etc.

     

    On a personal level I still like the idea of going to say the flight centre expo to see if there are any package deals or as mentioned, tours. Easy enough to check on phone to see if the package is better than what’s online. Plus it gives me inspiration. Prefer flights in particular are booked direct as airlines are generally available 24/7 or at least have extended hrs beyond what a travel agent offers. It’s the flights that are most likely to be subject to timetable changes / delays etc which may throw the itinerary out. I’ve heard Virtuoso agents can sometimes get you something a little extra but haven’t really gone looking for one.

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.