Usually when we travel, we do all the booking and planning ourselves. But this time, we decided to call a travel agent.
Up until now, vacation planning always ran through the usual mish-mash of buying numerous travel books, going on websites to read peoples' complaints of stale toast and flat pillows, and zooming in on Google Maps to figure out where all the shopping and dining is at. I had enough of that. A vacation is supposed to be a vacation, right?
Not having worked with a travel agent before, I wasn't sure what to expect.
Melissa Land, who runs Elevation Travel, which serves the Menifee-area, likes to think of her business as a Full Service Personal Travel Consultant.
Nice. I like that description.
And it seems accurate, too. I provided her the dates of our travel and our suggested price range and a list of things that were important to us and she created a package for us. Moreover, she said, "If anything comes up, and I mean anything, call me first and I'll take care of it."
That's all I needed to hear.
As it turned out, we didn't have to call her. Everything went as planned. We were able to breeze by the people arguing at the airport ticket counter, and smiled as we left the couple from Nebraska complaining that they didn't get the room they had reserved. We got into our room and enjoyed that beautiful view of Waikiki Beach.
We did, however, call Melissa after we got settled in, having discovered a stack of brochures and magazines on our table showcasing the many wonders of Hawaii. The hike up to Manoa Falls looked like fun. The Waikiki Trolley sounded like something we wanted to have. Renting a Harley to ride around the island seemed like a great idea. And it looked like visiting the Arizona Memorial would require reservations.
So, I called Melissa and she took care of it, getting us all the necessary sign ups and tickets.
Since then, I've been using a travel agent for all my vacations.
"Hey Melissa!", I'll call her on the phone. "Get me a ticket to Seattle for such and such date".
"Right away", she'd say. "Oh, if you want to wait a week later to fly, you can save another $150.00 off air fare".
"Excellent", I'll say. "Let's do it".
When you consider the better deals they can get you, it doesn't really cost anymore to go through an agent, it's usually less.
And sure, I've used websites like Expedia and Travelocity to look for fares and book rooms, but you're still having to do all the planning yourself. I like being able to call or e-mail Melissa, tell her what I want, and expect it to happen.
It's nice to just snap your fingers and know it's going to get done.
I guess there are still some things a computer can't replace.
Call Melissa Land at Elevation Travel...
Elevation Travel
(877) 294-3918
bookit@goelevationtravel.com
http://www.goelevationtravel.com
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