It’s the peak season for booking a holiday. The tv and internet are full of companies advertising their services. Book direct with this hotel or airline, use a travel agent, try this destination or that one. So the consumer could be very confused, do I book direct, where should I travel to, do I use an agent? Programmes on the television like #holidaysecrets that discuss whether it is cheaper to book in advance or last minute can also be confusing. Did you see the programme? Yes the last minute booking was cheaper but it was not the same accommodation and the last minute holiday involved 3 rooms in 7 nights. So lets try to join the dots of booking a holiday….

1) Is it cheaper to book in advance or last minute?

There are so many factors to consider when answering this question. Do you have a particular hotel or room type you would like to stay in? If so there may not be any availability booking late, if you are travelling at peak season booking late you may need to settle for last rooms or possibly even changing rooms. If you just wish to get away in low season then a last minute deal may save you money of the supplier just wants to sell rooms. However at peak season if there is availability left it may come at a premium cost.

2) How do I book my flights?

With a number of airline options to most destination from scheduled airlines, charter flights to the low cost carriers how do I make sure I have the best price? Well there are some very useful price comparison websites. However it is worth bearing in mind that these websites do not use live prices and often the price you pay will change by the time you get to the end of the booking, as the system pulls through the live pricing from the airlines direct site. By which time you have chosen your flight times and departure airport so feel you need to go ahead. Also be careful ensuring that the price has included bags if you plan to check luggage and seating if you do want to guarantee you are sat together. The law does state that children should be sat with an adult, but not that families have to be together, so it is possible that one adult may be sat with all the children and the other adult at the other end of the plane or that the family is split across the plane. If you want to guarantee sitting together you may need to pay for it. Bags to go on the hold need to be paid for in advance, it will cost more at the airport. The prices do fluctuate.

3) Car hire?

Like the accommodation and flights it is possible to get good deals last minute, but depending on destination, the particular car you are looking for may not be available. It is possible to book a car and keep an eye on the pricing and cancel and rebook several times to get the best deal, but this takes time and you may not get the car you were hoping for on arrival.

4) If I can do all this myself why should I book with a travel agent?

Well there are a number of reasons to book with a travel agent.

ATOL protection – If something goes wrong, one of your suppliers fails to be able to offer the service you booked your ATOL protected holiday enables you to carry on the holiday and will get you home at the end, or the ATOL agent will find you another holiday for a similar cost, or be able to rebook flights for you meaning there is very little alteration to your plans. Don’t think it can’t happen to my booking as nobody thought that Thomas Cook would disappear from the market place but it did.

Experience – Travel agents build up experience over the years working in the industry. Booking holidays and finding the best deals is what they do day in day out. They can also suggest places to visit that you may not have thought of which would offer you a great deal for a holiday.

Service – A travel agent will spend there time searching for the best deal leaving you to just make the important decisions. They will be able to offer details on Visa’s, travel insurance, foreign office advice, they can point you in the right directions to make sure that all aspects of the holiday run smoothly. If something doesn’t quite go to plan you only need to make one phone call and your agent will take care of the smaller details.

For peace of mind, expertise, duty of care, service satisfaction and best value book with a travel agent.