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> But a bunch of B&Bs/Inns and transportation for a walking trip in England Is this something travel agents actually have any sort of exclusive access to? I t

> But a bunch of B&Bs/Inns and transportation for a walking trip in England Is this something travel agents actually have any sort of exclusive access to? I thought travel agents were just resellers for existing travel packages. So if some tourism bureau has gone to the effort of assembling a package deal for a bunch of b&B's or inns to do a walking tour, the travel agent can book it for you. Or you can go to the tourism bureau's website and book it yourself. The travel agent isn't doing the work, they're just connecting you with a different middleman.

chrisseaton 5y ago
It's not any exclusive access you're paying for, but their experience of where to look and what to look for and how to put it together. Someone who builds interesting trips all day every day will do a better job than me fumbling around guessing at how to do it. Just like a chef doesn't have exclusive access to ingredients, but they know what to buy and how to put it together.
ghaff 5y ago
In this example, it's not reselling travel packages. There are individual B&Bs/inns, luggage transfer companies, taxis/car services, customized information packages, etc. You can of course figure out all of this on your own. But if your interest is primarily in the trip rather than planning the logistics for the trip there's a lot to be said for just connecting with a company who can largely plan an itinerary for you, book everything, and you just give them a credit card number.
- notatoad 5y ago
  yeah, i guess my question was just is that actually a service travel agents offer? like, have you personally had any experience using a travel agent for that, and it's worked out for you? Because it sounds great, and a little too good to be true. In my (admittedly limited) experience with travel agents, that's not really what they do, nor is it something i'd trust them to do - the travel agents don't seem to have any specialized local knowledge, what they do have is a catalogue that their agency has provided them with and they can help you choose a package from the predefined ones in their catalogue. This sort of concierge travel agent is not something i'm familiar with.

chrisseaton 5y ago

It's not any exclusive access you're paying for, but their experience of where to look and what to look for and how to put it together. Someone who builds interesting trips all day every day will do a better job than me fumbling around guessing at how to do it. Just like a chef doesn't have exclusive access to ingredients, but they know what to buy and how to put it together.

ghaff 5y ago

In this example, it's not reselling travel packages. There are individual B&Bs/inns, luggage transfer companies, taxis/car services, customized information packages, etc. You can of course figure out all of this on your own. But if your interest is primarily in the trip rather than planning the logistics for the trip there's a lot to be said for just connecting with a company who can largely plan an itinerary for you, book everything, and you just give them a credit card number.

notatoad 5y ago
yeah, i guess my question was just is that actually a service travel agents offer? like, have you personally had any experience using a travel agent for that, and it's worked out for you? Because it sounds great, and a little too good to be true. In my (admittedly limited) experience with travel agents, that's not really what they do, nor is it something i'd trust them to do - the travel agents don't seem to have any specialized local knowledge, what they do have is a catalogue that their agency has provided them with and they can help you choose a package from the predefined ones in their catalogue. This sort of concierge travel agent is not something i'm familiar with.