For complex things they are well worth the added cost. For example if you need to book a complex chain of flights with different airlines, then you might be loo

For complex things they are well worth the added cost. For example if you need to book a complex chain of flights with different airlines, then you might be looking at 4-5 different sites, maybe an airport hotel booking etc. Add some time zones into the mix and it's several hours of work. If you do it yourself these are all individual bookings, and you run the risk that when you completed half the steps, something goes wrong and the next step is no longer available but it's too late to switch to plan B which was through another city. A travel agent can basically set up a complex chain of things and then book it all in one go. They'll also handle the fallback scenario if something goes wrong. And if you are on your destination and it turns out the complex chain of flights back home is no longer available, then they'll sort out a whole new itinerary. For 90% of trips it's probably not all that useful, e.g if you fly just 1-2 legs or stay in just 1 hotel.