the Cost of Online Travel Agents

The service was a competitive pricing site for airline tickets and hotel reservations that took commissions from the businesses that listed with them. We purchased two round trip tickets to New York City. The service offered tickets pretty much everywhere on whatever airlines were available, hotel reservations, rental car reservations, etc. Prices vary depending on destination, etc.

After being invited for the umpteenth time, we decided to go visit some friends in NYC for a week in the early fall, hang out, eat real New York pizza, maybe do some shopping. We needed plane tickets but not hotel reservations. Getting them was easy enough -- just took a bunch of clicking -- and prices were reasonable since we booked months in advance. We also had the option to use some of our frequent flier miles to pay for tickets or upgrade the seats, which we took advantage of. Very good altogether.

For simple stuff like airline tickets or hotel reservations at reputable places, online ordering is great. For situations where it's possible there could be more complexity, or any time real customer service is needed, a travel agent or local guide would be unbelievably helpful. For the sake of adventure it's great going it alone, but it's easier to get a person to do what you want than a scheduling computer.