Every few weeks a story will make the rounds about someone who really mucked up their holiday. We shouldn’t laugh, but we do, because it’s funny – and usually because said person’s demise may have been avoided by using a Travel Agent.
Sometimes these well-intentioned DIYers can get themselves into serious strife, usually followed by stories on national news and pleas to donate to their gofundme.com account.
It’s funny how people these days think that it’s perfectly normal to ask complete strangers to bail them out because of a (usually) stupid mistake they made – or by just being lazy.
What makes these stories even funnier is the fact that it’s the same things happening over and over again – to different people. Here’s a bunch that come up on my newsfeed quite a bit.
1. They didn’t choose the right travel insurance (or none at all)
The travel insurance market can be an absolute minefield for even the most seasoned travellers. Not many people will take the time to read the entire PDS booklet for every insurer they’re comparing – and fair enough, who would?
Checking whether policies cover snowboarding/skiing, motorbike riding or pre-existing conditions are the most common boo-boos and unfortunately, usually the most costly.
2. They thought their passport was valid
I do actually feel bad for these people, because generally they would be correct, in a world run by common sense, but the travel industry likes to throw curveballs every now and then.
Most countries require entrants to have at least six-months validity on their passports, from the date of return. This can come as quite a shock to travellers who booked their tickets online and weren’t reminded to check this.
3. They forget to get a visa
I have to admit that I’ve personally been this guy more than once. There’s no worse feeling than being told that you cannot board your flight without having a visa.
Luckily these days most visas can be obtained online in a matter of minutes, but there are a few countries with multi-day processing that constantly catch out uninformed travellers, like: Brazil, Vietnam & China.
4. They booked airfares to the wrong airport
This one usually gets the most laughs as you can imagine the surprised faces of travellers when they step off the plane in Sydney, Nova Scotia rather than Sydney, Australia.
These people probably thought they got the deal of the century when they found a $499 special from London with fifteen hours less flying!
A friend of mine found himself in this situation when he found a steal of a deal to Panama City from Los Angeles, although he was a bit confused as to why he was routed via Charlotte. The confusion ended when he found out that he was heading to Panama City, Florida.
5. They found an unbelievable deal on Gumtree
The key word here is unbelievable. I mean, how lucky when the five-bedroom mansion with a butler, chef and chauffeur is available on the exact dates you needed and is cheaper than that three-star hotel in Legian!
These poor souls must be devastated when nobody is there to pick them up at the airport. Queue laughter from Travel Agents.
6. They weren’t aware of all the extra fees when booking their car hire
Australians get stung with extra fees a lot, we’re used to seeing all-inclusive pricing, because it’s the law. This isn’t the case is most other countries however, North America especially.
Car rental companies are infamous for advertising $5 per day rates and then stinging drivers with a bevy of fees paid upon pick up or drop off. These can be thousands of dollars. Travel Agents rates are fully inclusive and upfront.
7. They didn’t realise they needed to have an onward ticket booked
One-way tickets are fantastic for long-term travellers. Young globetrotters especially like the freedom of not having to plan ahead and don’t want to pay expensive change fees on airfares.
Most countries need to see that visitors have a ticket booked to leave though; this can come as a surprise to the uninformed and can leave travellers scrambling book an expensive ticket at the airport to satisfy requirements. Travel Agents have a few tricks to deal with situations like this, like dummy tickets.