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Why Travel Agents say 'no' to booking something you found online

Hey travellers, have you ever been rejected by your Travel Agent after asking him or her to book a day activity or hotel that you found on Google?

Hey travellers, have you ever been rejected by your Travel Agent after asking him or her to book a day activity or hotel that you found on Google?

You weren’t really offered an explanation for the rejection, but they were kind enough to find you something similar to book instead?

Bet you were really confused and you immediately assumed that the reason they refused was that they were unlikely to make money off of an online booking.

While this may be true, in many cases it’s actually not the reason Travel Agents say no to booking items found online.

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According to Travel Counsellors’ Commercial Director, Kirsten Hughes, it’s actually because they can’t guarantee your safety.

Speaking at the Australian group’s conference in Cairns this weekend, Hughes explained that Travel Agents have a duty of care to their clients and it isn’t in anyone’s best interest to book a supplier they haven’t previously worked with.

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“We have a duty of care to all our customers and we need to make sure we’re booking them through suppliers that we deal with or are compliant with,” she said.

“We have to do due diligence on suppliers otherwise they could be fraudulent or they could be suppliers that don’t do right by our customers.”

Kirsten Hughes, Travel Counsellors Commercial Director

“We also have to make sure these suppliers are compliant with our insurance so we’re in place to cover our customers if something should happen.”

So there you have it. Next time your Travel Agent says ‘no’ to booking something online, it’s not because they’re worried about money, it’s because they’re worried about you.

 

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Have you ever been turned down your Travel Agent?