Questions for Travel Agents

[MikkiStreak]

We are going to start meeting with a couple travel agents to discuss the wedding/honeymoon. For those of you who booked a wedding group and your own travel through a TA, what questions did you ask? More importantly, what questions *didn't* you ask that you wish you would have?

[KellyandMatt08]

Great topic! I would love to know too!!

[lambert13]

It is just the two of us going to Mexico, but some of the questions are relevant........

 

1. Ask about insurance for the trip. Especially during hurricane season

2. Find out about transfers from the airport to the resort

3. Ask about free wedding/honeymoon upgrades and bonuses.

[MikkiStreak]

Ok, here's a list of questions I came up with, in case anyone is interested...

 

Travel Agent Questions

 

 

Section A: Experience

1.How many destination weddings have you booked?

2.How many years have you been a travel agent?

3.What is the largest group booking you have handled?

4.What programs, training and certifications have you completed?

5.What professional organizations are you affiliated with?

6.How are your fees / commissions paid?

7.Do you charge any fees to your clients (consultation, booking, etc…)?

 

Section B: Travel Finances

1.What payment options are available when booking travel?

2.Describe deposits and payment schedules for travel and wedding.

3.What deposits are necessary for a room block?

4.What are the cancellation fee and schedule for the wedding?

5.What are the cancellation fee and schedule for the travel portion?

6.What travel insurance is available and who is the provider?

7.Please provide a sample contract for our review.

 

Section C: Customer Satisfaction

1.What is your typical response time for emails and phone calls?

2.Do you have a “backup” person to handle customer issues if you are not available?

3.What should travelers do if they have an after-hours emergency while traveling?

4.How do you go “above and beyond” for your clients?

5.What information do you provide to your clients for their trip prior to departure (ie, list of contact numbers for each vender, emergency numbers, etc…)?

[SarahMc]

Wow, your way more organized than I was when I started. I didn't ask many questions, especially about experience. Most of your questions in section B will be answered by the contract. I used Tammy (the host) and I guess the biggest reassurance for me in choosing to work with her was that she got married at the same resort I'm getting married at.

[saraece]

Great!!! Thank you so much for the list of questions. I didn't think off some of them and they will be very helpful when choosing a TA.

[Rachelle E.]

That really is a great list! My friend who is currently planning her wedding (Dreams PV) is having a nightmarish time with a TA she had been working with. So now she's in a situation where she's trying to cut ties and work with someone else.

 

The response time question is key I think, that was a huge issue with this other TA, I had emailed her asking a couple questions and didn't receive a reply for two weeks...and then only after I had sent a second email! It didn't really inspire a lot of faith in me to trust that she would take care of things. As it turns out, she never sent in the form to reserve the date for my friends wedding - when my friend tried to follow up w/ her a week or so later to confirm everything, she couldn't get in touch and finally had to contact the wedding coordinator at the resort directly...only to find out the form had never been sent in! That really freaked her out.

 

Also, I think the whole money thing is important to discuss. After my friend confronted her TA about the form that hadn't been sent in (as well as other issues she had) the lady sent her an email outlining the agency's policy for booking destination weddings...and requested a $300 deposit before she would continue doing any work! Now I understand that deposits are frequently requried by all kinds of vendors when making agreements...the problem with this situation is that it was not made clear until they had already been working together for a month....during which time the lady really didn't actually accomplish anything, left many questions completely unaswered and neglected to turn in that VERY important form! It was once she sensed that my friend was going to "fire" her that she pulled all that info out. Kinda' shady if you ask me.

 

I SO wish we would have known to ask all these kinds of questions to start with...would have saved that poor girl a lot of drama and headaches! Good job being proactive and thinking up all those great topics.

[BayBug]

Those are some really good questions!!! I am currently thinking about booking with Globus. I have never used a TA before when I went on vacation, but I am thinking about using one for my Honeymoon just to make sure everything works out well.

[MikkiStreak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redwards That really is a great list! My friend who is currently planning her wedding (Dreams PV) is having a nightmarish time with a TA she had been working with. So now she's in a situation where she's trying to cut ties and work with someone else. The response time question is key I think, that was a huge issue with this other TA, I had emailed her asking a couple questions and didn't receive a reply for two weeks...and then only after I had sent a second email! It didn't really inspire a lot of faith in me to trust that she would take care of things. As it turns out, she never sent in the form to reserve the date for my friends wedding - when my friend tried to follow up w/ her a week or so later to confirm everything, she couldn't get in touch and finally had to contact the wedding coordinator at the resort directly...only to find out the form had never been sent in! That really freaked her out. Also, I think the whole money thing is important to discuss. After my friend confronted her TA about the form that hadn't been sent in (as well as other issues she had) the lady sent her an email outlining the agency's policy for booking destination weddings...and requested a $300 deposit before she would continue doing any work! Now I understand that deposits are frequently requried by all kinds of vendors when making agreements...the problem with this situation is that it was not made clear until they had already been working together for a month....during which time the lady really didn't actually accomplish anything, left many questions completely unaswered and neglected to turn in that VERY important form! It was once she sensed that my friend was going to "fire" her that she pulled all that info out. Kinda' shady if you ask me. I SO wish we would have known to ask all these kinds of questions to start with...would have saved that poor girl a lot of drama and headaches! Good job being proactive and thinking up all those great topics.

I have only used a TA 1 or 2 times in the past, but for something like this- where it's one of the most important and memorable times of our lives and family / friends are going out of their way to attend, I definitely want to make sure that all of us are protected as much as possible.

I agree with the response time question. In my field, I am expected to answer non-critical issues the same day as they arise and emergency issues have a 2 hour response window. When I work with clients to address issues with their staff, I always let them know that the biggest reason why companies lose potential customers is because the customer doesn't know how long they are suppose to wait for a response to their issue. If I dont' know a person needs a week to gather information and get back to me, I'm going to start calling other business'es within 2-4 days. It just amazes me that people in the "Service Industry" haven't figured that one out...

[favorsmr]

So glad I ran across this thread in a search!  This is a great list for us as we look for a travel agent.