So before I became an agent, I was like you. Anytime I was on the web, I’d see offers for travel. I’d even get the offers in my inbox.

Well during my “lots of free time” (SEE TRAVEL AGENT CHRONICLES #1), I found a great ‘deal’ on a trip to Barcelona. For about $1400 for 2 people including flight, my husband and I could go to Spain. I was super excited. So I called the number and I booked a trip. The agent I spoke to gave me the available dates. She also told me that if I wanted to check a bag, that I had to prepay $100 per bag. Red Flag #1. (But I ignored it) I travel enough to know that most airlines allow you 2 free bags per person on international flights. I declined to prepay.

Note: There are so may things that I did wrong in booking this trip. I am sharing this story so that you can learn from my mistakes.

First thing to Consider:

Ask for all of the details within your package:
• Who is the airline provider?
• What hotel?
• Is the hotel centrally located?
• What kind of room will you be getting?
• Is there transportation provided between the airport and hotel?
• How long are the layovers?
• Is the flight direct? If not, how many stops.

I asked none of those questions. While I travel extensively, I also wing it a lot…so my travel has always just kind of ‘worked out.’ I figured this trip would be no different. Now that I am an agent, I tend to think more about how my customers my feel in these same scenarios.

I find out the above information about 2 weeks before my trip when the agency emails the paper work. RED FLAG #2 – I didn’t wait to ask these questions. I had been asking for several months ahead of time. However, the response was very slow and the agency was in the UK.

The answers to my questions:

The airline provider was Norwegian Airlines. I had never heard of them so I did a bit of research. They are a LOW COST airline provider which means that you will have to pay for just about everything ala carte. Need a blanket? That will be $5. Need peanuts? That will be another $4. I could go on, but you get my drift. Since I do not like feeling nickeled and dimed, I was able to upgrade our tickets to Premium which is their version of First Class. Round trip, it probably added another $1000 to the overall trip cost. It was worth it because we got better seats, a meal, a blanket, drinks and our bags were checked in for ‘free.’

The hotel was a 4 star hotel and affiliated with Marriott. It wasn’t centrally located but it was close to the metro which made it very convenient to get around town since we were not renting a car.. The issue was the type of room that we were slated to receive.. My husband and I were given a room that had twin beds…..really? I tried to change this thru the agent before leaving on the trip. They were unable to make the change. So I had to try upon arrival. Initially the hotel said that they were unable to accommodate me UNTIL I mentioned my Marriott status. At that point, our room was upgraded for free and we were given free breakfast and free wifi. Another point here is the agent should be asking you if you have any frequent flier numbers for hotels and airlines. This can help you get the perks that you are entitled to for your loyalty.

There was no airport transportation between the airport and hotel provided. I was going to Uber, but Uber is illegal in Spain. So we just took a taxi.

Our flight was not direct…in fact it took us almost 24 hours to get there if you start tracking the time from the moment we left the house until we got to our hotel. We flew from Atlanta to Boston. Had a 5 hour layover. Then we flew to London. Had another 3 hour layover. Then we made it to Barcelona. The round trip was exactly the same.

Second thing to consider:

The package may be cheap or inexpensive, but think about your own personal preferences once you get the above questions answered. Are you ok with numerous stops and long layovers. For me the layovers wouldn’t have been so bad if they were either shorter or longer. A longer layover, we could have taken a tour of Boston or London. However the amount of time we had was too short for a tour, but too long to just sit around.

Also if you don’t mind paying ala carte, then a low cost airline may work for you. The plane was fantastic and I’ll talk about that in a different blog post. However, I know my personality. I just want the bottom-line price and expect to receive what’s considered ‘normal’ on other airlines. Everyone is different which is why it’s important to consider your own personal preferences.

How will you get from the airport to the hotel? Is it a long drive? Will a taxi be expensive? These are important questions to think about when going on a trip like this. There are many tour providers that provide all inclusive packages and you don’t have to think about this. You just need to show up.

Third thing to consider:

While we had a package, we had no tours or activities included. Again the agent didn’t offer. At this point, it wasn’t a big deal because now I was an agent and I had access to different providers all across the world that could meet my needs. While you can do it yourself using tools like TripAdvisor for recommendations, a good agent can also help steer you in the right direction.

In the end, we roamed and biked the city, took a cooking class and went Flamenco dancing. We had a great time. Would I go to Barcelona again, YES!!! However, I would not use nor recommend that agent. There were some things that were clearly my fault. However as I go thru the various trainings, I am learning that as an agent that I am here to help provide guidance and advice to my customers. Asking the right questions can help me put my customers in the best package for both their budget and their personal preferences.