8 Reasons You Need A Travel Advisor – Even With The Internet

This post was written in partnership with BE The Travel. Ads and sponsorships are how we keep this blog free for everyone, but all opinions are our own. Enjoy!

The truth is – everything is stressful when it comes to travel. Until you plop your bags down, slip on a swimsuit, and hit the beach – it’s almost not real yet. Not to mention: if you’re the average hard-working person – planning a trip can be overwhelming on top of your everyday life.

We love planning trips and finding all of those incredible life-changing adventures. It’s part of the adventure for us to figure out how to use the trains in Italy or hike that crazy trail in Sedona.

While you’re most likely capable of planning… you might not know that there is a new generation of travel advisors out there waiting to help you plan your next epic adventure! After our interview with Bailie from BE The Travel, we’ve realized travel advisors are the travel industry’s undiscovered gem. Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty of how travel advisors can help you today.

If you don’t have time to read, listen to our full chat below!!

1. saving yourself Booking Hassle

The biggest reason people used ‘travel agents’, as they were once called in the past, was that travel really wasn’t accessible to most people.

The world of traveling 30 years ago, (and really even 10 years ago), is absolutely NOT what it is today. Without access to planning tools, the plethora of Pinterest information, and social media- people had no idea what they wanted to see.

Today, anyone can go on the world wide web and book that last-minute resort to Mexico from a budget booking site.

The trouble is – during times of uncertainty – you may not be able to get help from a budget booking site when you really need them. Double bookings and missing reservations galore are all a part of the experience. It doesn’t happen every time, but you have to be comfortable with the idea of handling these changes!

When the pandemic started, many people had trips booked from Booking.Com and cheapcarribeanvacation.com. When their reservations were canceled, most people had no options for rebooking and communicating with customer service. Don’t get us wrong: those sites can be great! They have their place, and we’ve all used them!

The question is – can you find the best rates with the same booking confidence?

What’s booking confidence?

Have you ever been put on hold by an airline? We have too.

In August of 2021 – over 300 flights were canceled in a day leaving people stranded across the country. Not only were hotels completely booked surrounding airports – but rental car shortages made it difficult to get to another location for a hotel.

When asking yourself if travel agents/ travel advisors are actually helpful – just remember how difficult airlines are to navigate during the best of times! There are so many scams and ‘cheap flight’ companies out there. It’s difficult to avoid deals that look too good to be true.

Finding the right form of travel is where a travel advisor comes in. (Especially if you’re a newbie!)

Planning Confidence: A travel advisor from a modern travel agency like BE The Travel is going to be able to help you find accommodations, flights and even book activities for you with absolutely no hassle at check-in.

You know by booking with a trusted travel advisor, your hotel check-in is going to be easy. The manager will greet you by name, you may get free upgrades or a bucket of iced champagne waiting for you. It’s highly unlikely that you’re going to have the same experience while trying to book on your own!

After all, when we’re on vacation, isn’t easy what we need?

Related Posts: How To Make The Most of Your Weekend Getaways

How To Save Money For Travel

2. Avoiding Research time

When we plan two-week-long adventures- it takes us approximately 7 weeks of planning ahead of time. We make sure we have our gear, permits, map out the sites., etc., all ready to go.

In reality – you could spend hours and hours researching your destination. Instead of starting to explore Europe – you could waste time figuring out how to book a train, get to the next city, rent a car and then get to your new hotel.

Then on top of figuring out transportation, map out your destinations and figure out what kind of gear you’ll need throughout your trip. (We’re not even talking photography gear or complicated hiking equipment. We’re talking just the easy stuff like rain jackets, and mittens!!)

Related Post: Your Guide To The Best Travel GoPro Gear

Especially true for multi-destination travelers – travel advisors do much more than mapping out your stays and flights. Your three-city Europe trip just became one smooth ride! Your advisor can not only book tours and events for you but also suggest off-book activities to make those cities even more memorable.

3. Creating Realistic Itineraries

Have you ever read a blog post about how to see a city within a certain time frame? It can be incredibly overwhelming to figure out what’s worth it and what fits your schedule. A ton of amazing ideas all in one blog post, that you may not have any idea how to plan out.

One of the major perks of travel advisors is as we mentioned – they can do all of the research for you! Whether you can only be gone three days or two weeks, the only thing you need to plan is your wardrobe. You’re won’t be exhausted at the end of every day. You’re walking through a city or hiking new trails at ease! Overplanning is the enemy of relaxing vacations!

But how do travel advisors know what you really want to see?

What Bailie and her team do best is getting to know their clients to create completely customized itineraries. By getting to know their clients before they create their itineraries, you’ll avoid that hike your friend did that may be of no interest to you!

Sometimes you’d rather be walking through a botanical garden at leisure – and that’s perfectly ok! Even if a destination is known for a specific 12-mile hike, hiking may not be your cup of tea. Just because your friends posted what they did on a trip doesn’t mean you have to do the same thing.

4. Rescheduling

Life happens.. and we’ve all experienced some changes in our plans within the last two years. Maybe they weren’t even travel-related plans you had to change? Nonetheless, those changes have the power to inevitably cause us stress.

Along with the ease of planning, this is our third most important reason for choosing to book with a travel advisor: the ease of rescheduling. While your life goes forward and you cope with changes, your travel and leisure activities are safe in the hands of your advisor.

Come what may – travel advisors are adept at going with the flow and changing plans. Those last-minute scaries or even changing trips that are booked months ahead of time!

“When the pandemic started we were in a state of triage. There weren’t many options for rebooking…”

Bailie from be the travel agency

0.0% of people could have predicted how the pandemic turned out and how it continues to plague the world. The great thing about travel advisors is that it’s quite literally their job to go with the flow and figure out how to get you where you want to go.

This doesn’t mean you’ll never have hiccups. It’s just about guaranteed to go much smoother with professional help!

What About Travel Insurance?

If you’re used to planning your trips by yourself, you’ve probably figured out that travel insurance can be your saving grace.

Travel advisors are another added layer of protection because they know the ins and outs of travel insurance. It’s much easier to file a claim when you book through a travel advisor than if you book through a budget booking site!

5. helping You Skip Touristy Destinations

You know that trendy Instagram spot? The one you’ve been dreaming of seeing since you clicked that little save icon when you were endlessly scrolling one day?

We bet you’ve dreamed of wearing that flowy Instagram perfect dress and swinging by the beach at the perfect twilight hour lighting. Perhaps relaxing with a handcrafted margarita and a flower in your hair? It’s a nice daydream. Really and truly it is.

REALITY CHECK: Have you ever considered what those places look like in real life? When content creators and influencers visit a place they show you the absolute best that a place has to offer. Content creators look for those shots that will stop and grab your attention.

The truth is – sometimes that daydream-worthy photo is a very touristy Instagram-driven spot. They may have waited hours in line to take that photo!

The method at BE The Travel: hands-on personalized itineraries.

This means that not only is your trip relaxed – but you’re doing things that speak to you. Maybe hiking isn’t your thing and you’d rather drive an ATV across the island. Maybe you’re afraid of birds so that incredible bird sanctuary isn’t for you – but a jungle walk might be? Getting to know their clients has made a world of difference. Check out BE The Travel’s reviews here!

6. Your advisor Keeps Up WiTh Travel Alerts

Are you the type that hates the little red bubbles on your phone? You’re not alone. The average smartphone user receives up to 46 alerts a day. It’s almost impossible to keep up with those and more during times of emergency.

Here are just some of the alerts:

• Testing Before Entry Into The United States
• Covid-19 Travel Reccomendations by Destinations (Per the CDC)

At the height of the pandemic – most people couldn’t keep up with how fast things changed. In swooped the fortunate few’s saviors: travel advisors. People who used travel advisors had a completely different experience than those who didn’t.

When the pandemic started – we were hopeful. We didn’t think the world would get this crazy and we genuinely didnt think we’d still be in any form of lockdown? But as time has gone on – we realize that this is just where we’re at. Sunny South Africa, historically touristy Europe, and dreamy Asian destinations are seemingly out of reach these days.

Bailie from Be The Travel – September 2020

Keeping up with travel alerts is the most important reason we can think of for using a travel advisor. Along with rescheduling, you can safely book your destination without worrying that you don’t have the required paperwork, visa, covid testing, etc.

As the world continues to reopen – these travel alerts are going to continue to fluctuate (and have still in August 0f 2021.) Going forward, finding a travel advisor you can trust is going to be crucial to a stress-free experience.

7. Travel Advisors Work With All Kinds of Travelers

If you follow Bailie and her team on Instagram, you’ll see that they don’t just book trips for luxury travelers!

Travel advisors can provide a wide array of options from booking your short weekend stay to booking every ticket, activity, and train ride for an extended trip.

Oftentimes clients need help to book an inn or hotel that Bailie and her team have a great relationship with. Clients of BE The Travel know that they can count on excellent customer service because of connections Bailie and her team have lovingly curated over the years.

Editor’s Note: You’re going to get so much more for your money than if you just do it yourself. Budget travel certainly has its place – but as we get older we start slowing down. Maybe doing everything the cheapest way isn’t necessary?

Maybe in order to fill our cups – it would be nice to have someone help us figure out how to take our hard earned money and spend it on something that fulfills us? More experiences and not things.

Other times, people who aren’t travel-savvy need help planning every aspect of their trip. There is no shame in being nervous to travel, especially if it’s your first time!

This is where BE The Travel agency comes in. From train tickets to attraction tickets, remember travel advisors can help you do it all!

8. Putting Your Tourism Dollars Where They Matter

One of the most surprising things we learned in this interview is that travel touches 1 in 10 jobs in the world. The obvious jobs like tour guides, restaurant owners, and flight attendants have all been severely impacted by Covid-19.

The other jobs you may not have considered are taxi drivers, housekeepers, chefs at resorts, etc. All of these jobs were affected as well – and in many developing nations, tourism is the backbone of their economies.

By booking with a reputable travel advisor – you have the opportunity to spend money where the world needs it.

Whenever you feel safe, get out and travel because the world needs it!

Bailie from Be The Travel

How To Chose A Destination

When asked where Bailie thought people should travel right now – her answer was a perfect combination of specific and gentle: ‘Everyone needs to do a self-assessment.’ While we were talking specifically about how to choose a destination in immediate times, this advice holds true through the years!

Once you’ve figured out what type of travel is right for you, all suggestions can be tailored to create your ideal vacation. It takes the pressure off of travel advisors to choose a destination or activities you’re not comfortable doing.

For some great travel inspiration – get all of our favorite travel podcasts here (including Bailie’s BE The Travel Podcast!)

If you only feel safe traveling by booking a remote cabin in Gatlinburg, travel advisors can coordinate that. If you’re ready to book a trip to a resort in Mexico, travel advisors at BE The Travel are ready!

By doing a self-assessment of what kind of trip you really need – you’ll fill your cup in ways that bring you the most joy!

A Little About Be The Travel

BE The Travel is an independently owned boutique travel agency out of Nashville, Tennessee started by Bailie White.

As a long-time traveler herself – Bailie has traveled the world and knows what it takes to create the perfect escape. After cultivating a deep love for travel, BE The Travel agency was born after she graduated from Western Kentucky University. With the mission to ask their clients not where they want to go, but what they want to be while doing it, working with Bailie and her team is a unique experience.

With 5 years in the travel industry, Bailie and her team provide what every traveler is looking for: the perfect easy-breezy travel planning. Don’t know where you want to go but know you want to ‘be relaxed’ or ‘be adventurous‘? With their team’s extensive travel experience they can find an incredible destination that speaks to you.

If you know where you want to go and have a pretty good idea of what you want to see, Bailie and her team also serve experienced travelers. By creating relationships all over the world, the team has the expertise in planning even the most in-depth cultural immersions. (Thinking of those desert camel rides through Morocco?!)

From fully guided road trips through Tennessee to longer trips in Thailand – BE The Travel can plan whatever you’re looking for!

Follow BE The Travel on Instagram

Advice From Bailie

• ‘Travel where you can because many of those destinations are completely open and you may not get a chance to see them as empty as they are now.’
• ‘Always buy travel insurance.’
• The things she can’t travel without: ‘a travel blanket and her wallet from ABLE out of Nashville, Tennessee.’

Thinking About Saving This Post for Later?

If you’re like us and have traveled for a while – you may be a *cough cough* pro. (We hesitate to use that term because there really is always something to learn when traveling. Conversation for another time!) After this interview though, we’ve realized even the pros need help when planning their trips!

If you can’t wait to book with Bailie and her incredible team, pin this post for later!

This interview was conducted in September of 2020 when the pandemic was raging on and no one seemed to be traveling anywhere. Even beyond the end of the pandemic, we believe in the power of a travel advisor!

Make sure to subscribe to our blog, snag all of your road trip basics (below), get your travel insurance, and have fun jamming to a new playlist!

Until next time friends,

Thanks for sharing!