This week our guest speaker was Amanda McMullin of Travel Professionals International.
Amanda has been involved in the travel industry in one form or another for more than 24 years.
Amanda moved from England to Europe and lived in several different countries and has gained extensive knowledge of many European countries.
After settling in Canada she opened her own travel agency and has been working under the umbrella of TPI. TPI is headquartered in Winnipeg. TPI has been in business for 16 years and in that time has become the largest such business in Canada.
Each TPI member has their own website and members network with one another.
Amanda specializes in weddings and Disney excursions. Trips are generally all inclusive and sometimes she is able to obtain deals at short notice. So Amanda suggested that we get on her mailing list so she can inform us when these deals come up. Because these offers are usually quick to sell out it is advisable to be on her list if last minute deals suit your life style.
Amanda gave a brief explanation of why it is always best to book your travel trough an authorized agent as apposed to going it alone. Amanda gave some examples of the benefit of booking through an agent.
Amanda told us that generally there is no real advantage to booking travel online as most agents have great relationships with airlines and cruise lines hotels and car rental agencies and can most often get you a better deal. In many cases agents will have direct lines to airlines that aren’t available to the general public and can more easily find alternate travel arrangements or changing your travel schedule if required.
Amanda stressed that by booking with an agent you will get more personalized service than you will from a kiosk or store front type travel agency.
Amanda couldn’t stress enough that if you book travel on your own and run into problems that you are left on your own to try and sort it out, often times in a country where English is not the mother tongue. When you use an agent they will assume the responsibility of helping you.