In Reply to: Book direct save $$$$ posted by dinginbintangbagus on Saturday, 7. July 2007 at 06:40 Bali Time:
on circumstances and timing. I've booked and paid a number of different ways and it all depends on your timing and whats available at the time.
Travel agents can get good package deals with a set number of accommadations/airfares. Yes you have to pay quite a bit upfront in advance if booking early. If though you are not a planner/organizer and book last minute or can't be bothered doing the research then travel agents are the way to go because you know it's all done and dusted.
Booking yourself whether direct with airline on the net or by phone can save you money as you don't have to pay upfront until last minute, so money in your bank rather than theirs. You can also book direct with hotels that aren't normally offered by travel agents. Also if you are a planner/organizer this can all be a part of your holiday, the researching into where and when, the checking of hotels and prices.
The other consideration is whether you have been to your destination before or not, people tend to trust travel agents to get them a good deal in a good area at the time they want to go.
As Nicno said too it all depends on the class of seat you can get and I don't mean 1st class/ business class and economy. How many of you know that on any one given flight there is a number of seats in economy at different prices all depending on when you booked?
Also when you pay for your flights regardless of on the net, on the phone with a travel agent or not, the tax component is dependent on the US dollar. So your flight can be 'cheap as' when you book but by the time you pay it could go up because of the tax part of it.
The same with hotels you have to be careful that you include all maintenance fees, service charges and taxes into the nightly rate.