Best Travel Store Online
Looking for the best travel store around? Before you book, read this informative article on what to look for when searching for travel stores. We’ll compare best travel agencies to help you save hundreds of dollars on your next trip.
The Internet has made it very easy for everyone to find great deals on travel. No longer do we have to call up several different travel agencies on the phone and spend our valuable time speaking to a travel agent. Instead, we can simply to online and find an online travel store and book the vacation of our dreams.
In this article, we’ll take a close look at a number of different criteria on how to choose the best travel store. So before you book that airline ticket or cruise package, make sure you read this article to discover how to pick the best online travel agency.
So what should the best travel store offer? Here are our top criteria.
Customer Service
Chances are you probably expected to see price at the top of the list, but more important than that in our opinion is customer service. We all envision a perfect trip, but when something goes wrong (and in many cases, something always does), it’s always nice to know that you can find someone that can help.
One thing to check is the availability of their customer service department. Is there a hotline you can call, or is it email only? This makes a big difference if you’re travel destination doesn’t have Internet access.
Is it available 24/7, or can you only call during business hours? If your trip takes you halfway around the world and can’t locate your luggage, you’ll appreciate a customer service hotline that is always open.
Finally, how friendly and helpful is the staff? Have a question in mind and just call the customer service number of the online travel store. Note how long you have to wait to speak to an agent, and when someone does pick up, see how friendly they are and how well they answer your question. If you’re in a foreign land and in a jam, a friendly voice goes a long way.
Price
Of course, one of the main things to look at is the ticket prices the online travel site is returning. You can do this by just typing in a simple search using their online tools. Most travel sites have this on the very front page, so you should be able to find it easily.
Generally, you’ll choose where you’re flying from, the destination city, when you’re planning on flying and returning, and how many people are traveling. You won’t need much more information than that – again, we are just doing some initial research.
Once you fill in this information, jot down the price the travel site returns. Do this for a couple more destinations and timeframes to get a feel for how the travel site is pricing things. Be sure to take note of the prices of any cheap flights including taxes and fees.
Do this for a 3 or 4 of your favorite sites with the same destinations and travel dates, and this will give you an idea of which sites are consistently offering the best prices. You’ll notice that in many cases, online travel agents can provide extremely cheap air fare.
Selection
Another important consideration is the number of offerings the online travel site has. It’s generally easier and cheaper to just book your entire vacation with the same travel store. For one, you won’t need to book your hotel, flight, and car rental at three separate sites. Also, many online travel sites give incentives when you book your flight, hotel, and rental car together, giving you added savings.
Ease of Navigation
The travel site that you’re using should also be easy to navigate, that is, easy to find the things that you’re looking for. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of clicks to get to where you want to go.
Take a look at the travel site and see how easy it is to find the best Disney world vacation packages. How long does it take you to find cheap foreign air fare?
Using the site should not be a chore.
Newsletter
A top online airline travel agency should have a free newsletter that you can subscribe to. These newsletters often tell you about the latest travel deals and discount vacation packages and promotions. For example, one newsletter could talk about the best deals on vacation packages to Orlando Florida, or maybe a promotion on New York City vacation packages.
Since they’re free, you can sign up to several and see which ones are the most interesting and helpful to you.
Rewards
The travel industry is very competitive, and in order to try to get more customers, many online travel agents have loyalty programs that try to win over your business. Some offer points that can go towards free travel. Others offer discounts on hotels or car rentals with your membership. Many rewards programs are totally free to join, and in many cases are well worth the effort.
Take a look at the rewards program your online travel site offers and make note of especially attractive travel rewards. Be sure to include rewards that are actually useful to you and your travel preferences.
Which Is The Best Travel Store?
After analyzing a number of different online travel stores, we have two recommendations.
Our favorite travel site by far is Travelocity. Travelocity is one of the largest online travel stores on the Internet. Their homepage is very well laid out, so it’s super-easy to find what it is you are looking for within a couple of clicks.
Right on the front page, you’ll see everything they offer at a glance. Along the top, you’ll see that you can book everything from flights, to vacation packages, to hotels, and even cruises. One of our favorite offerings is their Last Minute Packages, perfect for a spontaneous getaway. All you need to do is book within three weeks of your departure date and you can save big bucks. In fact, their last minute travel packages often start at just $199, which is an awesome deal.
Travelocity also scores high in other important areas. They have a 24-hour customer support lin, so a Travelocity service representative can always be reached if you have any problems during your vacation (trust us, this is critical). Their selection is wonderful, and you should be able to find everything you need at one site. But our favorite thing about Travelocity is the Travelocity Guarantee. This comprehensive program basically looks after you in several key areas:
- Their low price guarantee ensures that if you find a lower rate within 24 hours of booking, Travelocity will not only refund you the difference, but give you $50 off your next travel purchase for your trouble. No more slapping your forehead after booking and discovering a cheaper fare somewhere else.
- No cancellation fee if you book an electronic ticket and need to change the dates, names, or flight times within 24 hours of booking. This is very handy and you’ll find that many other sites will charge you for any changes.
- If there is anything that might get in the way of your enjoyment on your trip — a closed pool or excessive hotel construction are two good examples — and Travelocity is notified, they will actually contact you and help you make other arrangements.
- Finally, as we mentioned before, they are reachable 24/7, so if any problems crop up, they are ready to help.
This guarantee is so good, that many customers are raving about it. Here’s what one satisfied traveller had to say about their guarantee:
"I am so pleased with the customer care Travelocity gives its clients. We were in Kauai when Aloha airlines went out of business. Travelocity called me at my hotel and already had my husband, our buddy and I all booked on a plane home on the day of our booked departure. I could not believe it! You saved us the hassle of trying to get home. I will recommend Travelocity to everyone I know and use Travelocity for future travel and hotel reservations. Thank you so very much for the wonderful care."
– Alisha
For all of these reasons, Travelocity remains the best travel store online for overall price, convenience, and customer service.
International Air Travel - Vayama
Now if you are looking strictly for an international flight, we would be remiss if we did not mention Vayama. Vayama is focused purely on getting great deals on international travel. Theyhave a very cool map tool that makes searching for international flights fun, and gives you access to a wider range of airlines, routes, and fares.
Vayama offers more international flights than any other website, with over 100+ airlines and 191 counties. With their tremendous reach, booking an international flight ticket on Vayama can save you up to 63% on your booking! They even have important travel tips, local taxi and public transportation information, and even passport, visa, and health and safety information right on the site, making it the best place to book international travel online.
"I don’t even bother wasting my time checking prices at the hundreds of other travel sites. When it comes to international travel, I immediately make my booking at vayama.com because I know I’ll always get the lowest price."
If you are looking to travel abroad, give Vayama a try. Highly recommended.
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