The 20 most ridiculous questions travel agents get asked

The 20 most ridiculous questions travel agents get asked
By Daisy Melwani


“Do they speak English in Britain?” We. Just. Can’t.

Oh the joy of sending people on holiday. Oh the sadness that people actually says these things to other people, out loud.

We question whether Australian travellers are on par with their American counterparts over the ridiculous things people ask their travel agent to arrange for them – for instance, asking to meet Elvis. Not necessarily even thin Elvis, just Elvis. Yes, dead Elvis.

Or what about asking a travel agent if they can fish – while onboard a cruise ship? Do any of the million Aussies cruising ask Ann Sherry this, we wonder? But we reckon asking your agent to book two rooms in one resort – one for you and your wife – the other for your mistress has got to be a chart topper.

Hence why we’re thrilled the travel agent members of the American version of AFTA, ASTA, shared their top 20 “Strangest Requests”.

“When planning your trip, travel agents know what consumers often don’t know to ask,” ASTA ceo Zane Kerby said to TravelPulse.

“But according to this poll of ASTA professionals, agents also sometimes have to save their clients from questions they DO ask. It’s clear from the list of ‘strangest requests’ that some travellers need a little more hand holding than others.”

After reading this list, we dare our Australian travel agent readers to submit their own.

  1. Can you please book the honeymoon suite for us and another couple?
    2.    Can you please plan a honeymoon for me, my bride and my mother?
    3.    Can you guarantee that no pet has ever been in the hotel room?
    4.    Can I fish off of the cruise ship?
    5.    Do they speak English in Britain?
    6.    Can you book two rooms in different parts of the resort—one for me and my wife, and the other for my girlfriend?
    7.    Is our relationship like a client/lawyer relationship? (ASTA wonders if this is the same client who asked Question 6).
    8.    Does the crew actually sleep onboard the cruise ship?
    9.    Don’t tell my fiancé this is where I took my first wife for our honeymoon.
    10.    I would like to go somewhere where there are NOT a lot of men.
    11.    I’d like to meet Elvis.
    12.    I’d like to get married in the Caribbean on an island where the marriage is not legal in the U.S. (Again, we refer you to Question 6).
    13.    Will there be shadows on my face at 4 p.m. when the pictures are taken?
    14.    Will you watch my pet while I’m away?
    15.    Are there toll roads on the way to Hawaii?
    16.    How can I get to Europe without going by air or sea?
    17.    I’d like to visit Scotland and Denmark on the same trip. (Agent then tells client he does not have time in his schedule to travel the distance). But they’re only an inch apart on the map!
    18.    Can you set it up so that the whales jump in the background at the same time I’m proposing to my girlfriend?
    19.    Can you ask the airline to block the seat next to me so I can stretch out?
    20.    I don’t want a window seat on the plane because I just had my hair done.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

afta ASTA travel agents

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