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13 March, 2023

WATCH: TikTok creator explains the benefit of travel agents to Gen Z

Unbeknownst to many of today’s youngsters, prior to the advent of the internet people who wanted to book travel only had the option of doing so in person.

The process of finding a travel agent and booking trips in person (which we all know and love) was a given in the past if you were looking to explore the world. But many in the Generation Z populous – or Zoomers, as they are often know – were unaware of the essential helping hand that travel agents provide.

Here to educate the Zoomers is an emerging creator on TikTok known as @travelagentandy, who has enlightened fellow TikTokers with the concept of booking travel through a pro, rather than using third party sources.

@travelagentandy
♬ original sound – Travel Agent Andy

“It feels like millennials and Gen Z are just now starting to catch onto the fact that travel agents like myself still exist in the world,” he said.

Travel Agent Andy acknowledged that many travellers prefer using third-party sources like Booking.com or Expedia, but he outlined the benefits from using a travel agent.

“If you have a hotel in mind that you wanna book and you wanna book through me, it’s completely free,” he said.

“When you book through third-party websites, you’re actually marked to the hotel as a budget traveller, so they’re not going to do anything extra to woo you.”

But the Zoomers were shocked! How does this work? How do agents even make money?

And while this is common knowledge to us in the travel industry, this came as news to the young audience on TikTok.

“Travel agents collect commission on any bookings that are made,” Andy said. “There are some agents and agencies that collect money upfront just to make sure you are serious about booking, …but that’s only some. I’d say the majority of agents in general are free to work with.”

One TikTok user asked, “How do we go about finding someone thats good in our area?” Andy replied that travellers shouldn’t look for someone in their close proximity, but rather someone with expertise in the desired location or type of travel.

His video on why you should use an agent has amassed over 2.5 million views and he currently has almost 80,000 followers on TikTok.

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

Latest comments

travelcrusaders says:
March 13, 2023 at 2:41 pm
The Third Party booking sites Andy is referring to are (presumably) online accommodation booking agents. Of these, the well-known ones that most travelers are using are huge and VERY influential with accommodation providers. They have solid contracts with major accommodation providers. So Andy is claiming the possibility of getting preferential treatment through booking with a travel agent but this can also be true in the case of booking through the Third Party sites as they have buying power – probably much more. (using the same reasons as Andy has given).
Where I think what Andy should have been aiming for is not about gaining a possibility of a small incentive (Room upgrade or a few perks & coupons, etc) but that personalized service, i.e. Human Touch that a traveler gets from Andy which the Third Party cannot replicate even with the use of their digital robots PLUS complete transparency of information about the state of the accommodation which some of the travel agents like Andy can provide is very valuable. For example, a super discount which is provided by the Online booking site may not reveal (or even know) that there is a major renovation taking place in that hotel during your intended stay. Travel agents can give travelers current knowledge of the product.
So yes, booking with the right travel agent will come out better in the end but not just the reason given by Andy.
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@travelagentandy TikTok travel agent