Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
The only issue sometimes with Expedia and Travelocity is that often when you book a hotel; you have to pre-pay for the entire trip. So that means if your trip isn't for months, you have to pay for the hotel now. And let's say you get to the hotel and it sucks, you cannot check out early without losing all of your money.
I don't think that would apply in your case, so have at it. The only thing with a friend's wedding is you might want to check with the friend. Sometimes the travel agent has busted their butt to make everything right on the special day; knowing the reward will come in all the other travel she will book. Often too the wedding party gets a discount by having X number of people book through the agent.
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Agreed. Plus it's no fun if you need to cancel. Online bookings are typically 100% non refundable, so if something comes up and you have to cancel, you can be out-of-pocket a lot of money with nothing to show for it.
Us travel agents have contracts with hotels/resorts/airlines which occaisionally allow us to cancel on your behalf for no more than the typical deposit ($200).
When it comes to simple transborder flights I don't blame people for booking online, simple stuff. When doing complicated itineraries, it's still best to contact a travel agent. Hence why I like specializing in the South Pacific/Asia/Africa!