A travel agent with more than a decade of experience has revealed the biggest mistakes people make when booking a holiday – and his top tips for avoiding them.
Anthony Bezzina, the manager of Hays Travel Cookstown, is one of the lucky few who can say that he books holidays every day – even though he isn’t the one going on them.
‘Travel agents exist, I think, largely because people are busy in their lives and they have a lot going on,’ he tells the Daily Mail.
‘People come to us because we are the experts in our field and, with us being on the high street, people can physically come to us and speak to a real person who will understand what they’re looking for.’
With more than 500 high street branches, Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agency.
And Anthony – who has been in the travel game for more than 10 years – says the best way to come into the store is with very open-ended questions or ideas, such as wanting a central location, a short flight and specific amenities.
‘We can break those down and say, “Based on that, we’ve had customers go to this place, they think it’s really good, these are the reviews”, and then we can look at pricing grids and put those things together.’
According to Money Saving Expert, booking late can be the cheapest way to get a package – no more than eight to 10 weeks before departure, when the cheap deals flood in.
Anthony Bezzina, the manager of Hays Travel Cookstown, is one of the lucky few who can say that he books holidays every day – even though he isn’t the one going on them (stock image)
With more than 500 high street branches, Hays Travel is the UK’s largest independent travel agency. The Cookstown store is pictured
But Anthony advises caution for ‘last-minute bargains’ – and says this is one of the biggest mistakes people make when booking holidays.
‘They do exist, but you limit your options by not booking sooner,’ Anthony adds, explaining that the later you wait, the more you need to be flexible about dates and destinations.
This means you are unlikely to get any specific hotel ‘must-haves’ on your list.
Many tour operators also offer early booking codes or discounts, including £100-per-couple discounts or buy-one-get-one-free weeks – so it can pay to wait.
Another major red flag, according to Anthony, is travelling abroad without insurance – something that one in four holidaymakers do, according to a recent ABTA study.
While the extra cost is what puts a lot of people off, Anthony says: ‘It can make a lot of difference if somebody gets sick on their holiday, especially if they’re going to countries where the medical system can be quite expensive, like the US.’
He adds: ‘There have been even multiple instances recently with Storm Amy where customers couldn’t make their flight out to their cruise ship, or their flights were cancelled coming back.
‘With insurance, they are able to claim for some of these things.
Anthony advises caution for ‘last-minute bargains’ – and says this is one of the biggest mistakes people make when booking holidays
‘A good percentage of our customers take out insurance directly through us. But even if they don’t get it through us, we encourage them to make sure that they do get insurance.’
Anthony recommends buying insurance as soon as you book your trip to ensure you’re covered immediately for cancellations.
He also advises holidaymakers to check a country’s entry requirements well in advance.
‘As an agency, we can only advise when it comes to passport and visa applications,’ he says.
‘But we do get customers who will forget to apply and this can be a last-minute rush.
‘My advice would be to check what is needed and apply as soon as possible to avoid this.’
UK travellers can find travel visa information on the official government website, GOV.UK, which has a dedicated section for foreign travel advice.
Lastly, while Anthony agrees that AI is going to be ‘instrumental’ to the travel industry moving forward, he’s quick to warn that holidaymakers using it for holiday inspiration should always double-check the information.
He says: ‘A lot of people will give AI very basic prompts and it will return very basic information. You have to be really detailed with these things.
It’s best to buy insurance as soon as you book your trip to ensure you’re covered immediately for cancellations
‘The information that it gives is not always correct because it is pulling information from various online sources.
‘I could ask an AI chatbot a question about a specific hotel, and the information it could be pulling could be out of date. It’s always better to go directly to the source.
‘There can also be a lot of complicated information out there, so it is best to go to trusted sources and double-check any information you get from AI.’
Instead of solely relying on AI for these kinds of crucial details, Anthony suggests using it as a starting point for fleshing out ideas.
He finishes: ‘Just like in the late 90s and early 2000s, when you could start booking your holidays online, people started asking questions about whether this technology would replace us.
‘But we still have a growing customer base of people who want the security of booking through a real person.
‘Because that way, at least if something happens, they have a human to talk to, or they can ask questions.’
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