In today’s ever changing world it is critical to be a wise consumer and to make smart investments in all areas of your life. As we head into 2012, I would suggest that this analogy applies also to your travel investments.

I was reading a recent article in a trade journal entitled “The Travel Agent Annuity,” that suggests that Travel agents are like an annuity that keeps on paying you over time. The payoff to consumers comes in the form of time, convenience and monetary savings as well as in a professional agent’s destination and travel knowledge.

Frankly, in today’s time crunched world, most travelers just don’t have hours to spend on research to compare multiple flights, multiple cruises, multiple packages, etc.  In addition to the convenience factor, travel agents are also uniquely positioned to deal with disasters affecting their clients, such as the volcanoes, earthquakes, snow storms and civil unrest that we have seen globally in the past year.

Travel agents work as personal advisors to provide their clients with the best travel experience before during and after their trip. Thanks to their in-depth knowledge, experience and industry connections, travel agents are able not only to save their clients money, but also their most valuable possession—their time.

So with these thoughts in mind, the question becomes how much is your time worth, and at what monetary value does the savings offered by a true travel professional make it worthwhile to utilize their assistance?

Each person will of course have a different answer to this, however no matter your response, the common denominator is to be wise in your investments in time and money so that you can attain the absolute best value in your travel investments. Doing so marks you as a wise and astute investor, who is certain to succeed in today’s world!

I read a recent article from the North Jersey Media Group on the increasing trend in the travel industry for Airlines, hotels and car-rental agencies to offer programs, such as lock-in ticket reservations and prepaid non-refundable booking programs, which count on customers’ fear of steep cancellation fees to encourage them to make purchases immediately. (If you are interested in reading the full article you can click here).

The article discusses the ways that these organizations will try to confuse the consumer by offering a matrix of rates in a presentation that is often difficult to understand or follow. Not helping matters is the fact that often the big booking engines will also contribute to this confusion.

As an example Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz all advertise “secret” or “unpublished” room rates offered by hotels. What they often don’t tell you is that the rates are non-refundable. Since both Expedia and Orbitz tout the fact that they don’t charge cancellation or change fees, website users may never consider the possibility that they will lose hundreds of dollars by booking through these no-penalty websites. Over at Travelocity a simple search for hotels in a city on specific dates yields a list of properties and prices, but it lists no mention of non-refundable restrictions. (To its credit It does provide that caveat when the traveler selects a particular hotel). And so it goes.

As you are likely aware the charging of fees is also on the upswing. One new trend in this arena that gives us particular concern is the fee to pay more to be penalized less. A fee to pay a smaller fee, in effect.

One example of this is American Airlines Boarding and Flexibility Package. The packages, which cost anywhere from $10 to $30, depending on your itinerary, allow you to, among other things, get $75 off a change fee. Of course then there are the other fees you have likely heard of such as baggage, seat and other similar fees.

Car rental companies are also not exempt and now offer a “discount” for advance, non refundable payments.

As a travel professional whose goal is to find you the absolute best value in all of your travels, such trickery and deception quite truthfully dismays and upsets me. At the same time however, for the traveler who truly desires to attain the best value and advice, this article displays yet another reason to work with an ASTA certified travel professional such as Travel N Relax.

Rather than try to confuse or deceive you, our guest is whom we advocate for.  As such, we value the opportunity to work with every guest to discover your individual travel desires and needs and then hunt out the absolute best value available for you. Along the way we also caution (and educate) you on what may “appear” to be a good deal but in fact may not be.

That said, once again we offer the wise consumer the advice of “Buyer Beware.” As this economy continues to progress in its current state, more and more companies are looking for ways to “bait and hook” you through increased costs and fees which you should be aware of.  Sadly, just like the airline baggage and seat fees that are now here to stay, this trend is likely to continue even after the economy gets turned around into a better state.

As such, whether you book on your own, or use the council of a certified travel professional, we urge you to be cautious and to not fall into this trap.

Good prices can still be found. You just have to have the time and know how to find where those best prices are residing.

I went out to my mailbox the other day and found an envelope from Island Travel Treasures – a company that advertises itself as a “Private” travel sales club (name changed to protect the innocent).

Out of the envelope fell multiple “Private” travel “deals” which the company proclaimed on their lead sheet were the “very best rates not made available anywhere else.”  This was followed by sheet after sheet of screaming deals from well known Tour companies, Cruise lines, various Ski Resorts, Hotels, etc.

Curious to see just how good these “deals” were I decided to run a test on them and compare these special “Private” prices against what I could find. What I discovered disappointed me.

Many of these “Deals” were nothing more than public specials the companies themselves were running on their websites and which were available to anyone. Others were indeed unique specials…BUT… they were more costly then the offers I can offer to clients through the consortium’s Travel N Relax is connected with. None were in fact a special deal all.

The end lesson in this is… Buyer Beware! There are many companies out there competing for your business that are not legitimate. They may “Wow” you with their colorful marketing but be nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Particularly in this economy companies are becoming much more aggressive. You need to be a cautious consumer and really question when a “Deal” seems too good to be true. As this example shows it often is!

At Travel N Relax we truthfully will not offer you a special deal or promotion that does not exist. Rather we will just offer you the best value we can find at the time of your booking based on your individual needs and desires and then follow that pricing for you after your booking to make sure you continue to get the best value available to you.

In doing your research Buyer beware and make sure if you are offered a “Deal” that it really is the best value option out there for you.

I recently read in an advertising column of The New York Times that “millions of wealthy consumers have decided to play down the job of accumulating things in favor of the pleasure of accumulating experiences.”  Namely the concept of accumulating life experiences.

This might explain why, over the past several years, leisure travel has seen a surge of interest by consumers seeking experiences that provide memories for a lifetime. Vacationers today are not just looking for escapism from their daily routines. Instead, they are seeking to enrich themselves.

From kayaking, mountain biking and yoga, to participating in archeological digs or learning new skills, vacationers today often want to give back,  immerse themselves in rich cultural interactions and learn how people on the other side of our globe live their lives.  In all cases, the descriptor for this kind of vacation is “experiential.”

At Travel N Relax our belief has always been to connect world cultures through this type of an experiential vacation. Therefore, we have been encouraged to watch these trends take place as travelers take a new, deeper, appreciation to the world around them.

Whether your desire is to volunteer your time and skills, learn new skills, or to experience a destination through a wellness activity, as your Denver travel agency Travel N Relax has the connections to make your next experiential vacation a reality. We encourage you to explore the world as you wish to explore it.  Let us know if we can help you.