by John Kirk
Last updated: 2:45 PM ET, Fri February 23, 2024
Here we go again. Regrettably, the Travel and Tourism industry has been dealt a blow with yesterday's announcement regarding the failure of Calgary-based Lynx Airlines. It is certainly not the first and will likely not be the last.
Opinionated bloggers, influencers, freelancers, and anyone who has travelled anywhere consider themselves experts. I have spent close to forty years with some of the most outstanding travel companies in the country, such as Porter Airlines, Vision Travel Group, and Thomas Cook to mention a few. You can view my Linked In profile here rather than bore you with my CV. These years in the industry, I believe, qualify me to provide an informed opinion.
However, for context in this article, I will reference my time in the retail travel space where I spent many years at Thomas Cook North America, leading their retail division, which included such mega-brands as Bel Air Travel, Avion Travel, The Last Minute Club, Wholesale Travel Group, Discount Travel Warehouse, and a few others. I had oversight of all call centre operations, close to sixty-five retail storefront locations, as well as e-commerce and had approximately 350 retail travel Advisors operating from within this business. I only provide this overview to ensure you that my experience affords me the right to have an opinion on this.
USE A PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL ADVISOR! As a result of the announcement by Lynx filing for CCAA (the US equivalent of Chapter 11) protection, thousands of Canadians will be scrambling over the coming days to sort through refunds and re-booking their flights, and the list will go on and on. When you book with a retail Travel professional, all of, well, most of these issues would be handled by them, at least to the best of their abilities. Don't be surprised if a Travel Advisor won't be willing to help if you are one of the unfortunate customers who is caught up in the current crisis with Lynx, or if they require a fee to provide assistance.
Think about this as you navigate through the vortex and turbulence, trying to work through the endless amount of news and disinformation you will be subject to on Lynx. Think of this while you are on hold for hours with your Credit Card provider, trying to determine whether you will get a full refund and, if so, when you will get it. This is what a professional seller of Travel would do for you had you booked with them either directly, by phone in person, or online with a Travel site that has back-end support by travel advisors.
When you book with a travel advisor, you are entering into a contract that will see them provide support along with other services as part of your journey. You are paying them for this service. They, quite deservedly, are paid a commission by the travel services provider to manage the relationship, pre- and post-travel, along with the transaction, effectively on their behalf. More importantly, the level of knowledge a professional advisor processes is remarkable. Many of them have likely been to the Hotel you may be considering or have visited the destination you are looking at. Their advice alone is invaluable. As an aside, if you're curious, the glory days of "Fam Trips" are long gone. A Professional Travel Advisor who participates in a hosted familiarization trip attends to experience and educate themselves. Their day usually starts at 7:00 am; they visit and tour between five to seven hotels in a day. It is a grind.
How do you know who is actually a professional Travel advisor? Here are some important things to look for.
- Travel Advisors are regulated in British Columbia ( https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/check-a-licence-search/ , Ontario https://tico.ca/search/ and Quebec https://pes.opc.gouv.qc.ca/certificat/recherche/ )
If your Travel Advisor is based in any of those provinces either they are, or their Agency of record will be registered in their respective province.
- Ask for any affiliation certification or registration information they have and contact their Agency of Record to validate the relationship.
- Many Advisors are now deemed "Independent Contractors", however for the most part all IC's are associated with an Agency network. Simply ask who they are affiliated with and follow up with the Agency of record.
- Check with ACTA Canada https://www.acta.ca/travel-directory Not all Travel Advisors are members of ACTA. It is not mandatory to be registered.
- Many professional Travel advisors are also accredited sellers by various suppliers and have certification documentation to validate their achievements. If you see any of the certifications, you can check with the supplier directly.
- For added comfort level, check out their Social Media page(s).
- Visit their website and/or check out the Google reviews.
- Look for other accredited professional association memberships.
- Ask a friend for a recommendation.
Listen, these days, it'll cost you $150.00 to get someone to come and look at your fridge. A decent lawyer will come in at $500.00 an hour. Heck, it will cost you $1000.00 to see Taylor Swift; okay, I've gone too far here, I know, but you see my point, right. You're spending thousands of dollars on your vacation or corporate travel plans, which you have huge expectations of. On average, an advisor will spend between six to eight hours on your booking from start to finish. Don't get hung up on how much you may save by "Booking Direct.
In the end, it could cost considerably more, plus your time and energy, and you could be all on your own trying to sort things out all on your own, subconsciously saying to yourself, "Urgh, I'm such an idiot ! I should've listened to that Travel Expert dude John Kirk and booked with a professional Travel Advisor."
Be smart. Book with a Professional Travel Advisor. You won't regret it.
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