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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Travel agents are like interior decorators.  They don't work for a flat fee, they work on commission based on what you spend, and the additional costs are rolled into what they offer you, so it's opaque and you'll never clearly know that you paid more.

I work for a major local hotel company. (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.)  The rates we sell through travel agents are 10% more than what you get by booking it directly, because they make a commission on those sales and doing the booking/bundling leg work for you.

Use tripadvisor forums for good advice on where to go (free) and then just book it all online yourself.  If you search for airfare for your dates via Google flights, and then accommodations based on a major chain, that's 70-80% of the trip planning.  The rest is food and activities which can be booked much closer to the travel date.[/quote]

I'm a travel agent. I book the higher-end Mariots and Hyatts all the time and always check my rate against the retail rate, so I don't know what you mean. It's always the same (not 10% difference, as you say), and I my rate gets my clients free amenities like breakfast or resort credits. As for the people saying you don't like the idea of only going to the type of places that give travel agents commission, that's literally everywhere. The only things that don't pay commission are VRBO situations and usually airlines. So this doesn't affect my clients at all, since they aren't usually looking for me to do either. 
I get that some people enjoy the research and planning, but I have more business than I can handle from people who don't have the time/interest in it. [/quote]

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