The hurricane season generally runs from June to early November, and we do advise clients of this, so that they can make up their own minds. However, the Weather is an act of God, Hurricanes can change directions and can be very unpredictable. One advantage of booking with a Travel Agency and bonded Tour Operator is the help when things go wrong ( As in the Antarctica Ship Explorer this week!) The Crisis teams are put into action and Clients moved, re-patriated etc. Tour Operators buy up all of the Hotel space in safe areas, and in most cases can avert a situation. Book on the net and D.I.Y then i’m afraid your on your own.

Consumers should always inform themselves, but the ultimate responsibility rests with the party organising the trip, which in this scenario is the agent. It’s a no-brainer that making clients aware of potential dangers should be part of the service.

While the tour operators should advise you of weather problems that are usual in any given geographical area, they are not weather people, and mother nature seems to be quite unpredictable the past few years. I know that I for one cannot arbitrarily pick the time of year that I can take vacation, so if it is near the end of hurricane season in the Caribbean, and I want to go there, I look up the expected weather for the upcoming week, and if it looks good, I book the trip. This has caught me aboard a ship during a hurricane that we could not avoid, and made for a miserable few days, but my family and I have survived.

Actually, While I might not have been clear, I meant that I had been told by the travel agent that it was “Just past” the officially recognized Hurricane season. However in my case it was not quite past enough (lol). I do believe that a travel agent (should you use one), should be aware of, and indicate to the customer, any adverse items.

i agree with mike diamond - travel agents are not weather forcasters nor do they hold crystal balls - if you want to go on holiday its up to you to research what the weathers like - an agents job is to get you there

should the agency remind you to cancel your milk? and if not is it there fault when you have 48 bottles of milk on your doorstep?
should we also remind you to turn your central heating off - and again if not are we responcible for your gas bill on your return.. you could be there all day talking about the weather the temperature of the sea the poverty the crime rate the cost of a beer the variety of restaurants the quality of the beach……were travel agents we sell you travel - your going to the place were just getting you there - do some homework - if i went to a car dealer and bought a car and then got half way down the road and realised it had no air conditioning - i wouldnt blame the salesman for not telling me everything the car has or hasent…..
- NOW IM RANTING - BLOODY CONSUMERS - OUR JOB WOULD BE SO MUCH EASIER WITHOUT PASSENGERS!!!!!

Sense of humour Darren
- and you changed my name was that a free name change or do i pay admin charges

Spenny, but if you went to a car dealership and said “I’m looking for a comfortable car, air conditioning, heating, get me to work” And they sold you one without air (presumably you were to focused on negotiations to notice the lack of a/c).

So if I go to an agent and say I’m looking forward to a sunny break, I’d like a heads up if it is hurricane season.

First of all, getting some extra milk is not a risk comparable to being caught in a cyclone.

Second, it’s a general risk - it isn’t the agent’s responsibility because it isn’t specific to the product being sold. But if the location and time of the holiday mean a higher than average risk of dangerous weather, that risk *is* specific to the product being sold.

Third, what’s the big deal? It’s only a sentence and it adds to the customer’s sense that you know your stuff and care about the transaction.

Oh…Spenny, were you kidding? If so, LOL. If not, see above.

theres an old arabic saying goes like this “Mistoqsia oht l’erf” it means - the question is sister of wisdom - ask your questions let me remind all of the first post - as we seem to be going astray….
“Let me set the scene; I visit a travel agency and I want to go to the Caribbean, it’s my first time visiting this part of the World and I want to go the first week in July. The agent goes through my options and I book a two week beach holiday in the Bahamas.”

…..so why not ask some questions and im sure your agent would oblige with an answer…are you really going to spend out on a Caribbean holiday without doing some research??

…like i would have asked “does this car have air conditioning” if it was paramount

Ive sent many people to the caribbean and to florida during hurricane season - people still go then….ive sold a flight to kabul before - should i have mentioned the weather in that sale? or the time of year - “not really tourist season sir” should i advise him to carry an assault rifle while browsing the local market…

and come on guys - humor makes the world go round - you get very far in life with a smile - and not so with a frown

Maybe I am a bit less sensitive to the need for a travel agents warning due to my being on the North East Coast of the U.S. We routinely hear of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes that are about to form in the Caribbean, on our daily news/weather shows. This is due to the fact that we are in the path of many of them (although by the time they get as far North as I live, they have generally become what we call a NorEaster (50-60KPH winds and heavy rain). But our South East Coast is quite heavily involved in many of these storms, and so just about everyone on the East Coast of the U.S. is aware of when hurricane season begins and ends. The fact that it is general knowledge is possibly why our local Travel Agents/Agencies will mention it when you go to book a trip. They can’t possibly hide it from you if you own a television.

“Why not ask some questions and im sure your agent would oblige with an answer”

The fact that the customer can ask questions doesn’t mean the agent needn’t volunteer information. If you’re being paid for your services and want repeat business you surely want to offer more than the bare minimum.

“I would have asked “does this car have air conditioning” if it was paramount”

Air conditioning is an optional extra on a production-line item - if you want it you’ll ask for it and pay extra for it. For a varitey of reasons, nobody goes into a travel agent thinking, “Shall I fork out for the safer weather conditions or go with the standard model?”

“Should I have mentioned the weather in that sale?”

Yes, if it posed a higher than average risk to the customer’s personal safety.

“Should I advise him to carry an assault rifle…”

You should advise him of the higher than average risk to his personal safety. The assault rifle might be a bridge too far.

I’m not harping on about this because I’m anti-agent. Quite the opposite. I think that ‘we just get you there’ undersells the level of personal service an agent can bring to a holiday purchase.

The comment Nathan has made:

I’m not harping on about this because I’m anti-agent. Quite the opposite. I think that ‘we just get you there’ undersells the level of personal service an agent can bring to a holiday purchase.

Really does sum it up for me. When I am looking to book air travel I will generally go to the internet and utilizing sites like Kayak.com, compare all of the airfares point to point, and book it myself. However, when looking to book a cruise, I will go to a professional who specializes in Cruises, and is affiliated with cruise lines I would like to sail aboard. I do this, because they will generally get me the cruise I want, at a fare that I could not beat by more than a few dollars if at all, and the cruise lines seem to give out upgrades (when available), more often to those who use an agent rather than book online (this of course does not include booking directly through the cruise lines site, however they don’t always advertise the special deals that are available - which a good agent will inquire about while on the phone with the cruise line).

Sometimes I feel that we are in a no win stuation.
We have quoted for two ladies going to Marrakesh, who want to travel by train from London to Madrid, spend time in Madrid then catch the ferry to Tangier. Overnight in Tangier then Overnight train Tangier to Marrakech etc.
We have warned them that whilst most travellers to Morocco have a safe and pleasant holiday, that the sale of Hashish is quite common, that it is not un heard of for people trying to sell it on trains and pulling out a knife and that we would recommend 1st Class rail as being the only option etc etc.
Result, client says seasoned travellers, quote is more than they want to pay and will take the bull by the horns and book it themselves.
By the way the Overnight train from Tangier is not bookeable in the UK ( But we know a man who can and quoted for it!!)
In a way I sympathise a little with what Spenny is trying to say.