Holiday discussion in the Pub
By Darren Cronian on Thursday, January 31st, 2008

I know I said I was having a break for a week but last night I was in the pub with friends and we got into a holiday discussion about how we book our holidays. For the last two years I have booked my holiday with a travel agent, and weekend breaks by booking with the airline, and the hotel through ebookers.

Holiday discussion in the Pub

What was interesting was that all of my friends prefer to book their own flight, and then use sites like hotels.co.uk or book direct with the hotel brand. I asked why none of them used a travel agency and their response was flexibility, which leads it to being cheaper.

Whilst seven people sat in a pub in Pudsey are just a tiny percentage of travellers I was surprised at their response. The four travel agents in my town though have been open longer than any other shop, bar or pub and remain open, so the demand is obviously still there.

How have you booked your holidays recently and what was your reason for booking this way?


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10 responses to “Holiday discussion in the Pub”

Mark Evans | 31 January, 2008 at 10:42 pm

To book business trips, doing it online is pretty easier. Things get more complicated when you’ve got more moving parts (i.e. children, especially those under the age of two who don’t need to buy a ticket). This is a good travel agent is pretty handy.

P.S. Nice try on the blogging break. :)

Darren Cronian | 31 January, 2008 at 10:56 pm

Yes, that was a pretty pathetic attempt to not blog for a week; I thought I would slip up at the weekend, but no I got the urge today.

Benedict Adam | 1 February, 2008 at 10:25 am

I always prefer to book holiday bits individualy, gives me the feeling of independence.

For weekend breaks it does seem to make sense to get it all sorted in one by a travel agent, does it work out cheaper?

Do you still get the same choice though?

foxnomad | 1 February, 2008 at 3:28 pm

For every expensive trips, you can usually find some slightly-shady travel agencies that will book you a good flight for low cost (beware of long layovers though).

In general, when working through a reputable travel agent (it’s good to find and keep the same one) you can get a better deal than booking online.

At worst, at least it gives you another price option to look at. Too bad it’s just not as convenient…

Sue | 1 February, 2008 at 4:00 pm

We use travel agents.

I could not be bothered to use the internet and instead I can walk into a shop and let them do it all for me.

I would like to see some more patient travel agents though, because nowadays they do not want to spend too much time with you.

John Kitson | 1 February, 2008 at 6:22 pm

Business, I organise myself.

Family holiday, I use a local travel agency.

Rohan | 1 February, 2008 at 7:59 pm

We plan and book flight and hotel seperatly.

What’s the chance of something happening that we can’t deal with?

Darren Cronian | 1 February, 2008 at 8:04 pm

Rohan,

There’s a chance, which could be a problem if your stranded. With the EU directives on low cost carriers, travel insurance, and extra funds at hand you shouldn’t have too many problems.

Laura | 1 February, 2008 at 11:27 pm

Hi Darren I hope your well.

When I lived in Canada I always used a travel agency. Since I have moved to York though I have realised how cheap it can be to travel around Europe, so have booked flight and the hotel myself.

Darren Cronian | 1 February, 2008 at 11:31 pm

Laura I’m great thanks.

Hows life in my favourite UK city?

Was travel expensive in Canada?

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