One of my wishes, as a travel agent, is that all travelers select their vacation accommodations based on what they wish to experience rather than what they want to pay. Often times, when people call me about traveling, they select their resort and room accommodations based on price, no quality.
Sure you can vacation in a less expensive room, but the question is–is what you are giving up worth it? Regardless of recommendations (which is one of the reasons you select a good travel agent), some travelers just want to book based on price and not quality. My sister is one of those people.
I recently went to Las Vegas with my sister. Upon check in, they asked if we would like to upgrade our room, for a small price, to a balcony room at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino. My sister did not want to spend the extra money to upgrade our room. I went along with her decision because we were splitting the cost and she did not want to spend the extra money.
Our room was amazing, at the Cosmopolitan. However, that is not the point of this blog. The point is, throughout our entire stay, my sister thought of a million reasons why she needed a room with a balcony. She talked about not having a balcony for days. It was worse, once she found out that all her friends upgraded and kept talking about how awesome the balcony was, it really made her regret not upgrading to the balcony.
On another occasion, I had a client that insisted on booking an inside stateroom on his cruise. Once he arrived on the ship, he called me and asked if he could upgrade to a suite. I told him that the ship was full and he was unable to upgrade. Once he returned from his cruise, he said he had an amazing time, however, he truly got what he paid for and he would never book an inside stateroom again.
Sometimes, travel agents, like myself, are not trying to upsell you and cause you to spend more money than you need to. It is about the value that you will receive when you stop selecting your accommodations based on price and select your accommodations based on what you want to experience and enjoy.
If my sister would have applied a little more money, she would have been able to enjoy the balcony, sit on the balcony and enjoy the view of the busy Vegas strip, while sipping on her beverage of choice. The balcony would have enhanced her experience, I know it. And I bet she would not compromise, again, on her vacation.
If my client would have selected the stateroom, on his cruise, that best fit his personality, it would have taken his first cruise experience to a different level.
Listen to your travel agent when he/she says that you will enjoy having your room facing the ocean rather than the front entrance of the hotel or street. Listen to your travel agent when he/she says to get a balcony on your cruise so that you can order room service and enjoy your breakfast while sailing down the ocean, rather than an inside stateroom with no view. Sometimes, your travel agent is trying to get you to enjoy and enhance your travel experience and add value to your vacation for a reason—so that you can have the best experience ever.
you can’t put a price on happiness !!!