23/10/2026
✈️ WHO NEEDS A TRAVEL AGENT WHEN YOU’VE GOT GOOGLE, CHATGPT AND EVERY HOLIDAY BOOKING WEBSITE UNDER THE SUN?
Of course you can book your own holiday.
I’m sure plenty of you have booked your own flights, hotels and package holidays online over the years without a single problem. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But what happens when things don’t quite go to plan?
Let me share a couple of real experiences from holidays I’ve arranged for my customers, because sometimes the value of using an independent travel agent isn’t obvious until something goes wrong.
🏨 THE FAMILY WHOSE HOTEL CLOSED BEFORE THEIR FLIGHT HOME
I’d booked a family with children on a package holiday with easyJet holidays.
The hotel informed them that on their departure day, it would be closing for winter at midday.
The problem? Their flight home wasn’t until 10pm.
So here was a family with children facing the prospect of spending hours with their luggage and nowhere to go before their evening flight.
easyJet holidays said they had no liability and there was nothing they could or would do.
As soon as my customers informed me of their predicament, I took care of everything.
I secured £150 from easyJet holidays, which I used to book day passes at another local hotel.
I arranged and paid for the day passes, organised transport between the hotels and amended their airport transfer so they would be collected from the new hotel.
Instead of spending hours trying to entertain tired children with their luggage in tow, they could relax, use the hotel facilities and enjoy the remainder of their holiday.
My customers didn’t have to spend hours making phone calls, arguing with suppliers or trying to find somewhere to go.
I handled it all for them.
🌍 THEN THERE WAS THE DISRUPTION CAUSED BY THE CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
Flights cancelled, routes disrupted and holiday plans thrown into chaos.
I know people who lost considerable amounts of money on accommodation they’d booked separately, while others spent hours trying to rearrange flights and work out what they were entitled to.
And this is something people don’t always consider when booking their own holidays.
If you’ve booked your flights and accommodation separately, a cancelled flight doesn’t automatically mean your hotel will refund you.
You could find yourself dealing with several different companies, each with their own terms and conditions.
Meanwhile, I had customers holidaying in Thailand whose travel arrangements were affected by the disruption.
Rather than spending their holiday trying to contact airlines and suppliers, I dealt with the disruption, contacted the relevant companies and helped arrange what was needed.
They had someone they could turn to who already knew their booking and could help them navigate the situation.
💛 AND THAT’S THE BIT PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS THINK ABOUT WHEN BOOKING A HOLIDAY.
It’s a bit like travel insurance.
You take out travel insurance hoping you’ll never need it.
You might go on 20 holidays and never make a single claim.
But that 1 time something goes wrong, you’re incredibly grateful you’ve got it.
And that’s exactly how I want people to think about booking with a personal travel advisor.
You might book 10 holidays through me and never need anything beyond the original booking.
But on that 11th holiday, when something unexpected happens, you’ll know you’ve got someone you can turn to.
Of course, booking your own holiday doesn’t automatically mean you have no protection. But booking flights, hotels and transfers separately doesn’t necessarily give you the same protection as a properly protected package holiday.
When you book an eligible ATOL protected holiday, you also benefit from financial protection under the ATOL scheme.
And even when you’re booking a package holiday with one of the big holiday companies, there’s a difference between navigating their customer service channels yourself and having a personal travel advisor helping you.
Because sometimes the real value of a travel advisor isn’t what happens when everything goes right. It’s what happens when something goes wrong.
And here’s something else many people don’t realise.
💛 I don’t charge an additional travel advisor fee for booking your holiday through me.
Whether you’re planning a family holiday, an all inclusive beach holiday, a Thailand adventure, a romantic escape or a complicated multi centre holiday, I can help you research, plan and book a holiday that suits you.
From finding the right accommodation and arranging flights and airport transfers to explaining the financial protection attached to your booking, there’s much more to my service than simply finding a price.
I can’t promise flights won’t be cancelled, hotels won’t close or unexpected events won’t disrupt your plans.
But I can promise that if something does go wrong, I’ll be there to help you navigate it.
⭐ DON’T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT.
Have a look at the feedback and reviews from my customers on my page.
Because booking a holiday is the easy part. Knowing you’ve got someone to turn to when things don’t go to plan is where the real value lies.
📩 THINKING ABOUT BOOKING YOUR NEXT HOLIDAY?
Whether you’ve already found something online or you’re starting from scratch, get in touch and let me see what I can do for you.
📧 [email protected]
📱 WhatsApp 07807 910368
💛 Follow Steph’s Suitcase for honest travel advice, holiday inspiration and tips to help you travel smarter.
