Dear client: Like anyone who
enjoys a good deal, it may have occurred to you that you can
actually plan some of the best moments of your life online. A
proportion of vacation planning is done that way and I, as your
agent, want to tell you about some of the advantages in using an
online site, instead of me, to plan your next vacation:
1. Your
privacy will not be invaded. The Internet will never want
to meet you, to know your personal likes and dislikes, to strive to
treat you as an individual. No one will ask about your prior travel
experiences to match you with the very best travel product. No one
will inquire about your medical background. In fact, to protect
your privacy, your entire transaction may be occurring in
Bangladesh. But this won't bother you because no one will tell you
this.
2. The
simplicity of the Internet is appealing. The only bit of
information you need to give up is your credit card number. Sure,
credit card security is a major issue, and you may actually be
speaking with a hotel reservationist who is currently incarcerated,
but giving your credit card to someone who may be using a
fictitious name is not really that dangerous. Don't worry about
it.
3. You
won't have to deal with any negative information. In fact,
you probably won't have to deal with any downside information about
your hotel, your airline seat or your cruise line. Everything
smells like a strawberry on the Internet. It is a world where
everything is fine and your booking will be simple and efficient
without wasting time discussing the relative merits of hotels and
their locations, air routing, personalized sightseeing geared to
your interests and feedback from personal inspections. No downside
information. The Internet is always positive, even if your hotel is
a hellhole. I like that about them.
4. Internet
sites often allow you to pay more for your vacation. This
keeps lots of folks employed. You never have to worry about being
called a cheapskate for using the Internet, since there is such a
good chance that you are paying the same or more then you would
have paid to use my services. You see, after you work with me, you
don't have to call the hotel, cruise line or tour operator,
checking to make certain that the Internet site did not mess up
your reservation. Since I do my job and the Internet often doesn't,
who do you think gets the better rates form suppliers?
5. Booking
online gives you one less number to call in case of an
emergency. Just strike it off your list. Just get your
doctor on the phone if there is a problem overseas.
6. Remember
the Woody Allen movie where prisoners were sentencedto spend time locked in a room with an insurance
salesman? Well, on the Internet that won't happen. Chances
are no one at all will discuss the benefits of various travel
insurance policies. That would take too much time. You can always
use more free time. So what if you're uninsured? What could
happen?
7. You may
get to work with many Web sites to book your vacation.
It's fun to try new things. And because online travel firms go out
of business at a rate that is significantly higher than home-based
or brick and mortar firms, you will get to meet lots of new
friends, all of whom want to be friends with your credit card --
but not with you -- which means you've saved even more precious
time.
8. The best
part of booking your next vacation on the Internet is that it's
more fun. If you have to cancel or change your trip, doing
it over the Internet is like a strategy game. If you love virtual
reality and have lots of time on your hands, you will love making
changes to an existing Internet booking. It is much more of a game
then just calling me up. Now that's boring.
Contributing
Editor Richard Turen owns Churchill and Turen Ltd., a
vacation-planning firm, and has been named to Conde Nast's list of
the World's Best Travel Specialists since the list
began.