Travel agencies: just another rip-off, or a helpful timesaver for bargain-hungry students? Melissa Geere investigates.

When researching holidays, most people’s first instinct is to get online, open about five tabs with different options, and immerse themselves in the excitement of the hunt. Twenty years ago however, the usual method would have been to go to a travel agency, pick up some brochures, take them home to feast over, and then return and let an agent do all the booking.

Now that we have the internet, you wouldn’t be alone in wondering what a high street travel agency could possibly offer you. Why go to a middle-man when now you can go to operators directly, and even compare hundreds of quotes at once in the time it takes to do one quick Google?

More than 75% of travellers now use the internet for at least part of their travel planning according to the Travel Industry of America. Meanwhile high street travel agencies have declined by more than a third in the last ten years. Traditionally, agencies made their profits by earning commission from the airlines, hotels and other operators whose service they were selling. Booking through an agency would cost the same as if clients had gone to the operator directly. Now though, airlines will not pay commission to agencies because they can bring in their own customers through their websites.

The agencies that have survived have gone down one of three routes. Some have tried to get a monopoly on all remaining customers of a specialised niche market, like over-50s or unicycle enthusiasts. Others have switched to internet business models, focusing on bringing suppliers and consumers together in one place (just like Amazon Marketplace did with books). Those agencies still wanting to reap profits on the high street have gone for the third option: transition to a fee-based rather than commission-based revenue model.

A fee-based model is exactly what it sounds- the agency is no longer making its profit from the operators, it is directly charging you, the customer, for services rendered. This model relies on the fact that customers will be willing to pay for the value of informed personal advice, time and hassle reduction, and accessibility of options.

Let us look at what you get for your money. STA Travel, the leading student travel agents, claim that their prices can be cheaper, even with fees, than going straight to an operator. This is because they buy tickets from operators in bulk at a discounted rate, and pass this discount on to customers. This is especially true for bigger adventures: they have a price beat guarantee on their Round the World flight tickets. They are also surety bonded, meaning that if your airline went bust and your hotel burned down, you would get a refund.

Their main advantage is that they can put all the options in one place for you, and provide support and expertise throughout, even once you’ve gone abroad. Since they book trips all day every day, they are bound to know a few tricks you would have overlooked. Students without much experience organising their own travel can easily be daunted by the sheer numbers of organisations out there. So, if you’re willing to pay, you can avoid much of the stress, confusion and screw-ups that can characterise hours of solitary internet trawling.

While the vast majority of people have positive experiences with their travel agents, it isn’t all planning fun in the sun. STA are not very transparent about their fees – they are already included in any prices quoted to you. This is fine if the price is reasonable, but if you like to know exactly what you are paying for, it can cause uneasiness and could likely put you off. Also travel agents, just like any other salespeople, are paid commission for what they sell. There is always the suspicion you are being sold a load of stuff you don’t need. Beware of getting ripped off; students face this risk in all areas of life: phone contracts, landlords…and travel agents are no exception.

Determined to resolve this debate once and for all, I grabbed a partner in crime, charged into the STA Travel branch on Forrest Road, and asked for a romantic winter weekend break in Paris. Our agent was a friendly young man called Sam. I found him helpful, responsive and reassuring. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite flexible enough. I stressed the importance of lowest possible prices for me and my hypothetical companion (I’m a die-hard romantic like that). He expertly suggested I adjust my flight date from a Friday to a Thursday, thereby avoiding higher weekend prices. When I asked if there was any other option, he shrugged and explained that near Christmas, I wouldn’t get cheap flights. I prompted him: maybe I could try a bus? He didn’t know of any buses going to Paris. From previous internet-planned travel, I already knew Eurolines runs a low-cost bus service from Edinburgh to Paris and all over Europe, specifically aimed at young people. Surely an agency specialising in students should be aware of this?

Next we moved onto accommodation. STA offers three levels, ‘Stay Simple’, ‘Stay Smart’, and ‘Stay Stylish’. This is beautifully clear, another example of how agencies will take the confusion out of everything for you. On the other hand, collapsing prices into discrete categories blurs awareness of the price scale within these categories. Sam found us a lovely two-star hotel in a central location, and as he worked he chatted with us about what we wanted to get out of our trip, even asking his colleague to give us personal recommendations. We were advised to visit Montmartre. This was helpful, but nothing TripAdvisor or the Lonely Planet website couldn’t have told us.

Finally, we asked about activities. He suggested a champagne cruise on the Seine. The rest of our days we left open for pâtisseries and being bohemian, which was something Sam couldn’t help us with (we all forgot the important matter of insurance: I followed this up by email and he got back to me with a quote on the same day). And so we sat dreamily while he totted up the figures, and gave us a final quote of £721.94, mysteriously £10 cheaper than the sum of his quotes for the individual parts. Either he worked some kind of overall discount, or he added up wrong.

The consultation took about half an hour. Job done, simple. We left feeling well-supported and knowing he had all the information saved and was in touch via email. If we did decided to go ahead with booking, we could either pay in one lump sum, or break the cost down into manageable chunks.

Then the fun began. I went home, switched on my laptop and spent about forty-five minutes researching the trip myself.

I got cheaper flights from the same airline. Easyjet was even cheaper still with a no baggage option (of course, it all depends on how many shoes are deemed necessary for a romantic weekend in Paris). The bus was only £79 per person but required a whole day and night travelling. The accommodation I found, also two-star, was not quite as central, but close to a metro station. I could not get a cheaper price than Sam for the exact hotel he’d found. The champagne cruise was easy to find with a Google search, and was offered for cheaper than Sam’s price. The insurance, giving basic cover plus baggage and money protection, was also cheaper.

Overall, I got the trip for £112.80 cheaper than STA offered. Now, I’m not claiming that the service and ease Sam provided was not worth paying for. But the question remains whether half an hour of his time is worth £112.80. For this trip at least, doing it myself was cheaper, more fun, and not that much more time-consuming. It may well be the case, however, that for epic round-the-world adventures, travel agencies are a better bet due to their price beat guarantee, ability to simplify matters, and knowledge of more far-flung places.

The fact remains though, that if travel agencies want the student market, they will have to be a little more competitive with their prices, and a little more expert than your average, computer-literate student.