Originally Posted by
gretchendz
--Sophisticated travelers who can and do like to book their own but are interested in working with an agent willing to "rebate" some of the commission, saving the traveler some money (Hence, this thread!)
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--People who like having someone who spends all their time watching the travel industry. Checking the Covid restrictions for example. Another case in point, a year before Crystal Cruises went under, some TAs began warning their Crystal clients that there might be financial trouble. We talked clients out of giving Crystal tens of thousands of dollars. Lost commissions, but being ethical and looking out for your clients is good long term business.
Mostly these two for me and both come down to saving me money and aggravation. I enjoy copious planning but appreciate using someone who has knowledge and a bit of access which I don't. There was usually something to request with cruise like dining time, table size, or once a downline disembarkation request (which google tells me RCL no longer allows). I really liked how I could send an email to the TA and not have to call anyone, especially since I usually take care of such things outside business hours. I'm not sure certain cruise lines have evolved their customer facing experiences fully into this decade, yet, but hope they've had to figure it out so TAs and customers alike can make changes at 11 pm if they want to on a fully functional website.
I got the impression my the big online TA (and specific initial booking TA who hands it off to TA CS team for modifications) did higher volume with certain companies. They may not offer the largest rebate or lowest private fare for a cruise line they didn't get as much business for.