Having never used a personal travel agent before I was just wondering if someone could let me know what is possible? If for example I find a fare on ITA and in the fare rules it allows stopovers and also allows routing on any carrier.. But it only shows certain routing options with certain airlines and won't show stopover options on ITA... In these cases can you take the information to a travel agent and have them manually construct an itinerary using your preferred route, airlines and stopovers and book it under that fare (obviously provided there is availability in the fare you need)?

Sure, I've used travel agents, and when they are good, they are worth the fees.

Unfortunately, of the four good travel agents I have used, one died, two retired, and one at AMEX Platinum Travel Service was gone so quickly I got whiplash.

Most of the others are in a hurry and do not want to spend any time looking up your tricky fares, learn about your destinations, or much of anything else except selling you the easiest flights that come up for them without regard for terms and conditions or even price often enough, the cruises or packages they are getting spiffed on this week and get you off the phone as quickly as possible so they can rinse and repeat for the next caller and build their fees.

Harsh? Yes, but that's my experience.

I only use a travel agent when I can't do it myself online.

There used to be a good agent locally, but they closed down a couple of years ago.
When I use the remaining local agents, I have to spend a long time explaining to them just what it is I want, and in some cases totally ignore what it was I told them.

A few times, my parents have been planning their holidays with a travel agent. The agent found something for them. When I heard about it, it took me all of 30 seconds of research to find a better option for them.

pretty much whatever JDriver said about them being in a hurry, etc. Some put you on hold forever, or some that transfer you to an unlimited hold line, etc

Now I just go online, search the best fares, and book directly. I've used itravel2000.com as its a Canadian/Ontario site. Travel agents confirm almost the same or little more usually anyway.

Travel agents are now just for cruises, or for specific airlines to specific countries where not many airlines fly to. Partly due to the fact that those carriers do not have any agreements with other carriers and are not part of any alliances, etc.

Travel agents are quickly becoming obsolete thanks to the internet. I have not used one since 1991.

But use the internet intilligently. Use multiple windows and set up alerts. Use multiple sites and compare.

A good travel agent is a great resource when planning a complex trip or giving advice on specific properties. Although I book by own air I do use a travel agent affiliated with Virtuoso for my hotels. On a recent trip to Hawaii, he spoke with the Manager and arranged for us to have what was the best room in the hotel (or, at least the one with the most spectacular view). The Virtuoso amenities also gave us expensive goodies such as free, magnificent breakfasts.
A family member, who routinely travels for business also uses this gentleman for his air and hotel during his frequent trips to New York and London. He loves the service he receives. The TA has recently planned an extremely complex trip to Thailand and Cambodia for this person and his family. This TA is also a member of Flyertalk.

If my travel plans consolidate for my dream trip in 2013, I will definitely want to use competent TA's. I found a place in Chicago called Select Italy and they specialize in Italian (Italy only) travel..no other countries. These folks can offer pre-arranged trips to completely custom ones (for a fee of course)... what makes these folks appealing is their ability to arrange multiple events (food, wine and/or music) and have contacts in the major Italian opera houses (not just La Scala in Milan) as well as numerous vineyards. Since I am an unabashed classical music geek/wine lover this gets me all warm and fuzzy.

Call me an old fart, Luddite, flat earther, etc but I still prefer to use, if available, a quality agent/adviser as opposed to sitting in front of a screen all day looking to save $5. I will gladly pay their fees if they provide good service...and yes, there are indeed still good agents out there...

Now, if I could find an agency like Select Italy....for France, Germany and Spain

Cheers,

Thanks for all the comments. Like most of you, up until now I have booked all my travel myself and have never used a travel agent. This particular fare I am looking at can be priced out online for certain routes, but I can't find a way to price out the route I want or include stopovers in the fare (my little knowledge in fare rules has lead me to believe that any route is allowed provided there are no more than 3 transfers and 3 airlines and unlimited stopovers are allowed with no HIP requirements). This is where I think an experienced TA will be able to help and I imagine if I find the availability and send them the exact flights that need to be booked, they will be able to book it quite easily (Atleast I am hoping this is the case ).