Who can we contact with questions
or concerns? For the inexperienced
traveler, there is no help menu for the
unexpected.
For times like those, it’s good to
have a good travel agent on your side.
Wait, a travel agent? Do people even
use those anymore? Aren’t they expensive? What if it’s a scam? These are
some of the common questions raised
concerning travel agencies. Sadly,
these same questions are not often
asked of the online resources they’re
using to book their vacations. While
most mainstream airline websites are
trustworthy, the process of booking
rental homes, cars, and complete vacation packages can be hairy at best and
a complete scam at worst. What’s more,
should you reach your destination and
find that things were not as described,
or they cost more than was originally
quoted, or you were expecting to find
an oceanic paradise and have instead
touched down in an arid wasteland,
because you booked that fabulous vacation online, there is no one you can call
for help. Airlines and rental agencies
have phone numbers, of course, but
99% of the time you will have to filter
through a maze of automated responses before you reach an actual person.
So while it’s true that consultants
charge a small fee for their services,
there are many experienced travelers
who wouldn’t book their vacations
any other way. Barb Culberson, travel
consultant and founder of B&D Travel
in Sturgis, Mich., has many loyal clients who not only come back for her
services again and again but refer their
friends as well! This is because Barb
isn’t out to make money, but to make
people feel safe. She and her husband
started the business at the height of
the recession in 2009, and for the first
The Hometown Treasure · June ‘13 · pg 15
continued on 16
2 acres of outdoor displays
including lots of campfire and
outdoor cooking accessories!!
Poly Furniture
GALORE!!
1205N State Road 5
Shipshewana, IN 46565
260-768-7511
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Style!
x in
Rela
~ Solid Log Cabins ~