We’ve heard this more times than we can count. Expedia. Skyscanner. Kayak. Priceline. There are countless third-party platforms for booking hotels, flights, and car rentals. Yes, the year 2023 is the year of the Rabbit, but it should also be the year of the travel agent, and we’ll tell you why. 

Travelers have been duped into believing these sites are surefire ways to nab the cheapest tickets, but don’t be deceived by what appears to be a “deal”. More often than not there are sneaky hidden fees that wind up costing you big in the long run, and they offer few protections, if any. 

Our agents can almost always beat whatever price you see online, and by booking with us you are signing up for an easy, bespoke travel experience. Here’s what happened to a new client of ours just last month when she opted to use Kayak before switching to Cook Travel. 

She bought a ticket from NYC to London  at a great price online. At the airport in NYC, she learned that she would have to pay extra baggage fees that weren’t disclosed at the time of the ticket purchase. Fine, she coughed up the extra $120. But here’s where things really took a turn. She showed up at the airport in London ready to fly home after a great vacation, and learned that her flight had been canceled…a month ago. Kayak had a full month to let her know that her plans would have to change, and they didn’t. So she was forced to fork over a whopping $2300 for a day-of economy ticket. The airline did their job, they told Kayak. It was Kayak that didn’t her know. It was Kayak’s fault. She spent over 12 hours on hold on the phone, trying to get through to a human. Kayak refused to compensate her. She felt totally unprotected. 

Here’s the thing: these third party sites will never go to bat for you. In fact, you’re likely to spend a day or two on hold, getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of assistance available to you. When you work with Cook Travel, you can always get your personal agent on the phone, at any time of day. Flight canceled? You’ll know about it right away, and we’ll make sure you get to where you need to be. You’re taken care of from start to finish, and given the mayhem we’ve seen at airports, this personalized care is more important now than ever.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for a Europe SALE. British Airways doesn’t do this often, but when they do, it’s jolly good. You can score Business Class round trip tickets from select US cities to European cities like London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, and Rome starting at $2,999. This offer is valid on new bookings made between October 25th and November 4th, 2022. Outbound travel is from January 10th, 2023 to March 31, 2023.