travel agents are dead

          For my final project I was immediately drawn to the idea of travel - growing up overseas I traveled a lot as a kid, but I never had to do any of the work (my mother covered that for us). Now I have to rely on the resources I can find and my own knowledge about traveling to get good deals in a very expensive industry. I've learned that pretty much everything you would ever need to know about traveling can be learned through the internet and especially through social media. We have such easy access to one another that it is actually quite simple to find out all sorts of information about the best sights, hotels, and airlines in just a few minutes. Traditionally we would have bought a travel guide to whatever country we were interested in visiting, but nowadays we can find out all of that information (and soooooo much more) through social media for absolutely no cost at all. All of the sites I used in my presentation can be found here (along with a few I probably didn't get the chance to touch upon!)

         This is an interesting ad by a real travel agency that makes the process of booking your own vacation really difficult and frustrating and that it's better to have someone else do it for you - to a certain extent, they are right. It can be very frustrating and there is a LOT of stuff to sort through when using social media in any way. However, by looking yourself you can specially tailor all your searches towards activities you are interested in and you can also get great advice from friends, colleagues, and even strangers through social media, so you'll know exactly what you're getting yourself into. When I was younger I was always curious as to how travel agents got all of their information and deals - the funny thing now is that it's the exact same way that anyone else can get it. Yes they have more experience dealing with traveling, and for someone who is really new to the idea it might be nice to have someone guide you through it - but in my opinion, there's no better time to start learning than the present.

         Interestingly enough, that particular travel agency makes great use of social media - they have really caught on to the trend of vacationers using social media and booking their own vacations, so they have strategically placed themselves in a position where they are more likely to be found. They have weekly updates (here is an example) to let their clients (and prospective clients) know about various changes to the organization so it is very transparent and friendly-feeling, and informs them of any really great deals that are coming up that they might want to pay attention to. 

        While I'm sure many people will continue to use travel agents to avoid the hassle of booking their trips themselves, it has always been (and is increasingly more so nowadays) an expense that most people would rather avoid if possible, especially when there are so many resources that we have access to ourselves. I won't go through my entire presentation here, instead I will provide links to all of the resources I brought up - in case any of you got Taiwan fever from me ranting about my adopted home for the whole 10 minutes of my presentation (and all the awesome pictures I've included throughout this post), the information links go straight to the Taipei pages, but it's very easy to back out of them if you'd rather look up another city. 

Starting out: Google

Every good college kid knows that Google is their best friend - just like with everything else it's a great way to get a good first look at what is popular or most important regarding the place you are hoping to visit. Once you've searched a little more in-depth it's great to go back to Google for a blog-specific search (www.google.com/blogsearch) for things like fashion tips and all the random things that are useful to know (for instance, how to effectively choose your meal when the menu is all in Chinese, or how to properly use a squat toilet).

General information: Wikipedia

Despite its flaws, Wikipedia is actually a great place to start when you're looking for information on a new place you're looking to visit - the information is generally quite accurate (more than you might think) and it's nice to have a starting point before you delve completely into crazy-research mode.

Bookings and ratings: TripAdvisor, Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak

These are all great sides to try out (I personally like TripAdvisor and Expedia), most online travelers have their own favorites, but these are some good ones to try out. If you're looking for a bargain the best advice I can give you is to book a package deal (primarily flight+hotel). I've found amazing deals on Expedia this way - you should always check the flight schedule because oftentimes they will include long layovers, but it isn't uncommon to see rates for both hotel and flight for what one alone would normally cost (just recently for example I found a $1,500 round trip one week stay in Taipei - the cheapest flight you can book is around $1,100 already, and these combos often feature really nice airlines and hotels). 

But in my opinion, the best thing about these sites are the reviews. Instead of frantically asking around to everyone you know if they've been where you're planning your trip, you can simply click a few buttons and read endless amounts of reviews about everything from hotels, restaurants, sights and more, so you know exactly what to expect out of your experience, particularly with the hotel booking. Expedia is great because you can view hotel listings in order of their Expedia rating instead of price or star ranking, so you can focus on those hotels that have the best customer experiences.

Specific information, suggestions, and reviews: Lonely Planet, Yahoo! Travel, NY Times Travel

These are all great resources to find out about fun sights to see, good restaurants and random facts you might need to know about being in a foreign country. These are great for the more traditional sights, but you can definitely find off-the-beaten-path activities there as well, and also by simply doing a Google search - every area will have different people blogging about the underground goings-on, so it's a good idea for more experienced travelers to be a little more creative with their planning to avoid the more touristy destinations.For example, Din Tai Fung is a very famous dumpling restaurant in Taipei (there is actually one in New York now) but many Taiwanese people feel that it is overpriced and you can get equally good (or better) dumplings at smaller local eateries. I recommend trying both, Din Tai Fung is great for its wide variety, and the local places often have a few really great specialties.

Information through questions and personal contact: Facebook 

The great thing about social media is that it really can provide you with whatever you need to know. It's quite common for interested travelers to post comments on Facebook or another site asking for information about a city or if anyone local would be willing to meet up and make a new friend (sometimes it sounds a little creepy to me, but you can meet a lot of different people like this). Facebook is even more useful because there are so many different groups and pages (from general interest to club/bar pages, restaurant groups, organization pages...) so you can get even more ideas for your trip (often this is a nice way to expand your reach if you've tired out the standard options).

I hope this is helpful for anyone looking to start booking their own vacations online :) It can be overwhelming at first, but it's definitely a skill that will pay off and continue to be beneficial if you are interested in any form of travel (and all of these sites are great for domestic travel too of course - if you're just looking for a getaway weekend there are great deals on B&Bs in New England!!!) 

Happy browsing :) (and wishing you had more money to afford all of these trips... #studentproblems)