the virtual travel agent
IT'S FAST and it's cheap and I can do it in my underwear while downloading a glass of chardonnay. Settling at the computer to plan a trip abroad is not only damned civilised, it has also removed one of the constants of travelling: I no longer need to deal with someone seemingly intent on turning one of the high points of my year into a nightmare. So it's goodbye to travel agencies, where I seemed to spend day after frustrating day. And it's farewell to finding myself sitting next to a colicky baby on a plane that will get in 20 minutes too late for me to make a connecting flight.
Only a few years ago, planning travel via the Internet was unimaginable. In the last two, new sites and services have come online; technology, databases and access have improved immeasurably; plane tickets, train schedules, meals, maps, cars and rooms can be ordered 24 hours a day; this is the place to find out everything from the hippest hotel in Dublin (The Morgan - beechwood beds, limestone floors, Alessi breadbaskets) to the coolest shop in Los Angeles (Paper Bag Princess - Gucci shifts, Pucci girdles, life-size porcelain poodles all from the '60s and '70s).
The Internet will let you do your own planning. It also offers the sort of information the average hassled travel agent simply hasn't got time for, things like government warnings, health tips, a flight's on-time rating and its total mileage.
There are problems with the virtual travel agent, apart from the fact that no one walks away from their computer carrying an armload of warm and friendly brochures to daydream over. These are still early days and there are still technical problems. Who wants advertising pop-ups when you've been waiting for ages for a site to download? Why are some travel sites so much faster to use than others? Why do you suddenly lose a connection? Booking online is a rapidly developing option, but it is still developing and those running sites must conduct more user surveys to get it right. One-stop sites, for instance, may not offer the best prices. Is booking directly through the Internet cheaper than booking through a human travel agent? US travel agent Edward Hasbrouck, author of The Practical Nomad, says, 'The Net's value for travellers lies in its ability to locate agents that sell discounted tickets, especially those who live in places where these agencies don't exist.' He adds that while the Web has many commercial agents offering 'consolidator [discount] fares' using computer reservation systems, 'no computer program can yet reliably determine the price applicable to a particular itinerary, much less which alternatives might better suit a traveller's desires.' Most online discount sites simply ask for your destination and dates of travel - then pass the details on to a travel agent to find the best fare.
Despite the claims, instant online booking is often impossible outside the United States and Canada. The big hotel chains rarely let people into their reservation systems directly. And booking airline tickets is so complicated you have to consider whether you would really want to do it yourself. Direct booking usually involves e-mailing a booking form with your credit card details and waiting for a reply, which can take days. You then pick your ticket up from a travel agent or an airline desk.