It’s finally vacation time, but before you can pack your bags, there’s much to do. You’ll need to find a charming bed & breakfast, book the flight, and decide what sights you’ll be visiting. If you’re traveling abroad, you’ll need to arrange for visas, exchange money, and figure out if the hair dryer is going to work in the outlets. There’s also life at home: arranging the pet sitter and holding the mail, not to mention tackling the portion of your to-do stack that just can’t wait until you get back. With all the work involved just getting away, why not get a professional to take care of the details for you? It saves loads of time – and can save a bit of money, too, if you’re working with a travel specialist. Still, finding a travel agent can be almost as time consuming as making travel arrangements yourself. A website called Tripology, which works like a dating service for travelers and travel agents, now makes the process a whole lot simpler. In fact, since it launched in June of 2007, Tripology has already matched over 18,000 travelers with travel specialists.
Tripology is not a travel agency, and the site doesn’t sell airplane tickets or cruise packages, like some travel sites. Instead, they refer users to travel agents. Once you’ve registered on the Tripology website, you can enter information for a specific trip, requesting help with flights, car rentals, trains, cruises, or hotels. You can also request information on activities at your destination, from museums to eco-tourism. Then, Tripology looks for up to three travel agents who can help you plan the trip. These agents will contact you, each hoping to be the one to take the work out of your vacation plans – and free your time for packing the sunscreen and flip flops.
Practical Uses:
- Plan your multiple-city European vacation without multiple migraines
- Get theater tickets and tour packages for friends and family visiting from out of town
- Find a travel agent who specializes in alternate forms of travel, like trains and buses
- Buy a travel package specialized for seniors who enjoy historical sites as a gift for your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary
Insider Tips:
- Tripology is about taking away the time and the hassle of trip planning, not shaving off $20 here or there. If you need the absolute best deal, it may still be best to continue DIY travel planning
- The skills, personalities, and fees of travel agents will vary, so keep trying if you don’t get the right match right away
- Although you might be tempted to give only your email address, sharing your phone number can help assure that you find the three most qualified specialists to help with your trip, since not all agents will use email
What we liked:
- Unlike many travel sites, Tripology isn’t limited to hotels and flights. Users can request information on other forms of transit, like train travel or buses
- Tripology also asks for information on your lifestyle, so you can let agents know right off the bat if you’re traveling with seniors and kids, if you’re with a religious group, or if you’re adventure-seekers. This information can help agents know what type of activities you might most enjoy
- The site has a feature that allows users to rate and give feedback on the travel agent(s) you work with
What we didn’t like:
- Since Tripology hands your project over to independent agents, the level of service and expertise of the agents you’re put in touch with may vary
- The website is still in beta, and we experienced occasional glitches in the system
Alternatives:
There aren’t other sites that link to travel agents, but here are some online travel planning websites
- Home & Abroad – http://www.homeandabroad.com
- Travelocity – http://www.travelocity.com
- Expedia – http://www.expedia.com
- Orbitz – http://www.orbitz.com
- Priceline – http://www.priceline.com
- MakeMyTrip.com – http://makemytrip.com
- Sidestep – http://www.sidestep.com
Company Info:
- Launched: June 2007
- Privately Held
- Headquarters: New York, NY
- Founded by Chinedu Echeruo
- Web site: http://www.tripology.com
Costs:
- Using Tripology for referrals to travel agents is free, although each agent will charge a fee for service
All articles are curated and personally reviewed by Dave Onkels. Dave is tech addict and has a passion for rich web applications. He has cultivated several tech startups and runs
My company, MyTravelAdvice.net ( http://www.mytraveladvice.net/ ) uses Tripology as the primary source for travel advice and information for our users. We chose Tripology, because their service is pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to researching a travel destination. In brief, they put you in touch with up to three travel specialists, all intimate with your destination, and all screaming to help you the best. In the end, you only pay if you purchase a trip or travel service. It’s all on the consumer’s side. We like it. A lot!
Hi Karen. I thought your article was very good up until the very last line ” although each agent will charge a fee for service”. This is inaccurate and would be a turn-off to people reading the article. Travel agents don’t normally charge anything for their service. They are paid a percentage by the travel supplier.
Thanks for ready my comment!
Sheila
Thanks for giving such a nice info.
Thanks for giving such a nice info.
I used tripology for our trip yo Puerto Rico, well the experience has been a nightmare. The travel agent was inexperience and did not follow through I ended up having to call the hotels myself to fix the problem plus I hope they didn’t screw up my airline tickets since they did not include my middle name. They also did not honor the airfare price quoted since they didn’t pit a courtesy hold on them and for the itinerary it took them 48 hours to get it to me. I left a comment in tripology’s web page two days ago and I am still waiting for them to reply so is clear that customer service is non existent plus their high quality travel agents is husk a joke. Beware do your own trip arrangement or look for a good local travel agent that you can count on