Using travel agents for school tours abroad: must we?

gaiscioch

I've been told that all school tours must be booked through a bonded travel agent. However, the cost difference between booking with an airline or hotel directly and the price the TA charges for the same thing is nothing short of outrageous. This much higher cost is directly responsible for excluding numerous students from trips. Furthermore, there is very, very little added value given for this money as the teacher usually knows what needs to be on the trip as it is subject related and the TA is usually somebody who doesn't know as much about the area as the teacher does. This lack of subject-area knowledge of the destination results in the teacher doing all the running in terms of researching the destination.

I'm left thinking this is one of the handiest numbers in Irish business - a business model which is superfluous in the days of internet but which is guaranteed huge amounts of business because the Department of Education says we muer book through them.
Why cannot students buying travel insurance on top of their flights suffice in the event of something happening?

spurious

It's Ireland. You can be sure there is/was a backhander involved somewhere.
I wish parents knew the shocking markups on these trips.

I would be very familiar with short trips to Krakow as I used to organise one myself every year - 3 days 2 nights - direct with airlines and hostel/hotel. I would also use a local taxi/shuttle company to bring us to places we wanted to see. Every year it came in (including all admission costs and a 'surprise' 20 euro I would 'find' for each of them on their last day when they had run out of money) at well under half what the tour companies were charging. Along with adding stuff the kids are bored stiff with, and with fairly tenuous links to the curriculum, the amount the School Tour companies add on over and above the actual costs is mental.

Once people started saying I had to use the companies, we had to stop the trips, they were too expensive.

TheDriver

Its all lovely until something goes wrong and you need the backup of a bonded company e.g. cancellations, flight delays etc. There is a markup and money is being made however they do take a lot of work off your hands, especially hassle.

Shop around, I heard from a few Principals that there can be massive differences between tour companies for very similar trips.

fritzelly

Big difference between a couple booking an holiday on the cheap and bringing 30 kids away for a break
All those cheaper privately booked holidays are always at risk of something going wrong and no real backup when things do go wrong. At least with a bonded agent it's up to them to sort it out and not you phoning around frantically at 11 at night trying to find accommodation or a flight home.
And not only that you having to explain to the parents - not worth the price difference to have some peace of mind

Cash_Q

spurious wrote:

a 'surprise' 20 euro I would 'find' for each of them on their last day when they had run out of money

That's so sound to plan for, I bet those students never forget this too!

rainbowtrout

gaiscioch wrote: »

the teacher usually knows what needs to be on the trip as it is subject related and the TA is usually somebody who doesn't know as much about the area as the teacher does.

I call bull on this. Loads of teachers haven't a clue what's available in places they are visiting. And lots of travel agents do. I don't like having to go through a tour company, but I've had no problems with the one I've used the last few times. They were very knowledgeable about where we were going, offered a number of different attractions we could visit and I could choose the ones I thought were most suitable for the students. It saved me a whole lot of hassle. I have to do very little research when I'm booking a tour.


The fact that the company is bonded means that if any part of the tour goes belly up, the tour company will be taking the hit and re-organising it, not me.

TheDriver

I do recall about 20 years ago, NST were about the only crowd doing them and lack of internet meant you didn't know what you were getting e.g. was the accomodation any good. Nowadays, theres about 7-8 crowds doing school tours abroad and very good staff in each. And competitive.

gaiscioch

TheDriver wrote: »

Its all lovely until something goes wrong and you need the backup of a bonded company e.g. cancellations, flight delays etc. There is a markup and money is being made however they do take a lot of work off your hands, especially hassle.

While I can accept there are times when they can take the hassle off, the more familiar the teacher is with the destination the less useful TAs tend to be. Moreover, why can't the teacher have a right to book the trip on the condition that everybody must take out travel insurance? Why must they go through the huge added expense of a 'bonded' TA, when costs could be kept significantly lower and the students insured just as sufficiently by purchasing good travel insurance separately? That's the part I have an issue with. It's a given that the trip and students should be insured.

TheDriver wrote: »

Shop around, I heard from a few Principals that there can be massive differences between tour companies for very similar trips.

There are indeed massive price differences, and the prices of at least one long-established travel agency with fancy brochures are off the charts.

gaiscioch

gaiscioch wrote: »

the teacher usually knows what needs to be on the trip as it is subject related and the TA is usually somebody who doesn't know as much about the area as the teacher does.

rainbowtrout wrote: »

I call bull on this.

Ah, aggressive posting style. Anyway, given that, for instance, a classics' teacher teaching ancient Rome would tend to know more about ancient Rome and thus what they want the class to see in the city, than a person in the travel agency who is dealing with very many destinations, it shouldn't be hard for most people to see why a teacher "usually knows what needs to be on the trip as it is subject related".

My latest trip entails my passing on booking websites and details to the TA to book the relevant tours. Instead of the TA offering me suggested places other than the generic "city tour" and "free time", I'm doing the research and giving a list of places and the TA is doing the timetabling and bus details. That is taking up my time, when they are being well paid for this. To be frank, I could have just recalled what worked in that destination in previous years and booked it all myself without the need for a TA and this would have made it more affordable for some good kids to come on the trip.

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Loads of teachers haven't a clue what's available in places they are visiting. And lots of travel agents do.

Knowing what needs to be on the trip, and what is available are two distinct things and the nuance seems to elude you. The "lots of travel agents do" is frankly not good enough - if you are handing over a lot of money to them, every single TA who is given your tour should know what is available in the destination inside out. The fact remains that far too many travel agents do not know what is available for your subject area as they are not specialists so it is up to the teacher to research online, usually through Tripadvisor and other online reviews, to see the best of the most relevant places. So, by the end of the process the teacher who knows what needs to be on the trip has often had to find out what the best of the available places are and get the agent to book it.

rainbowtrout wrote: »

I don't like having to go through a tour company, but I've had no problems with the one I've used the last few times.

I, too, have very rarely had problems with them and they have been useful for arranging tours on a first visit to a destination. Nevertheless, even then much of what they suggest to you is taken from the 'Top 10 things to do' and similar lists on Tripadvisor. Back in 1980 they undoubtedly had some inside track; in 2019 this is far from the case but we are still compelled to use them.

rainbowtrout wrote: »

They were very knowledgeable about where we were going, offered a number of different attractions we could visit and I could choose the ones I thought were most suitable for the students. It saved me a whole lot of hassle. I have to do very little research when I'm booking a tour.

That's absolutely fine. However, in the event of the teacher knowing more than the TA about the destination, it is not fine that the teacher has no choice but to use them. Yes, the following year they can choose a different TA, where there's no guarantee of the same thing not happening. Indeed, if the teacher is returning with a new group to the same destination - something which is quite common - they will have even less use for any TA's advice but still have to use one of them.

rainbowtrout wrote: »

The fact that the company is bonded means that if any part of the tour goes belly up, the tour company will be taking the hit and re-organising it, not me.

Surely the group can get good travel insurance that would cover this?

dory

Where do schools going with charities fall into this? Do they count as a bonded agent? We're thinking of going with a startup charity next time, what should we be asking they have in place?