Thanks , Steve Glenn, Executive Travel, Lincoln, Nebraska for this article.

Monday morning I picked up the phone to call Delta Air Lines as a messy snow storm was reeking havoc in the Midwest. I was amazed to hear a recording tell me that Delta was busy, call back later and they immediately hung up on me.

Can you imagine how that felt if you were a traveler with a canceled flight to receive that recording? If you did not book your reservation using a travel agent you might have to spend hours and hours on the phone. One of the great advantages of using a travel agency to make your reservations is to be able to have them assist you when these types of issues arise.

On Sunday our office reviewed hundreds of itineraries of business travelers planning to depart for travel on Monday. We rescheduled many agents to start work early Monday morning in anticipation of much higher phone volume caused by the storm. We also contacted the airlines to find out the new rules they implemented to deal with the storm. This proactive approach allowed our agents in many cases to be able to re-accommodate travelers whose flights were canceled. Using a travel agency really is smart business. 

Check out my article on "Why using a professional travel agent is the best choice for booking travel."