The Return of the Human: Why I Hired a Corporate Travel Agent
We have been sold a lie about "efficiency."
For the last twenty years, the internet has convinced us that doing everything yourself is the ultimate freedom. Why pay a middleman when you can book your own flight on Expedia? Why call a desk when you can tap an app?
But here is the reality of the "DIY" economy: We didn't get rid of the admin work. We just fired the professionals and hired ourselves.
When a client emails me and says, "We need you in Vancouver on the 12th," I don't feel freedom. I feel the weight of the "Admin Tax."
I know I’m about to lose ninety minutes of my life. I’ll have twelve tabs open. I’ll be cross-referencing flight times with hotel locations. I’ll be reading Google Reviews to make sure the "Boutique Hotel" isn't actually a construction zone.
I am tired of paying the Admin Tax. So, I did something that sounds archaic in 2025: I hired a corporate travel agent.
Everything Old is New Again
There is a reason people still buy Moleskine notebooks. There is a reason instant cameras and vinyl records are back. We are realizing that "frictionless digital" often feels cheap and disposable. There is a premium value in the tactile, the curated, and the human.
Booking travel on a discount site is like eating at a buffet. Yes, there are a thousand options, but you have to serve yourself, and half the food is cold.
Working with a professional agent is like ordering Omakase. You sit down, you tell the chef what you like, and then you trust them to put the best plate in front of you.
The Onboarding: A Lesson in Polish
I wasn't sure what to expect when I reached out to the agency. I half-expected a dusty office with fax machines.
Instead, I got a video call with a polished, knowledgeable representative who treated my travel preferences like a legal brief.
"Aisle or Window?"
"How close to the meeting venue do you need the hotel to be?"
"Do you prefer a connection if it saves $200, or is time the priority?"
He answered my questions before I could ask them. By the end of the twenty-minute call, he knew my loyalty numbers, my passport expiry, and my hatred of red-eye flights. He knew I prefer extra leg-room seats, and cars with good headroom.
Then, he didn't just say, "Call us." He assigned me a specific person. I have an agent now. Her name is Sarah. She has my profile. She is waiting for my email.
The New Workflow
Here is the system I am building.
The Old Way:
Client requests trip.
I spend 2 hours searching flights and hotels.
I book everything myself.
If a flight gets cancelled, I spend 3 hours on hold with the airline listening to smooth jazz.
The New Way:
Client requests trip.
I send one email to Sarah: "Vancouver, 12th to 15th. Need to be downtown."
I go back to painting or writing.
An hour later, I get three curated options. I reply "Option B." Done.
This was a long night….
The Blizzard Insurance
The real value of this system isn't just the booking; it's the disaster management.
We all know the feeling. You are at the airport. A blizzard hits Chicago. All flights are grounded. The line at the Customer Service desk is four hundred people deep.
In the DIY model, you are Person #401 in that line.
In the Agency model, you don't get in line. You go to the lounge, you order a drink, and you call your agent. While everyone else is screaming at a kiosk, your agent is rebooking you on the only available seat out of the city. Or, if there is nothing, you have a hotel room waiting for you and instructions on how to get to the shuttle.
Buying Your Sanity Back
Is there a fee? Of course. Is it worth it?
If I value my time at anything more than minimum wage, the answer is yes. And that is the point - so many choices we make in this connected age devalue our time. We think spending two hours on four travel sites to save $100 is a good exchange. And if money is really tight, maybe it is. But even then - maybe those two hours could be spent doing something productive.
When I used to work for a big consulting company, they didn’t have the technical people, sales people, or executives booking their own flights. They wanted them making money for the firm. Instead, when you needed a trip you told someone when and where you needed to be, and later that day you had an email in your inbox telling you. This is now a multi-billion dollar company. They don’t want their best people trying to save $50 on a flight or $10 on a hotel room.
I haven't had my first trip with Sarah yet. The system is set up, the profile is built, and now we wait for the first client call.
But just knowing that I never have to open Expedia again? That already feels like a vacation.
Note: This isn't a knock on Expedia, Priceline, or the other big sites. They are fantastic tools for finding deals, and I’ve used them for years. I’m just at a stage where I’m happy to trade a few extra dollars for a lot less stress.
