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"When you work with a travel adviser, you have an advocate who's watching everything for you and can move the pieces of an itinerary around as necessary,” says Erika Richter, a
spokeswoman for the American Society of Travel Advisors, an industry association. “It's about protecting their investment. Think about your travel portfolio like a financial portfolio.
Don't you want to work with an expert to advise you?" Between flights, accommodations and tours, Pamela J. Konkol of Chicago had about $3,000 in travel expenses at risk on a
planned spring trip to Lisbon to speak at an academic conference. When she needed to cancel the trip, her travel adviser, Thomas Carpenter of Huckleberry Travel in Brooklyn, N.Y., counseled
patience rather than taking partial refunds or vouchers, which were being offered immediately. "Tom understands the industry and how things work,” says Konkol, who eventually got a full
refund, even on nonrefundable airline tickets. “He was very much the voice of reason. It was his quiet patience in understanding the system and what was happening globally. He said,
‘Don't worry about it. It's my job to worry about it.'" Carpenter says that while his success rate is high in securing refunds, it's not a sure thing. “By sticking
to our network of suppliers where we've got a relationship and good track record, we can often prevail on suppliers to be flexible and generous when we need something for our clients,”
he says. Their relationships, agents say, are what ensure their clients have the best trip possible. "We can leverage our relationships to get added values at hotels and cruises, like
breakfast included in the rates, which in New York or Paris can set you back $50 to $70 a person,” says Mollie Fitzgerald, co-owner of Frontiers International Travel in Gibsonia,
Pennsylvania. “There's also the recognition that we can help people receive when arriving at the hotel. The GM greets them by name." THEY'RE MOST HELPFUL WHEN TRAVEL PLANS ARE
COMPLICATED Advisers say they don't exist to book your weekend flight to Cleveland. They have ceded quick, uncomplicated trips to capable travelers. Where they can help is with
international airfares — many have access to fares that are contracted with travel providers and unavailable at public booking sites — or maximizing your frequent flier miles in securing
tickets. In most cases, these fares must be linked to land arrangements, like hotels or tours, and most advisers say they shine most when asked to do something complicated, such as
multigenerational trips where the different ages have different interests or pulling together a serial destination trip that combines several international stops.