Booking travel used to be easy for a small company. You’d phone your travel agent. Job done. Bill in the post. Then along came the internet, and low cost airlines. It seemed surfing airlines, hotel groups, last minutes and unheard-of dot.coms trawled on Google could save you money.

Internet booking is now the norm for many smaller organisations. But there are downsides:-

• The cost of searching. How many working hours are spent chasing the ‘best’ deal?

• Poor information. Does that hotel room overlook a busy street? How long should you allow for a flight transfer at that airport? What’s the difference in seat pitch between one airline and another? How do you get from the airport to the hotel?

• Complex itineraries. How easy is it to book multiple destination trips? What if exact travel dates aren’t certain? What if others need to be with you for some parts of the trip, but not all of it?

• Financial security. Where do you stand if an airline or hotel fails? What happens if that occurs while you’re overseas?

• Support. Who do you contact when something goes wrong? What if you need to stay longer or return earlier? How do you add an extra leg to your itinerary? Can you contact your travel provider 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world?

• Value for money. Do websites tell you that there are better prices if you combine travel and accommodation in one booking? Or that by travelling earlier or later you can make savings? Or that you could spend a weekend at your destination for no extra cost (or even for less)?

If you’ve discovered the downsides of DIY internet booking, all we ask is that next time you need to travel for business, you call Matt Tamayo-Myerson at Travel Counsellors.

Give us a chance to impress you with great service, exclusive fares, add-on goodies, complete financial security, and our immense depth of knowledge about business travel.