I'll use a travel agent if I'm going out of the country or doing something out of the ordinary or complex - they often know things that I might not be aware of (like a resort being under renovation, or steering me away from a cruise on an older boat that was 70% booked by a conservative religious group). I've had good luck with a place called Active Travel in Hilliard.

But I never, ever let anyone else make my airline reservations. I can usually beat their price, or I juggle priorities based on what I find out there. I might be willing to a spend a bit more to avoid changing planes in Chicago in the winter or a too-tight connection in Phoenix during monsoon season - or a lot more to make sure a "last flight of the day" connection is at an airport close enough to drive the rest of the way if things go wrong. Seating makes a difference,too - I can endure a middle seat from Columbus to Detroit, but not from Detroit to the West Coast.

The last time I let our corporate travel agent do it for me, I was booked home from Portland to Salt Lake City to Detroit to Columbus - with a 35 minute connection in Utah, a middle seat on Detroit flight and a three-hour wait in Michigan.

Tiernan;1554458 wrote:Unless you are going into a third world country with questionable resources and relations with the U.S. Travel Agents are a waste of money. Do it yourself online and save a few bucks.

Who pays travel agents???

But honestly, if you are a AAA member they do it all for you for free. Obviously, you are paying your yearly fee, but that is taken care of so quickly with the benefits.

se-alum;1554651 wrote:Checked Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity. All over $860/ea for 4 nights at MGM and airfare.

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=001&host=promo&code=Z12131&ad=12%2f17%2f2013&night=3&show=rates

Actually Jan 22-26 was $600 all-in for the room with 2 Queens (special holiday promo rate), so $200 each for the room (missed the "daily resort tax" - that's why you only tell them 2 guests per room)...$270 for airfare = $470 each during peak season on short notice

But did what you quoted include the hotel taxes and resort fees? Lots of people get surprised by that at checkout.

gut;1554690 wrote:https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=001&host=promo&code=Z12131&ad=12%2f17%2f2013&night=3&show=rates

Actually Jan 22-26 was $600 all-in for the room with 2 Queens (special holiday promo rate), so $200 each for the room (missed the "daily resort tax" - that's why you only tell them 2 guests per room)...$270 for airfare = $470 each during peak season on short notice

But did what you quoted include the hotel taxes and resort fees? Lots of people get surprised by that at checkout.

Yea, I paid flat out $450, nothing else. That also included car service to and from the airport. We were there for the Rock & Roll Marathon, and Pacquiao/Marquez along with the Nationals Rodeo was coming in as well, so I'm sure rooms were a little more expensive than just getting to pick out 4 cheap days and go.

se-alum;1554696 wrote:Yea, I paid flat out $450, nothing else. That also included car service to and from the airport. We were there for the Rock & Roll Marathon, and Pacquiao/Marquez along with the Nationals Rodeo was coming in as well, so I'm sure rooms were a little more expensive than just getting to pick out 4 cheap days and go.

When did you go? Jan-Apr and Sep-Nov are their busy times of year. But you've been able to find the rates I posted for several years, even cheaper in off-peak times. That's just MGM Grand, there are lots of other lower/mid-tier hotels that have promo rates. Similar rates on offer even in Feb and Mar - if you have any flexibility at all it's not hard to find deals.

You'd be surprised...there's like 150,000 hotel rooms in that town. They only fill during the week when big conventions are in town, and the weekends are only big during peak season. I don't know the discount patterns, but I think the airlines are like 6-8 weeks out is cheapest to book.

It's not like you got robbed. You might have been able to save $30-$50/ea. That's only like 1 hand of BJ!

gut;1554698 wrote:When did you go? Jan-Apr and Sep-Nov are their busy times of year. But you've been able to find the rates I posted for several years, even cheaper in off-peak times. That's just MGM Grand, there are lots of other lower/mid-tier hotels that have promo rates. Similar rates on offer even in Feb and Mar - if you have any flexibility at all it's not hard to find deals.

You'd be surprised...there's like 150,000 hotel rooms in that town. They only fill during the week when big conventions are in town, and the weekends are only big during peak season. I don't know the discount patterns, but I think the airlines are like 6-8 weeks out is cheapest to book.

It's not like you got robbed. You might have been able to save $30-$50/ea. That's only like 1 hand of BJ!

We went the first Saturday-Wed of December last year. There may have been cheaper ways of doing, but knowing nothing about Vegas, I was more than happy to pay the $450 and have everything taken care of. We didn't have flexibility either, we had to be there Saturday so my bro and his friend could register for the half-marathon.

Sat-Wed? Yeah, that's a much cheaper split without Thurs & Fri. If you're willing to pay for it, that's fine. I don't think 5 minutes is that inconvenient to book such a trip yourself.

I'll said with what someone else said is travel agents are good for off-the-beaten path places, safaris,....generally places where connections and some knowledge are good.

And LMAO, I wasn't going to say anything but "knowing nothing about Vegas" explains how you ended up staying at the Green Monster.

gut;1555049 wrote:Sat-Wed? Yeah, that's a much cheaper split without Thurs & Fri. If you're willing to pay for it, that's fine. I don't think 5 minutes is that inconvenient to book such a trip yourself.

I'll said with what someone else said is travel agents are good for off-the-beaten path places, safaris,....generally places where connections and some knowledge are good.

And LMAO, I wasn't going to say anything but "knowing nothing about Vegas" explains how you ended up staying at the Green Monster.

I'll be sure to consult you before making any future travel plans.

se-alum;1555071 wrote:I'll be sure to consult you before making any future travel plans.

You could have asked many here. For a few bucks more (like literally a few bucks) Mandalay and Caesar's are nicer hotels. The Green Monster is not horrible...but I stayed there once and will not do so again.

For that matter, if you aren't looking for a pool there are some decent non-casino hotels immediately off The Strip that are even cheaper but relatively better value as far as room quality.

I think the nice "local" casinos (M Resort, Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock...and one other one I forget) are actually more expensive, and then you might want a car to go back and forth from the strip

gut;1555087 wrote:You could have asked many here. For a few bucks more (like literally a few bucks) Mandalay and Caesar's are nicer hotels. The Green Monster is not horrible...but I stayed there once and will not do so again.

For that matter, if you aren't looking for a pool there are some decent non-casino hotels immediately off The Strip that are even cheaper but relatively better value as far as room quality.

I think the nice "local" casinos (M Resort, Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock...and one other one I forget) are actually more expensive, and then you might want a car to go back and forth from the strip

I didn't mind MGM at all, it was actually cool to see all the Pacquiao/Marquez stuff, and the smokin' hot girls from the rodeo! However, next time I go I will stay somewhere more toward the middle of the strip I think. I really couldn't care less about amenities and how nice a hotel is, as long as it's clean, so I would have no problem just staying at the Flamingo.

se-alum;1555095 wrote:... so I would have no problem just staying at the Flamingo.

Easy to say if you have never stayed at the Flamingo

I would avoid the low-low tier, although places are always doing upgrades and even the middle tier now have upscale towers or floors.

I still think Caesar's and Mandalay are the best values (Mandalay pool is actually pretty good). And from Mandalay you can easily take the tram to Caesars. But you might even be able to score deals at City Center or Cosmopolitan with Vegas still struggling to raise rates with excess capacity.

If you don't mind switching hotels, you could stay on a cheaper night at a better hotel and go somewhere more affordable for the premium weekend nights.

I prefer the tables then the pool in vegas

Travel agent ended up saving me around $75/person on the flight. I'm satisfied with that, considering I legitimately checked probably 30+ sites.