Estate agents have a worldwide reputation for exaggerating the good points of something they are trying to sell and downplaying the bad – but they’re not alone. This ‘selective editing’ tactic is used by any professional company trying to sell something; the trick is to learn to see through their statements and find the truth.

When it comes to travel agents, it’s all the more difficult to trust them. For a start, unlike when you’re with a realtor, you aren’t there to view the hotel you will be staying at – so you have to rely totally on what the travel agent says and what the photographs of the hotel suggest. Therefore, it’s all the easier to be lead down the garden path, and end up staying in a hotel that makes your entire holiday a misery. Look at the reviews for the hotel online this gives you a good idea of what real people think of the hotel.

The important thing when it comes to booking a holiday is to give yourself time. Do not be pressurized into buying a holiday in your first visit to a travel agent; even if they are offering one-day-only exclusives this is one of the classic desperations used by travel agents. These deals rotate, so providing you give yourself enough time, there’s no need to snap one up there and then. Always shop around for the best deals

Always get the information from the travel agent then go and check the hotel out for yourself online. Look at sites such as TripAdvisor.com, and Henry’s Holiday’s hotel search where genuine consumers who have stayed at the hotel give their feedback. This gives a much more objective opinion of a potential destination than a travel agent – with one eye on their commission – ever could. Make sure you check the hotel’s location on the map very important because location can be key to a fantastic holiday.

Some online flight comparison companies track you and when you search ones or twice the price can change to a higher price this is a trick used to make you think? If I don’t book now the price might go up again, don’t get sucked in by this tactic. One good way of getting good flight deals is to travel mid week the prices are generally lower. Henry’s Holiday’s flight search does not track your movements on the internet and you can search multiple flight companies in one easy search. Booking your flight through a travel agent the prices are generally higher with a commission put on the price of the flight.