Even though you can do for yourself almost anything a travel agency can do for you, there are still reasons to use one.

Your first question for prospective agencies should be whether or not they have staffers who specialize in where you want to go.

Here are some pointers for getting the most out of any agency you hire.

When shopping for hotels, you’ll find most booking websites offer the exact same rates. That’s because most sites are now owned by one of two giant companies, which are insisting that each hotel offers the same room at the same price across all booking platforms.

For years our staff has saved a lot of money on hotel stays by booking Hotwire Hot Rate or Priceline Express Deal “mystery rates.” In our tests, booking one of these deals saved us, on average, 38 percent off prevailing rates.

Our staff stays in a lot of hotels for work and fun, and for years we’ve almost always booked mystery rates from Hotwire or Priceline Express. While the savings are too good for us to pass up, some deals come at a cost.