Well, I don't have the time or inclination to go round collecting information from lampposts, most of which will be out of date in any case. What do you save doing this?
A I don't have a friend working for an airline.
And I don't get half the information I need reading insurance policies online. Much better to talk to a reliable, honest broker.
I'm currently buying a condo. It's cheap and cheerful and exactly what I need. And I'll concede the agencies were useless. Word of mouth, one to one, personal contact. Almost always the best way I've found. But my current condo was via an agent. The first he showed me.
But air tickets and hotels, online every time.
Everybody's mileage varies. You have a network of info you can tap into.
Anyway, it doesn't really matter. I fixed it myself.