Jamie Van Ert, CTC
Travel, it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. According to the U.S. Travel Association, 2.1 billion trips were taken by Americans for business and leisure purposes in 2013. How are these trips being put together? Are they being booked online, or are people going to their local brick and mortar travel agency? With the rapid growth of online booking servers and the boom of mobile applications promising the best deals done yourself, can traditional travel agents survive? Today we will take a look at how web- based servers get low rates and what that entails, what agents bring to the table, how agents compete, and lastly who really knows best.
“Compare hundreds of travel sites at once”, “Book together and save up to…”, “Price Guarantee”, “The fastest, easiest way to plan travel”; these are just a few of the tag lines that draw you into their web of endless deal searching. According to usnews.com, approximately 20% of more than 2,000 travelers worldwide said it took them more than 5 hours to search and book their travel online in a survey done by the Institute for Business Value. So with all that time spent online researching the countless travel websites what are you really getting and how are they making such big promises?
According to Travel Weekly online, online bookings rose 7% in 2013 to account for 42% total travel bookings. A real boom in the online booking sector is coming from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Travel Weekly goes on to state this year 27% of that online travel will have been booked via mobile devices. So, with all of those online bookings being made, are expectations being met? According to DreamTravelMagazine.com with regards to hotel room bookings, a room booked online is put in a “less desirable class“ than the one booked by an agent. So, if you book an “ocean view” room on an online website you will get the room category, but in the oldest wing of the hotel, near machinery, or another area less than favorable. With travel agent bookings special notes and requests are able to be added to increase odds of satisfaction. As far as those flights go, dream travel magazine goes on to point out the online booked flights are much more apt to get bumped than travel agent booked flights as it’s much easier get in touch with an agent versus a web site.
Are the low rates found online worth the risk of the somewhat uncertainly that lingers with online booking? Why not use a travel agent, a real live person whom you can speak to and has experience making these bookings daily? When it comes down to the bottom dollar, using a travel agent does not necessarily mean a higher cost like many people think. Travel agents have the inside scoop on various vendor promotions or club discounts. For example, AAA travel agents have several exclusive discounts and added amenities with several vendors available only to clients who book through AAA.
Travel agents can bring a lot to the table. Have you ever tried to call Expedia? Maybe you had a question on baggage, or needed to make a change on your flights, how did that work out? The endless prompts that finally leads to a person whom you have never met and is just now taking a first look at your reservation, because lets be honest, you will never talk to the same person twice in a call center like that. One of the most taxing chores with booking airlines is the constant schedule changes that arise, everything from 5 minute change to a misconnect or maybe just a new flight number. Regardless how major or minor the change is, the client needs to be made aware. For an agent, the vendor simply sends an email or changes are sent over in Que. The agent then places a call to the client to make sure everything is still workable on a new schedule.
I often wondered how people are notified of such things when booking online. I met with an elderly client recently. She was upset her Frontier flight she had booked herself online had drastically changed, she was unaware, and they were not willing to help her. Apparently, they had sent her an email and she had unknowingly confirmed the change. That was it, no turning back without major change fees. Needless to say this client will not be booking online in the future. Another past client found a “great deal” to a resort in Mexico, we were not able to match the price so she booked it herself. She let me know she would not be booking herself again; the online vendor would call her at night and leave messages to call them back on a schedule change and it was an absolute mess. It is never a quick or easy call and they are just looking at your trip the first time when you call in. That client now comes to me with all of her travel needs, no matter what “great deal” is out on the internet. According to dreamtravelmagazine.com online travel agencies rarely even notify their clients of schedule changes. According to the fine print, the client is responsible for checking their own flight times 24 hours before departure, not the most ideal time to find out about a major schedule change.
Although I find schedule changing to be a big reason to have a person on your side sorting things out, there are many other ways travel agents can separate themselves from the glitz and glamour on the web vendors. Forbes.com sums it up best stating in regards to travel agents:
“The bottom line is they know more than you do, they are better connected than you, they have access to benefits you can’t get otherwise, they can often beat any other prices available, and after you have planned everything, they provide a safety net during your trip that you simply won’t get booking yourself.”
Travel agents can really compete, my top 5 reasons travel agents can take an edge over online vendors are, 1) working with a real live person, 2) saves you time 3) wealth of knowledge, 4) plans your trip full circle, 5) problem solvers.
I have so many clients come in throughout the week that have spent endless hours online searching various “deals” and “bargains” and can barely think straight anymore. They don’t know what is true or what is too good to be true, they want to sit down and talk to someone they can see, someone they can talk to and speaks back. Travel agents are called direct, not through an endless call sequence to reach someone who does not know you. Travel agents can keep these clients coming back by building a trusting relationship with them. Unlike a website that just throws random resorts and double connection flights in your lap, travel agents can listen, modify, and recommend a customized option for you.
Speaking of listening and customizing, travel agents save you time. You can cut right to the chase of what you really want, not just what the website wants to show you. In a study completed by Expedia Media Solutions, they found that travelers on average made 38 visits to travel sites before actually purchasing their vacation package. The chart below from skift.com illustrates how many sites are compared while leading up to the time of booking. That is a lot of hours spent trying to iron out travel plans when you could go straight to a professional.
A big part of that time savings comes in part the wealth of knowledge travel agents have. They know the trip components, what to ask, and where to find it for you. Not only that, but agents have the feedback from past clients they have sent to various destinations and resorts that helps get first hand details versus the back and forth reviews on popular websites. It is hard to beat agent experiences, when I can share my own stories and experiences with clients, they soak it in and feel so much more at ease.
Most agents, myself included, get to travel for work at discounted rates to enjoy different travel vendors to better understand and sell the product.
Agents plan your trip full circle. I think this may be the most important aspect of an agent’s service. By full circle I mean not missing any key components of your travel journey. You can really find some rock bottom cruise deals out there, which is great but what else do you need? CNN.com says it well, in regards to why you need an agent to book your cruise:
“Because a cruise can get complicated. There are airline tickets that have to be bought, hotel rooms to be booked, shore excursions and lots of options on the ship”
Booking the cruise is just the tip of the iceberg, you need to get there, preferably a day early in case of any possibly delays, and ships are hard to catch. That involves a pre-night hotel, pre- and post-transfers, and of course booking shore excursions ahead of time to avoid disappointment and possibly meal or drink plans to add on, most of which the client would not realize booking online. Cruising aside another big miss made booking online are transfers. Clients will book their air/hotel package online, arrive in Mexico and get caught in timeshare shenanigans for transfers. If you are traveling out of the country, you want those details pre-arranged, not left to chance.
Last but not least, problem solvers. Missed your flight, weather delay, who will notify your resort? Two weeks ago I had clients call me from the airport, their flight was canceled due to fog in their connecting city and weren’t going to be able to fly out until the next day. The airlines will take care of getting you on the next flight out right then, which is great, but what about the rest? I, in turn, called the vendor who then told me that I would have to call the airline directly myself to see about possibly extending their flight out a day since they were going to miss the first day. The airline was able to move them a day, the vendor called the hotel and found out that they had space so then we were able to make the change and notify the transfer folks of the new schedule. I then called back the clients and let them know I was able to take care of everything, they were so thankful. They were worried and didn’t know what to do, and honestly it took a few calls to get taken care of. While I had them on the phone I also advised them to go ahead and stay in town, keep receipts for meals and hotel and we will turn a claim in for trip delay when they got back as they had purchased travel insurance. They came back having had a great time, I submitted their claim details and the checks are on the way. These people are going to be clients for life. Travel agents have a much better relationship with their vendors than the general public has with Expedia, I’m sure of it.
So is that it, an open shut case, and travel agents reign supreme and there is no need for all of these online travel websites? Well, no, probably not. The technology, websites and apps really do make it easy for people to do their own research, make an educated decision and book their own travel. There is a buyer beware caveat of course, not everything you read on the internet is exactly accurate and if something were to go wrong and changes were to be made, who will handle them? If someone felt confident booking their domestic flight to Phoenix online, fine, chances are I would book it on the same Southwest website they were looking at home, save yourself the service fee. If you are however planning a trip to take your whole family to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, by all means go to an agent. You are going to need help, there will be questions, and you will feel so much more confident having someone guide you through the process. Can agents stay relevant amongst all of the online glamour? Yes they can. Travel apps and social media are only going to get stronger but there is also something about real people and a trusted brand, such as AAA, that make clients feel much more confident and secure when spending thousands of dollars on a trip. Travel agents are going to need to step up their marketing by utilizing social media. Travel is social, people love to talk, post, and share, be part of that conversation. To conclude, Koozai, a digital marketing company sums up best what travel is and how to stay ahead in this day and age:
“Travel is sexy; its newsworthy and news media laps it up. It remains an industry where service and differentiation are key. The products and service you offer may not be unique but the effectiveness with which you supply it should be. Understand your niche and be clear about what value you add and promote yourself.”
