Being associated with athletics from my teens through my 30’s, I became aware that most of the activities we do in training and offensive and defensive strategies are the result of copying some other programs that have had success. . .and maybe calling it a different name to make it your own. Travel business is really no different.
Over the years I’ve been a silent disciple of a travel agent in Florida named RichardTuren. He is a steady contributor with a travel column in a weekly travel periodical, Travel Weekly. Much of what I write today comes from his mind and experience, as well as mine, which is why I can relate to his “generalizations”.
One of the generalizations that he addresses is that “most clients don’t understand how we’re compensated”. A lot of our clients believe that they are paying extra to use our services. According to Turen, “the truth is that the better job we do on the client’s behalf, the more money we save them, the less we make. Ours is a rather odd profession in that sense.” Our clients need to understand that any direct booking they make with any supplier includes a 10% to 15% surcharge for travel agent services that they are not having to provide.. Since they receive few, if any, of the services a good consultant would provide, charging direct bookers a commission could be considered fraud. Our clients need to understand that our professional services generally come at no additional charge, and that they have a real live person who is advocating in their behalf.
Another generalization that he mentioned is that a travel agent is human, and different, and is much better than the social media lemming. For example, “what if, instead of being a ‘clicked’ friend, your travel planner is a real friend, a caring human who genuinely has your best interests at heart? It’s better for the travel consumer to be able to brag that she or he has found a human to talk to about planning the best moments in life”.
One of the major challenges of the travel agent community is “convincing consumers that on-line prices are higher for an often-flawed product.” Most suppliers do not want their products sold by online discounters, so online sellers often get lower commissions, which mean slimmer margins. Mr. Turen notes that in the case of hotels it is no secret that guests who book online get some of the worst rooms. The hotel has no relationship with such guests, and realizes it will likely never see them again, and another potential concern is that many airline tickets sold by online discount sites are not transferable to other carriers if a flight is canceled.
Reality is that here in Abilene, Texas, and the Big Country our clients have a travel agency that has been a small business fixture in the business community for many years. We have agents who have many years experience planning business trips and family vacations of all types, and better still a real live person who desires your business and wants you to return because of the service you received. Try us the next time you want to travel at The Travel Factory, located at 4150 Southwest Drive at the Plaza at Park Central. Check out our website at www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com for some exciting trips in the coming months.