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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Holiday
Bookings: The Personal Touch These are hard times for the retail sector of the travel industry. Travel agents are marginalized from all sides. Airlines are cutting their commissions from practically nothing to nothing. Some tour operators are, against the original ABTA code of conduct selling their packages direct to the public at lower rates than through travel agents and others are cutting out the agents altogether by selling direct to the public only. Travel Trade Gazette recently interviewed visitors to a travel exhibition revealing that out of eleven people questioned, only one confessed of ever using a travel agent to book their holidays. Many find it easier to research the destinations and book their travel arrangements on the internet than to go out and visit a travel agent or even ring one and request them to do the work. Some of the people interviewed pointed out that travel agents only sell brochured packages, referring to the multiple chains owned by the biggest UK tour operators. Now that even the oldest members of the travelling public are getting computer literate, and the younger generation seems to think it uncool to book any other way except on the internet, there seems to be no point in using travel agencies. Yet a lot
of independent agencies are doing extremely well, steadily increasing
their loyal customer base year after year. One is financial security. It's good to know who you are giving your money to. Increasing incidences of credit card fraud are deterring many from entering their credit card details and security codes on websites. At a travel agency you are given a receipt and the name of the person who handled the transaction. All travel agents who sell flights have to either have an ATOL or act as agents to an ATOL holder. This gives peace of mind; you will not lose your money, if the tour operator or the airline fail before you travel or while you are away. Many independent agencies have mature experienced staff, who take it to be their own personal responsibility that your travel arrangements go smoothly. If anything goes wrong while on holiday, they act on your behalf to put things right, while you are away. It is also to the customers benefit to form a long term relationship with their travel agent. Experienced consultants have a mental databank of hundreds of hotels, and if they get to know what you like, find you just the right kind of hotel at each destination. Agents also have access to other sources such as names of the tour operators who would have preferential rates for hotel, lowest fare searches, airline consolidators and unbiased information about resorts and accommodation. When looking for the best deals outside the budget airlines network, you cannot beat deals you may get at a travel agency, who are ATOL holders and therefore able to act as tour operators. Like the bigger tour operators, they may get net rates from the airlines that are mostly much lower than published fares. Unlike big tour operators, they do not need to build their package prices with big commission margins and safety allowances for currency fluctuations, but can transfer the benefit of the favourable currency conditions direct to you. Many agents have negotiated hotel rates too. But unlike the big operators who have squeezed the hotels to give them the lowest rates, and often get their room allocation at the least popular part of the hotel, the agent may be able to sell you a better room at the same price, as the margins are likely to be lower. This may not always be the route to a best deal but when it doesn't you can still count on your travel agent to shop around for you through every source, including the internet, and all tour operators to find you the best deal. Finally, after years in the industry, I've seen that most people find it a pleasurable experience to book through an agent. They enjoy the social interaction, exchanging views and ideas, weighing up possibilities, airing their worries. It has become an enjoyable ritual, almost a part of the holiday itself. First published in VISA issue 60 (April 2005) |