Travel Agents Pit Customer Service Against Internet

American travelers today have as many venues for locating and booking tickets as they have destinations to visit.

For years travelers relied on neighborhood travel agencies to plan and book flights, hotel rooms and entire vacations.

But the Internet germinated the online travel industry, which lured customers away from traditional travel agencies with low prices and the convenience of 24-hour access.

Online and offline travel agencies are battling for market share in an industry worth more than $649 billion.

According to an industry analysis firm, Connecticut-based PhoCusWright Inc., 51 percent of U.S. travelers used online travel agencies last year. That is estimated to increase to 56 percent this year.

Online travel agency industry experts predict the online sector to only gain steam and customers in the coming years. But brick-and-mortar travel agents aren’t worried about the trends. Most in Northwest Arkansas are confident they’ll continue to hold market share by offering travelers something they covet and Web sites just can’t offer: personalized customer service.

“It’s all about service,” said Paula Ryan, owner of The Travel Connection Ltd. in Rogers, who saw her revenue increase 4.2 percent from 2006 to 2007. “It’s always been all about service. We offer customer service before the sale, during the sale and after the sale. In this day and age if something can go wrong on a trip it usually does. We are always there to help, even if the client is halfway across the world.”

Jay Ellenby, president of Safe Harbors Travel Group Inc., a full-service travel agency headquartered in Baltimore, Md., with locations throughout the U.S., said he and travel agents across the country are now seeing a boomerang effect. Clients are now returning to personal agents because they need and want someone to rely on if a trip goes bad, he said.

“It only takes one situation where clients are in a bind and don’t have anyone to turn to for them to come back to us,” said Julie Mitchell, manager of Design Travel Inc. in Rogers.

Mitchell said she has seen a trend in people using the Internet instead of agencies to book a non-stop flight or hotel room. But travelers wanting to plan a multi-day, multi-location trip are still turning to her office for advice and support.

Mitchell’s office recorded $7.4 million in revenue in 2007, a 7.1 percent increase from 2006.

According to data from PhoCusWright, the number of people that used an online travel agent to book complex travel plans decreased by 21 percent from 2005 to 2006.

In addition to friendly faces and customer support, many offline travel agencies have begun to offer unique and niche services that travelers would be hard-pressed to find in a Web search.

Mitchell said her office recently became an affiliate of the Virtuoso luxury travel network.

“Things like Virtuoso are where we try to be a little bit different than the norm,” Mitchell said. “Luxury travel is not a large market share for us but those that are going to spend more money on travel expect – and will pay for – one-on-one customer service and support.”

Travel agencies can also become licensed to extend fire, police and military personnel travel discounts, which are hard to receive through online agencies.

The U.S. Travel Industry Association has forecasted a 4.9 percent increase in the number of residents expected to travel this season, and Mitchell said she is confident that the boom will be reflected in her 2008 revenue.