ASTA Sees Partnerships as Pathway to Growth
by Andrew Sheivachman /ABOARD THE NORWEGIAN BREAKAWAY – ASTA is looking to make partnerships with travel agency marketing groups and consortia a building block of growth as it pushes to expand the rolls of active members.
“Reimagining our relationship with our consortia partners is the most important thing to happen to ASTA in a long time,” president and CEO Zane Kerby said at the opening session of ASTA’s 2014 Global Convention. The seven-day convention is being held during a roundtrip New York-Bermuda cruise, marking the first time that ASTA has taken its convention to the high seas since 1936.
Kerby told more than 300 agents at the ASTA convention that his strategic vision for ASTA is to continue to grow partnerships with agency groups, while increasing agent involvement and participation in the trade association.
Just last week ASTA and Signature Travel Network announced that Signature will require its agents to join ASTA beginning on Jan. 1. Earlier this year, MAST Travel Network said it will pay a portion of ASTA dues for MAST agents who choose to join the trade association.
“We’re talking with other consortia, hosts and franchisors,” Kerby said. “There will be more announcements like this in coming months.”
Things are looking up
“Your trade association is in better shape today than it has been in many years,” said Kerby, who also discussed positive indicators about the health of the travel agency industry.
The sales volume of ASTA agents is up, and there’s been an increase in newcomers to the travel agency profession, he said.
“Seventy-five percent of ASTA members report their revenue is the same or higher than last year. Fifty-two percent have hired new employees, and 40% of them are new to travel.”
The future is bright for ASTA members, and suppliers are still extremely supportive of the travel agency community, according to Kerby.
What travelers want
Following Kerby’s remarks, industry executives on a panel about “The Future Leisure Traveler” also pointed to positive trends for agents.
While travelers are able to glean basic travel information online, they still must turn to agents to plan more-involved trips.
“People don’t want rate; they want value,” said CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg, who moderated the panel. “Travelers want options, and this gets into a quantum change in the travel experience.”
The executives on hand agreed that understanding what travelers want is key to agents developing deep relationships with clients.
“People are looking for something different,” said Roger Block, president of Travel Leaders Franchise Group. “They are also looking to relate to you, so you understand what they’re actually looking for.”
Post-trip follow-up
For Block, effective travel selling comes down to building relationships. In our increasingly automated world, personalized service helps dedicated agents stand out.
“The most critical thing is reaching out to clients post-trip,” said Block.
“Ask them if they could change one thing about their trip, what would it be? You have now given that client the opening to tell you everything that should have been better, and you are building a long relationship with the client.”
Focus your sales
The question for agents is, “How do you set yourself up to work well with the needs of evolving travelers?” said panelist Dan Sullivan IV, vice president of strategic accounts for Collette.
“You want to be the person there helping them, and you can use technology to aid your efforts while gaining traction with travelers.”
Sullivan encouraged agents to focus their sales efforts so they go beyond merely quoting prices to clients.
“As travelers are much more educated and knowledgeable, there is an opportunity for travel professionals to specialize,” said Sullivan. “We’re past the age when you want to be a generalist; you want to take five or 10 products and get to know them deeply.”
Who’s thriving
Sullivan also discussed the traits of agencies that thrived during and after the last two economic downturns in the U.S.
“The agencies who knew how to add value, specialize and offer high-touch service have prospered,” said Sullivan.
“A lot of agents who mandate a service fee increase their business and mitigate the chance that a client comes back saying they found their vacation for less online.”
Trends & Opportunities
Panelists observed that multigenerational travel has become a major trend, which is great news for agents who can earn more by selling groups.
The cruise sector is experiencing other changes. “We’ve seen the average age come down a little bit, and CLIA’s statistics show the overall age of cruisers has come down,” said Andy Stuart, vice president of global sales and passenger services for Norwegian Cruise Line.
“It’s interesting because when you walk around our ship, you now see different types of people of all ages.”