Coffee, Tea . . . or Travel? An Agency’s New ‘Lounge’ Concept
by Harvey Chipkin /Applying for a liquor license isn’t usually associated with operating a travel agency.
But that’s what Omaha-based Travel and Transport had to do in preparation for the Sept. 17 opening of its Travel Design Lounge, an innovative concept aimed at generating demand at a time when many people book travel on their own.
“This [ the Lounge concept] has been a couple of years in the making, and brings us back to our leisure roots,” said president and CEO Kevin O’Malley.
The employee-owned agency opened in 1946 offering farmers tours to Europe. It still has six brick and mortar leisure offices, O’Malley said.
“But the leisure business has changed so that we now book a fraction of the air tickets than we did in the past but continue to do a lot of business in cruises and tours,” he said.
“However, we realized that we were not generating leisure demand beyond those customers who already knew our agency or corporate clients who were seeking help with vacations.”
Generating demand
With that in mind—and with many people booking travel on their own—the agency wanted to come up with a concept that “was truly retail and about generating demand,” O’Malley said.
The Lounge will feature full bar service, snacks and a dynamic high tech environment geared to stimulating interest in – and ideally lead to the purchase of—travel.
Travel and Transport experts will be on hand to help visitors with questions or actual bookings. And this may well be the first of similar lounges for the agency.
The sign in front of the Lounge reads “Travel Design Lounge” and in smaller script “by Travel and Transport.”
“We didn’t want to lead with our name because we wanted people to think of leisure in a new way,” said O’Malley.
Coffee, tea or . . . travel?
Shoppers can visit the Lounge, order a drink, coffee or food and think about travel.
O’Malley described the Lounge as a “stimulating environment” that includes several large television monitors showcasing different destinations. Seasoned agents will be on hand to help with trip planning.
“But if you want to just come in, buy a drink or food and relax that’s up to you,” said O’Malley.
Much of the investment in the Lounge was on technology.
The company created a separate website for the Lounge as well as a mobile app and other platforms including a social channel. Visitors will be told they can research and book their own travel using Travel and Transport’s high-powered technology; those bookings will be funneled through the agency.
With the help of a designer, a branding company and other consultants, the company created a space with built-in bench seating along the walls, seating with comfortable chairs, and a large communal table where a dozen or so people can stand or pull up a chair to talk about travel or look at computers.
“We aimed to offer settings that appealed to all generations,” said O’Malley.
If visitors choose to book a trip totally separate from Travel and Transport that will be okay as well,” said O’Malley, “We debated about whether to have an open or closed environment for researching and booking travel. We opted to be open and see how that works out.”
Navigating the options
Visitors will be greeted by “navigators” who, within a few minutes will explain how the lounge works and how they might take advantage of it.
“They will explain why we’re there and how staff can help,” O’Malley said. “If they want to be left alone, that’s fine. There will be computer notebooks available with a menu that explains everything available and how potential travelers might use it.
Travel and Transport also will do a lot of themed evenings, according to O’Malley. Examples include a Discover Mexico, safari or art of cruising nights.
The social element will also be key.
Customers will be asked to share photos and stories once they return from a trip. The photos will be posted on the agency’s site for other clients to see.
“The whole idea is to have people come into the space to collaborate, create and connect in ways that work for them,” said O’Malley. “This is a startup and we had to develop a plan and new technologies.”
H said the agency has had inquiries from people in five states asking about franchise opportunities.
“We may be open to franchising but will probably do a few of our own first. Mostly right now we want to just open the first lounge and see how it goes.”
The Lounge will be located in Omaha’s Shops of Legacy Mall. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It will be closed Sundays.