AmEx Survey Says Clients Want Guidance and Experiences

What do clients want from travel agents? More guidance, more immersive experience and more variety, according to an American Express Travel survey.

The company surveyed some 350 travel agents associated with its U.S. Representative Travel Network to gauge travelers’ spending habits, trends in customer service and changes in customer relations between member agencies and their clients.

The survey findings were released at the American Express Travel Retail Network’s Learning Forum & National Summit in Orlando last week.

What clients want
The guidance clients seek from agents takes varying forms, the study found.

Seventy four percent of agents said their clients ask them to design their entire trip, the “whole package” while 60% said clients want help in finding the best destination and experience.
Fifty-three percent of agents said clients who’ve done their own research want help in finding deals.

“Resources”—the ability to access deals as well as their relationships with suppliers—are agents’ most important selling tool, said half of the agents surveyed.

Customer satisfaction equals repeat business
Nearly all (96%) of the agents reported having more, 56%, or the same amount, 40%, of repeat customers this year compared to last year.

Agents booked an average of five trips for their repeat customers: 37% booked from three to eight trips and 33% booked more than eight trips.

Buying habits
Shopping for deals was a significant motivator for clients but the desire to travel was also important, the survey found.

More than two in five, 44%, of agents said cost savings is a key consideration for their clients. But a similar percentage, 40%, said clients are eager to take trips and spend on memorable experiences.

 “You have to keep creating memories for your clients – that’s what keeps them coming back,” said Curtis Kowalski with American Express Travel in Boston.

Kowalski, who specializes in Caribbean cruises, is part of American Express Travel’s elite group of Travel Insider agents.

Spending patterns
More than two in five agents, 41%, said their customers spent an average of $2,500 to $4,999 per trip this year while one-third of agents, 33%, put client spending at $5,000 to $10,000.

Agents also reported an increase in customer spend on accommodations, 59%, room or cabin upgrades, 59% and tours and excursions, 51%.

“Sometimes you have to go over budget or get creative about trading different parts of a trip to give clients that once in a lifetime experience that they really want,” said Ena Langford of The Travel Authority, an Altour agency with offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Florida, and Minnesota.

Langford is also an American Express Travel Insider with expertise in travel to Australia and New Zealand.

“If it’s New Year’s Eve in Sydney, you want to be out on a yacht in the harbor watching the fireworks over the bridge, for instance,” she said.