“Agents Are So ’90s”

Anytime a retailer closes without protecting all clients, coverage of such news is sure to follow. So when a large discount-oriented leisure agency recently closed in Minneapolis, the local newspaper quickly and predictably covered the impact of the closing. But somewhat unpredictably, the comment section below the article was riddled with attacks on travel agents as a whole.

You’ve heard it all before. “Travel agents are dinosaurs,” wrote one. “Travel agents are so ‘90s,” heckled another. Back in the ‘90s the same person probably would have said, “Travel agents are so ’80s.”

Having covered retail travel since 1982, we’ve run across these types of comments throughout the years. Do agents care when their profession is blithely belittled on the Internet or elsewhere? Do such glib rundowns impact overall business?

We asked several experienced agents, and the responses all indicated high levels of frustration with the attackers writing such postings. “We cringe when we see comments negative to our industry,” says Gary Silverstein, Mann Travels, Charlotte, N.C.

“It’s the same people who put on the comments ripping different hotels,” says Karen Bray, Cruise and Leisure Travel, Sonoma, Cal. “They want to sound like big shots, blabbing about stuff they know nothing about and, in doing so, positioning themselves as the hotshot expert.”

Most, she ventures to say, have never dealt with agents, or they’d see how useful agents are to the people who actually use them. “Sadly, a lot of people don’t know what they’re missing when they don’t use an agent,” says Bray. “They don’t know that we know how to quickly use search engines. They don’t know that we know who the vendors are that the customer needs to book with in order to have the right vacation.”

For frequent travelers who already use travel agencies, Bray does not feel these type of comments will drive them away. However, she and other retailers we talked with believe these types of comments undoubtedly impact younger, less frequent travelers, who have yet to use a travel agent. “It’s a shame that a few uneducated people can put comments on websites that put down an industry without realizing what we do for our clients,” adds Silverstein.

Reports of Our Death Are Exaggerated

The brunt of the criticisms is generally that agents are a thing of the past. Most agents we talked with point out that while many small and medium businesses make less money than they used to, the travel agency model is still very active.

Peg Haskins, Viking Travel Service, Westmont, Ill., says it helps to realize that, at times, agents have been slow to adapt. “It’s a different business today,” says Haskins. “But I don’t see the business going away, either.”

Like others, she doesn’t enjoy seeing all the negative comments but doesn’t believe they ultimately impact agents too much. “The truth is there are many excellent agents,” says Haskins. “And I think consumers understand this.”

She bases her belief on the fact that new customers are still walking through the doors. “We find more of our customers are referrals,” say Haskins. “If I’m looking for a professional, I ask for a referral.”

In the meantime, can anything be done to spread the word of agency professionalism? “I think the travel agent community has done a terrible job of explaining to the public the value of using a travel agent,” responds Silverstein. “Maybe one day the big agency groups will get together and pool some marketing funds and do a campaign that lets the public know why they should use a travel agent.”

There’s no easy solution in this era of tight budgets. “I don’t know what the answer is,” says Bray. “But it would help if ASTA focused more on why people should use a travel agent.”