Avoya Travel Traces The Evolution of Home-Based Agents

The view of home-based travel agents has evolved from “less-than” sellers of travel to travel professionals, according to Van and Brad Anderson, co-presidents of Avoya Travel.

The family-owned company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and its growth from a network of brick and mortar agencies throughout San Diego County to a national host agency.

The Andersons spoke with Travel Market Report about the host agency concept, the rise of the Internet and the role of agents.

Your family was instrumental in evolving the host agency concept. What have been the biggest challenges in this area?
Van Anderson: It used to be that if you worked from home you were considered ‘less than.’ Years ago you couldn’t make as much money or be as successful if you were home-based.  With some exceptions, it was considered something for hobbyists and part-timers. That’s not true anymore. You don’t need a retail location to be successful.

So, you’ve also seen the evolution of brick-and-mortar agencies?
Brad Anderson: Absolutely. And I’m speaking as one who’s shut down a brick and mortar. It’s a traumatic thing to do. You create a lot of memories in an office space.

But this is what happened: Someone would walk in to our office and ask me about something. I might know a little about it or a lot about it or nothing at all. I would have to educate myself, which took time and effort. We thought we could do it all; we were a full-service agency. But a door slammed in our faces.

Would that door be the Internet?
Brad Anderson:  Exactly. With the rise of the Internet, we could no longer be all things to everyone. People wanted to talk to specialists. So specialization became the standard. And that took the stigma out of the home-based aspect. It didn’t matter where you were located. The Internet started to help people find better experts. That’s true in all fields, not just travel.

How important is specialization?
Brad Anderson: In our model where we generate leads, specialization is everything. Entrepreneurship is everything. Our affiliates run their own businesses without influence from us.

What advice do you have for agents who are still trying to establish themselves?
Van Anderson: A lot of agency owners today are still trying to decide if it’s the right business for them. That’s the case even if they’ve been in it for 10 or 20 years. I can tell you that the opportunities for entrepreneurs that have some creativity and can sell and run a business have never been better.

The agent still matters. I use the analogy of the ATM machine and the bank teller. Many of us don’t use a bank teller anymore, because they didn’t give out advice. They simply handled a transaction. But we still need bankers. We need professional advisors, and that’s true in travel.

What about negative press about agents? How do you overcome that?  
Van Anderson:  It’s a myth that the travel agent is in decline, that you can’t make a good living or that it is too challenging. We need to get rid of that thinking. We need to stop talking in terms of “weathering” the changes; weathering commission cuts.

No one likes change. But we look at it in terms of relishing change, not weathering. The Internet has forced us to create innovations that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

How do you view the relationship between agents and suppliers?  That seems to be an area that’s always in flux.
Van Anderson: We’re optimistic and here’s why. Vacations are more important now than ever. Suppliers clearly understand the value of agents and their actions are showing it.

Many cruise, tour and hotel companies have embraced the agent in a renewed and reinvigorated way. They’re compensating them in a respectful manner and providing good education. Those are the companies that are going to look smart, not just in 2014 but in 2020.

You’ve talked about having a responsibility to promote tourism. What do you mean?
Brad Anderson: We feel a responsibility not just to our own family but to all of our employees, our independent network, our customers and to the global society that relies on tourism to survive. I know a lot of people make fun of tourism. But we think that getting people to go and visit other countries promotes understanding in the world. It’s a big motivation for us.