How the world has changed. Just 10 years ago, most people would still be visiting a travel agent to book an upcoming trip. Frequent travellers might have their agents on speed-dial, but that’s about as streamlined as it got in most cases. Then it became very much conversation-free. You’d send an email to your agent, who would then send you all the flight and hotel options, sometimes alongside additional information about the destination. You’d transfer the money online and, on the same day, receive an e-ticket by email.
But today, booking travel products doesn’t even require the involvement of an agent, at least not a human one. Online travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Opodo, Priceline and Orbitz have really picked up speed. These companies ring up billions of US dollars in revenue every year, thanks to their increasingly loyal clientele.
A one-way street
Some even say once you have gone online, you never go back. “My experiences are great, and I am quite sure that I will keep on using online travel agencies instead of physically going to the traditional ones,” says Victoria Wai-yee Chan, who works in television. One of her colleagues advised her to use an online agent and she liked it immediately. “I find the prices much cheaper than those from a conventional agent or the airlines, probably because I always travel alone so don’t get to enjoy package deals.”
Some like the fact all rules and conditions are out in the open with travel websites. “Traditional agents are reluctant to refund when you want to make changes, while the online ones make it clear at the very beginning about the refund policy,” Hong Kong-based freelance journalist Chow Chung-wah says. She books travel products online at least once a month.
But for 20-something Pavan Shamdasani, it’s about spontaneity. “You just book and go in the span of 10 minutes – which you can’t really do with an agent,” he says. “I hate planning in advance and worrying for weeks about a trip – it completely ruins the idea of a vacation. That, and the prices are starting to equal out in comparison.”
Shamdasani’s favourite travel website is Hipmunk.com, which features a simple interface and allows you to search for up to three legs at a time. Options can be listed according to many different criteria, including “agony”. If you are willing to endure a really early flight, make an extra stopover and fly any airline, just look at the top of the “agony” list.
Competition between travel websites is also heating up. Their online content is increasingly rich, and they include lifestyle advice such as ideal beach vacations, where to enjoy the best food and wine and, of course, reviews from fellow travellers. Agencies such as Travelocity.com offer users increasing flexibility when conducting a search. You used to be able to view flight options for only three days either side of your specified departure date, but now the limit is up to 10 days.
All of which is in addition to the fact that online agents are highly accessible and open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week – a big draw for today’s city dweller, whose attention span is rapidly shortening.
Amadeus, the leading transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, reports that in 2009, 39 percent of outbound trips in European travel were booked online, versus 24 percent using face-to-face agents. This number is expected to rise to 64 percent by 2015.
Embracing the future
Are the days of traditional travel agents numbered? Will they, like multilayered paper plane tickets, become a thing of the past?
“Traditional travel agents still play an important role in Asian markets, especially in highly centralised cities like Hong Kong and Singapore, where travellers can easily access these travel agents as compared to the US,” says Jason Wong, director and general manager of Hong Thai Travel Services, one of Hong Kong’s oldest names in the business. “Moreover, Asian travellers value travel agents as they need face-to-face contact, more tailor-made services and professional opinions from their travel consultants.”
David Brett, president of Amadeus Asia Pacific, also thinks that online services cannot totally replace human travel agents, at least not yet. “There are so many online sites and you end up spending far too much time going through these options. I think it gets to a point where you need someone to help manage all this,” he says, adding that the role travel agents need to play is “expert”, one who not only knows where to get information and how to access it, but also
tells customers what is believable and what isn’t. “The role of an
expert is extremely important; I think we need to see more management, not just provision of information.”
But traditional agents do need to adapt to a changing world in order to remain competitive. “One thing the agent has to do is embrace the internet,” adds Brett. “A few years ago people would walk into an agency and ask directly, ‘I want to do so and so.’ These days, most will already have investigated it on the internet. That means the agent must be aware that customers will come in with a certain amount of knowledge. But this doesn’t mean they become less valuable. The difference is the customers already have a more focused idea and the agent can use that information to provide a service.”
Lily Agonoy, general manager at Farrington American Express Travel Services, says: “Traditional travel agents will become a thing of the past only if they do not embrace change and innovation. If they do, for instance, combine technology with their experience, knowledge and good service standards, it will definitely enhance their competitiveness in the market place.”
Hong Thai was one of the first traditional agents to develop an online booking engine for air tickets and hotels in 2007, and is working on extending the online service to group tour bookings as well. Its online site even offers a live chat feature where visitors can have an online conversation with a travel consultant.
Farrington American Express Travel and Travel Expert have, too, set up their own websites with an online booking system for customers to book “free and easy” products. Other agencies, such as Cadogan, which has been in the travel business for 60 years, set themselves apart from general online agents by specialising in niche sectors of travel and offering clients tailor-made luxury holidays. Its website has an online booking tool featuring packages and special offers for trips to 23 locations.
The personal touch
While travel agencies may be branching out, they are still firmly rooted in providing personalised service. Traditional shopfronts will not be completely abolished simply because there are certain aspects of the business that online agents cannot offer or match. “Traditional travel agents provide personalised or customised service, customer care and crisis management,” says Agonoy.
Traditional agents are also the go-to medium for complicated travel plans. For example, if you are trying to arrange an around-the-world trip or are planning to travel to countries where getting a visa is far from simple, consulting a traditional travel agent would be a good idea.
As there is greater face-to-face contact, traditional agents can tailor your trip according to your needs and budget and are usually more reliable when it comes to special requests as compared to online agents. Some online booking engines may not provide smaller budget airline options like JetBlue or Jeju Air. Traditional agents can personalise your trip in a variety of ways, from handling macro details such as arranging affordable flights and accommodation, providing insights and planning your itinerary, to smaller details such as finding out how far away the train station or airport is from your hotel, or arranging vegetarian meals on flights.
“It’s clearly a trend that people will continue to use online booking tools,” David Brett says. “But it does not suit everybody or all itineraries. For simple transactions, people will do it themselves. But the way in which people travel is maturing, and there is always the opportunity for an expert to come in to gather more information. Business travellers have needs and requirements, too; I travel three weeks out of four and I want my agent to know me and what I want.”
It seems the personal touch is still a valuable commodity.
Going to extremes
Travel websites and online booking systems by hotels and airlines allow people to be spontaneous and flexible with travel, but is that enough? Apparently not, according to a study by Amadeus, a transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry. Research conducted for the company’s leisure travel technology business has revealed that 70 percent of people planning to take a vacation do not have a firm idea of where they want to go when they start looking. With most of the online booking systems, you still need to decide the destination and date of your trip before searching.
But a new technology is available to allow travellers to skip that thinking process – all they need is the urge to travel. It is called Affinity Shopper and is currently used by Lufthansa and Croatian Airlines.
“You can name a budget, for example, of US$200 and ask ‘Where can I go?’ The search shows you all the places and sometimes even special offers you’ve never thought of,” David Brett of Amadeus says.
Amadeus is the technology provider behind many major airlines’ websites that allow customers to conduct online booking and itinerary management, including that of Cathay Pacific. But this “extreme search” option, as Brett calls it, is expected to give travellers a whole new level of control.
Affinity Shopper is available on the Germany, UK and US portals of Lufthansa and is called Lufthansa Trip Finder (pictured). Once inside, you can choose your budget with the sliding dial and type in the name of the city you intend to depart from, and pointers will appear on the map indicating choices available to you. You can narrow down the options by ticking boxes such as “Beach”, “Diving”, “Golf”, “Gourmet”, “Outdoor”, “Historical sites”, “Cities”, “Museums” and “Shopping”. Once you have spotted what appeals to you, just click on the pointer and you will be led to more details and the booking system.
According to Amadeus, the technology will continue to evolve to offer more capabilities.
Punch it in
You would have thought that by now most online travel agents would have mobile sites for people to access with their smart phones, but Orbitz and Voyages-sncf.com are the only two larger ones that do. However, things are set to change very soon.
Expedia announced at the end of last year that it has acquired Mobiata, the creator of popular mobile travel application FlightTrack, alongside others such as TripDeck, HotelPal, FlightBoard and FareCompare. FlightTrack lets users check flight status, access information about delays or rescheduling, locate the flight’s gate and see real-time tracking maps of flights, and has proven to be a real hit – it has been a best-selling iPhone travel app in the App Store.
Expedia states that this acquisition represents the company’s “most significant investment to date in addressing the mobile travel market”. At the time of the announcement, Expedia was only seeing 4 percent of its traffic coming from mobile browsers or apps – not surprising given how difficult it is to use a full site with a smart phone. When mobile-friendly capabilities have been developed, the number should see a surge.
Some companies are already reaping benefits. Wotif.com, a well-established travel website in Australia and New Zealand that sells deals up to six months in advance across 57 countries, is one of them. Through mobile.wotif.com, smart-phone users can access a range of offers that cover a wide budget spectrum, and book a stay with instant confirmation. Although only a small percentage of the company’s business comes through mobile browsers, the use of the site saw a five-fold increase from October 2009 to the end of 2010, indicating a potential for further growth.
According to Matthew Varley, the company’s executive general manager of Asia, the site stays competitive by keeping a low commission rate and working closely with hotel partners to come up with special deals.
Last year, Apple filed a patent for a travel app that not only books flights, hotels and car reservations but also works as an electronic ticket, boarding pass and even passport. On arrival, it helps users find their RFID-tagged luggage. It is unclear when this application will become commercially available, but one thing is for sure, it will not be the only thing travellers can look forward to.
