Advertised airfares including taxes???

Well I never though that this would happen, but the European Commission recently proposed a new legislation that would make airlines advertise their fares including ALL taxes, charges and fees…and no this is no joke.

Could you imagine looking at an airfare online or in a magazine / retail agency and seeing a price that was truely ALL INCLUSIVE?

Fingers crossed that this legislation is approved!

Thinking of starting a retail travel agency?

Recently I have received a couple of emails from people that are interested in starting up their own retail travel agency and they have asked me ‘where do I start?”

This may sound like a relatively easy question to answer, but as with any other business nothing is ever as simple as it sounds.

My suggestion would be to do a course in retail travel and a small business course. You might like to get experience in the industry and also read some books like :

• Start Your Own Travel Agency by Adam Starchild
• Manual of Travel Agency Practice by Gwenda Syratt

Don’t forget to research everything, from the products you think you might sell, to how you are going to sell them, what licences will you need etc.

From there, decide whether this is something that you think you could do for the rest of your life. Would you be happy or would it be too stressful?

These are just my suggestions and as I have never started my own travel industry business I find it hard to give advice…maybe there are people out there that have started their own travel business that want to leave some comments?

Can’t compete on price? How about customer experience?

So if travel agents can’t compete with the prices on the internet, maybe they should be thinking about other ways that they can win people over.

Maybe they should think about the customer service they offer, are people rushed in & out of the agency or are they allowed to sit and chat with a consultant, while going through books and having a coffee?

Does your agency have an edge? What makes you different from the internet? You both offer products and services but why should people walk into the agency instead of booking online?

Could you imagine an agency, where you are invited to come in, see how things operate (like an open day), have someone sit with you or simply go through books and point places out, no rush, no obligation…wouldn’t that be something that the internet doesn’t offer?

Are walk-in’s a travel agents best friend or enemy?

Sure people that walk in off the street may not be willing to book right then and there but they walked into the agency for a reason…they wanted to find more out about a destination and more importantly, whether they could afford it or not. It is these walk-ins that have the potential to bring in a lot of money as you can really help them from start to finish if you build a great rapport and gain their trust.

But be aware of the client that walks in off the street with a simple itinerary already sorted out but they want your advice on what hotels to stay at or what airline is the cheapest or what sightseeing is available or how to get from ‘a’ to ‘b’. It is these potential clients that may take your advice, your time, your work and walk out the door never to be seen again. Why? The simple answer is that you have done the hard work for them and they in turn have gone home, got onto the internet and booked directly with the hotels, airline and sightseeing companies. You did all the hard work and they bypassed you, meaning you lost out on the commission you deserve…

Unfortunately there isn’t much travel agents can do to avoid this, except to maybe be careful and cautious.

Maybe it is up to the customer to think about what they are really going in to a travel agency for…are you really needing someones help or are you just wasting their time?

You never know who they might know…

Say you have a customer (Joe) that has been a little annoying the entire time that they have been booking with you. They have changed their mind several times and your commission is being eaten up by amendment changes that the customer is refusing to pay for. You have spent a lot of time on Joe’s booking for not much reward, so you treat them a little differently & not like a star customer.

Joe notices that he isn’t getting the same service as others and he tells his friends and family about you not being helpful. Unfortunately Joe’s friends were planning a round the world trip & were going to book with you until they found out that Joe wasn’t happy with the service. Is this what you want?

If you are nice to someone that is causing you trouble when they book, they will at least tell their friends that you were really helpful and therefore it may result in more bookings. Some say that just ‘biting your tongue and smiling’ is the best thing for business.

Always ask yourself what you would do if you were in the customers shoes?

Reading the paper on a lazy afternoon…

Normally I read the newspaper online but I decided for a change that I would actually buy the paper from a shop and have a read. I was surprised by how many travel companies still advertise in the classifieds section. I wonder how much business they really get?

I know that whenever I am thinking of booking or researching travel, the Internet is my number one source for information. Even before going to travel agent. Some of these advertised companies don’t even have websites.

So would you give them a call? Would you trust them? Or would you rather research everything online and then find a company to call?

Do you want more info about your hotel?

It was brought to my attention that there is a really cool website out there that gives you all the information you could need about a hotel without having to be pressured to book through the site or pay a fee to view the information…the website is Link2Hotels.com

I was surprised how easy to use it was and I can't believe that there hasn't been a site created like this before. I have seen travel agents use something similar but the information on this site is detailed & really useful. I could actually see travel agents (or other industry people) using this site as a form of additional information before booking directly with the hotel.

There is also a lot of different search criteria that they offer such as Number of Stars rating, price range, style, type, proximity and amenities. They also offer the service in a number of different languages!

Plus it has hotels listed worldwide, infact it states that they have over 250,000 hotels listed which is more than Travelocity, Expedia & Hotels.com and you can also save your favourite hotels in a 'My Hotels' section so you can have the information saved.

Definately check the site out & it is worth being added to your favourites!

Note:This site is also known as www.worldhotelsyellowpages.com

A great website for Group Tour planners!

 I was doing a bit of surfing on the net & I came across a site called TripHub - a site specifically for group travel.It is a site that allows people to coordinate their group travel and some of the features include:

 - Invite people to join your group & keep track of who is coming
 - Research & discuss hotel options in over 350 cities
 - Share travel itineraries from any source to any supplier
 - Send emails to some or all members of the group
 - Track who owes money

The site is clear, easy to read & best of all it is currently free.

As I was a group coordinator at a couple of different jobs, it is great to see what the world of groups is becoming easier & less complicated. But does a site like this where people can book their own hotels and organise the group etc, take away from booking through a travel agent?

I believe so, but this is a great tool for travel agents to work with people. What is stopping a travel agent from using this tool & keeping in contact with the group organiser & participants.

I think that this is a site that will stick around for a while & definately one to keep an eye on.

Do you tip a travel agent?

This was a question that I was asked recently and I thought that it was a fair enough question. You tip at restaurants, bars, cab (taxi) drivers and a lot of other places, but do you tip your travel agent who has provided you a good service?

My answer would be no, there is no need to tip…but a nice thank you gift is always appreciated. I once received a big bunch of flowers from a client who had a great holiday and it definately made my day.

As a general rule of thumb…if you get good service, it is always good to reward it!

Boring window displays…

I was walking through Victoria (Canada) yesterday & I noticed that there are quite a few travel agencies and small tour operators that are based here. Unfortunately the one thing that really stuck out in my mind as I walked past was that the window displays aren't exactly that great and that is if they have one at all.

So I will be taking photos of these windows & giving examples of what is good & bad. I think that it is important that travel agents are made aware that they need to help themselves because the internet is taking away a lot of their business.

I am also interested in seeing what other travel agencies around the world are doing, so I would love to see some photos or just add a comment with your thoughts & observations.