When Dennis and Donna Hubbs launched D&D Travel Services in 1993, the sky seemed the limit. The economy was coming back from a recession; Americans were travelling for business and pleasure; commissions were flowing. Times were so good, the Bloomfield couple planned to expand their fledgling business.
Then they saw their world change.
Airlines slashed the commissions it paid to agents; the Internet emerged as a competitor with do-it-yourself travel services offering cheaper fares and then terrorists struck.
For the Hubbs, the choice seemed clear: Reinvent their business model or find another line of work.
Today, D&D Travel Services is alive and growing again because the Hubbs joined other travel agencies in discovering superior customer service as their ‘secret sauce.’
A new study by Forrester Research Inc. shows travelers are coming back to brick-and-mortar agencies. During the first quarter of 2010, 28 percent of leisure travelers in the U.S. who booked their trips online said they would be interested in switching to a good traditional agent.
That figure is up from 23 percent in 2008 while another report finds the number of people who liked using the Internet to plan and book their vacations dropped to 46 percent from 53 percent.
John Siebert, a consultant and president of Meriden Travel Bureau, knows his clients could easily turn to the Internet to access the same booking tools once reserved exclusively for brick-and-mortar agents.
And he’s met many people who have relied on the web to plan a major vacation and end up regretting it later.
“If you’re traveling to someplace new where you don’t know what there is to see and do, you end up wasting a lot of time and money,” said Siebert. “And you miss the chance to do some really cool and interesting things.”
When Siebert joined the family business nearly two decades ago, there was no competition from the Internet, social media — Facebook, Twitter, blogging — didn’t exist and airlines still doled out healthy commissions.
“About 10 years ago, the airlines reduced the commissions to 10 percent and then 8 percent,” Siebert said. “By then, you could see the writing on the wall. Nothing surprised me after that.”
Siebert recently helped a neighbor plan a Disney World vacation and provided tips on what to do, where to eat and the best times to enjoy certain activities — information the client couldn’t access through an online travel service.
And when Royal Caribbean dropped its rates four times in 70 days last year, Siebert made sure all 176 of his cruise clients received an $800 ship credit.
“The online companies are not going to call and tell you the rates have dropped and offer an adjustment or credit,” Siebert said. “Once you complete a transaction on the computer, that’s it. There is no one you can call for advice on what you should do when you get to your destination.”
“I think most people are okay with paying $25 for someone to handle the details,” said Siebert.
Hubbs charges a $75 customization fee that is refundable with purchase and said he does that to discourage people from calling to price check his rates and waste his time on unnecessary research.
In 2010, there were 15,671 travel agents in the U.S., down from 27,719 in 2001, according to the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA).
“A sophisticated travel agent should be able to provide their clients with the best rates and upgrades available and be able to sort out any issues that come up with the trip. They need to offer more than just booking services,” said David Sangree, hospitality consultant and president of Hotel and Leisure Advisors.
“It’s a tough industry to be in but smaller agents can succeed if they have unique knowledge about the destinations they sell,” said Sangree.
In addition to getting clients special rates and desirable upgrades, Hubbs offers his clients a five-day escorted group trip to Ireland every year. At $1,459 per person, the trip includes round-trip airfare, meal accommodations, entry to all attractions scheduled and tours of the Drombeg Stone Circle — known as “Druid’s Altar” — and the 13th century Kilkenny Castle. Hubbs, who just returned from a sold-out trip in November, expects the 30 spots for the 2011 trip to fill up quickly.
