With the economy wreaking havoc with travel agencies, we asked agents and industry experts to give their best advice for what owners need to do to keep their businesses strong in 2009. Here’s what they said.
From Diana Saint James, Owner, Dimensions in Travel, an Ensemble Agency, Novato, Calif.
-- Evaluate staffing to meet 2009 business levels. Institute temporary salary reductions so that the maximum number of people can continue to be employed.
-- We know there may be some smaller agencies in our area looking to downsize or close down completely and would welcome a merger so we don’t lose these valuable agents in our industry. We’re also looking at partnering to share office space with other travel-related companies (like a small local tour operator) so that we can support each other and share office expenses.
-- View agency cancellation fees as a source of revenue. It’s a lot of work to handle a cancellation.
-- Develop niches: we’ve developed some unique ones: guide dog cruises, travel for blind people, non-profit corporate travel, sober travel, air desk for student tour operator, bridge cruises, bocce tours, women’s tours and Pedro cruises (Pedro is a card game played by many Italians who grew up in San Francisco in the 1950s and ’60s).
-- Pass it on: We’ve encouraged our staff to buy locally, hand out business cards every chance they get, to patronize their clients’ businesses and ask for referrals. We’re encouraging residents to "Buy locally, travel globally."
-- Create advisory boards: We brought together eight of our best women pied pipers from different backgrounds and hosted a lunch at a local restaurant. They shared their ideas on business survival, advice on booking trends, and where they want to go next. We plan to meet quarterly.
From Filomena Andre, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Signature Travel Network
-- Prepare for the worst by putting together a forecast budget showing year over year declines. Anticipate impact on business and have a plan of action to deal with changes
-- Charge fees for professional services on all transactions including cruises and tours.
-- Ensure agent compensation is based on sales revenues by agent.
-- Take advantage of marketing funds to create new sales opportunities and don’t be scared to think outside of the box.
-- Consider one new segment of the travel business that might make sense for your company. If you are a cruise-only, you could start selling land packages, FIT trips, hotels and resorts. If you are a full-service company offering a wide range of services, perhaps you can consider going after a new segment of the market — families, gay travel, an ethnic group, an area of the world, adventure travel, etc.
From Jeffrey Anderson, Vice President of Marketing, America’s Vacation Center
-- Travel agencies today must stay the course during these tough economic times, remaining positive for their clients and focused in their businesses. They must ‘plan their work, and work their plan’ with a focus on greater efficiency and avoiding misappropriated efforts, time, and money.
-- In today’s economy, independent travel agencies must work smarter, not necessarily harder! They must increase their strengths through vendor and destination specialization and training and know when to outsource their weaknesses. At America’s Vacation Center we believe in the motto: "Let sales experts sell, let marketing experts market, and so on." This is why agencies who affiliate with America’s Vacation Center are given exclusive access to Live Leads(TM) generated by our marketing efforts — and the result has been increased success shared by the entire network.
-- In addition to increased vendor and destination specialization to secure a better position for themselves, independent agencies should join a support network such as America’s Vacation Center in order to grow their businesses and share in greater success. Practical ways that I see great agencies standing out in the industry are by never lowering their standards and ethics and by providing unbelievable customer service, ensuring that clients not only return, but tell their family and friends as well. America’s Vacation Center has just launched the Travel Agent Stimulus Plan(TM) (www.JoinAVC.com/Agent-Stimulus) in order to help put independent travel agencies in a better position in today’s market, making a commitment to spend $1,000,000 by April 30 on generating even more Live Leads(TM) – well-qualified customers which are delivered exclusively to each Independent Affiliate based on vendor and destination specialization and client interest. If a travel agency owner cannot generate this level and volume of clients, or they are involved with a host agency that is not providing this type of support, then in order to put themselves in a better position, I highly recommend that they visit www.JoinAVC.com and contact America’s Vacation Center.
-- Some additional things that independent travel agencies can do are to stay informed and be proactive. By taking all the training opportunities that come their way, reading the travel publications, and staying in tune to what is happening, they can know when to act and what to act on. They also should be proactive, not sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring, not taking ‘no’ for an answer, but reaching out and contacting past clients and "lost" leads with an inside tip on a promotion here or special offer there. If they find that they don’t have time to do all of this on their own, then they should join a host agency like America’s Vacation Center, who through the Travel Agent Stimulus Plan(TM), a stream of exclusive Live Leads(TM), award-winning technology, the backing of American Express, and more is providing support for entrepreneurial travel agency owners in these tough economic times.
