SAN DIEGO -- The problem of finding and keeping good employees was
never far from the minds of agency owners and managers attending an
American Express conference here this month.
Whether the subject was the Internet, other technological
challenges or revenue sources, the talk in seminars and casual
conversations often turned to agent frustrations with staffing
issues.
Many agreed that a tight labor market; the perception agencies
are old-economy firms destined to disappear with relatively few
career-advancement opportunities; lower pay than in other
comparable fields, and the disappearance of deeply discounted
travel opportunities have all contributed to many people leaving
the industry.
There is no easy solution, many said, though better pay and
career opportunities can help.
The more successful agencies are now paying salaries that would
have been unheard of only a few years ago, some agents said, noting
that one New York agency is now paying an annual salary of about
$50,000 for experienced corporate agents.
Another agent said she has started to see some good people
return to the industry as owners and managers increasingly
recognize the value of a strong corporate or leisure agent.
Speaker Rock Blanco, Medford, Mass.-based vice president of
Cornerstone Information Systems, an agency technology company,
suggested travel counselors should be encouraged to develop into
"business managers" rather than continuing in the traditional role
of "order takers" who have little ownership in the success of a
firm or idea.
A panel moderator, Dan McElroy of McElroy Travel Management, a
consulting firm in Burnsville, Minn., suggested managers should
seek employees with strong people skills rather than basing hiring
decisions on computer expertise.
One agent noted that baby-boom-age teachers -- who often are
very good with people, have a strong interest in travel and are now
reaching retirement age -- could be a good source of new
employees.
Other topics covered at the conference, attended by more than
400 managers and owners from American Express-owned and
representative offices, follow:
Rob LeFleur, a New York-based senior financial analyst for Bear
Stearns and the author of a controversial report early this year
predicting that about 80% of all on-line travel agencies would
fail, raised that estimate to 90%.The good news, he added, is that even the most optimistic
industry projections call for only about 20% of all travel to be
sold on the Internet in five years.
This means there are plenty of opportunities for
brick-and-mortar agents, especially in selling big-ticket tours and
cruises to clients who value product knowledge and customer
service.
"Agents have a very important role to play," LeFleur told
attendees. "The ones who are going to succeed are those who take
advantage of all the new tools at their disposal."
His remarks did not mention another prediction of his that 25%
of all agents would lose their jobs due to the Internet.
LeFleur and other panelists noted the Internet is now entering
a period of consolidation, and as one of them put it,
"rationalization," in which many on-line travel firms with
unrealistic business plans will disappear in the face of too few
customers and unhappy investors.In addition, they said, the on-line agencies with the best
chances for success are starting to resemble traditional travel
agencies by offering well-trained customer service agents and other
personalized services.
The CRSs will continue to be major (if sometimes slow-moving
and unresponsive) industry players and speculation about their
demise is unwarranted, several panelists agreed.The CRSs are all run by very good people working hard to avoid
having their companies become a "dinosaur," said McElroy, citing
along with others, the substantial investments the CRSs are
continuing to make in new technology.
Speakers further cautioned against signing contracts with a CRS
vendor without understanding all of the fine print.
"My advice is no different than it would have been 10 years
ago," said Blanco. "Understand what you're getting yourself into,
and keep your options open."
Responding to complaints from several agents that many products
offered by the CRSs and other technology vendors are often subject
to constant revisions and fail to live up to expectations, Blanco
agreed the pace of change in the industry is quite high and that
"the hype is so far ahead of the reality.""Much of what you see today will become trash; it will be gone,"
Blanco agreed.
Managers must work hard to stay informed and should avoid making
potentially costly, long-term commitments to vendors without escape
clauses.
Blanco also said he hopes Orbitz, the airline-owned on-line
agency, will succeed.The money invested will help thwart the growing technological
and marketing dominance of Microsoft, which is putting many
millions of dollars into Expedia, and Sabre, which is doing the
same with Travelocity, he said.
Although competitive pressures have led many midsize agencies
to invest in on-line booking and expense management tools for their
corporate clients, few of those clients are actually using the
programs.Many corporate travelers use the Internet to gather information
on their travel options, but still want the booking to be made by
an agent, agreed several managers attending a workshop session on
e-commerce.
Tour operators and cruise lines continue to have a weak
presence on the Internet, said panelist Chris Dikman, president of
Arlington, Texas-based OnLineAgency.com, which provides
Internet-related services to agents.He also was critical of the cruise lines, saying they are
spending much money and time developing Internet booking engines
that could bypass agents rather than using the Web as a marketing
and informational vehicle.