A WomansDay.com article criticizing travel agents triggered an uproar last week as hundreds of people -- agents, suppliers and consumers alike -- posted more than 1,000 comments on the website castigating the article and praising travel professionals and the services they provide.
In addition to the comments, Laura Frazier, owner of Bliss Honeymoons in Columbus, Ohio, posted a petition on Change.org calling on Woman's Day to retract the article. The petition garnered more than 1,000 signatures in 24 hours and had nearly 1,500 signers as of press time.
ASTA said that it reached out to Woman's Day as the criticism mounted and had received a swift response from a senior editor at the publication who told ASTA officials that the magazine wanted to work with them on future articles.
The timing of the initial publication of the article, originally titled "10 Things Travel Agents Won't Tell You," is unclear. It went viral with the agency community July 16 but had been posted on Yahoo and credited to Woman's Day as early as last October.
The article asserted that agents could be swayed by commissions and supplier perks to recommend vacations that were good for agents financially but did not serve the best interests of their clients. It also warned that agents might well recommend a destination or resort they had not seen themselves.
The article, written in the magazine's tradition of providing readers with insider tips about how to get the most bang for their buck, did say that a travel agent can be a good resource for consumers.
But it also stated that agents can't book all airlines, which is false.
Further, it implied that online travel agencies (OTAs) have better refund policies than travel agents offer. But the example it cited, a Transportation Department (DOT) rule that gives air travelers 24 hours to cancel a trip, applies equally to all airline sales, irrespective of the booking channel.
As of press time, neither Woman's Day editors nor the article's author, Anne Roderique Jones, had responded to multiple email and phone calls from Travel Weekly seeking comments on the article and the angry industry response to it.
Two days after the story went viral, more than 1,000 comments regarding it had been posted on the Woman's Day site.
Some were from suppliers.
Vicki Freed, Royal Caribbean International's senior vice president of sales, trade support and service, expressed her disappointment on the Woman's Day website.
"Plain and simple, this is irresponsible 'journalism'," Freed wrote. "Your quick and easy fluff piece is filled with damaging allegations about a highly dedicated group of individuals."
Henry Harteveldt, industry analyst with Hudson Crossing, posted a comment stating that the article contained many "factual errors." For example, he said, contrary to what the article asserted, travel agents have access to all published fares and rates, and some have access to content that is not broadly available.
"It's disappointing to see Woman's Day publish such a poorly researched article," Harteveldt wrote.
Many agents wrote that Woman's Day had lost their trust.
Joanie Ogg, a longtime advocate for home-based agents, wrote that the article was "totally inaccurate" and vowed never to buy another issue of Woman's Day.
Many of those posting comments pointing to inconsistencies in the article.
"In one paragraph, [the author] mentions how travel agents don't make money on airline tickets, then in two other places she writes about travel agents neglecting to look for better airfare so their commissions will be higher," wrote Sharon Viotto, owner of DesignACruise, a Cruise Planners agency.
Consumers also came to agents' defense.
Debbie Ruiz of New York described herself as "a consumer who likes to travel." Relating that she has booked travel with OTAs and travel agents alike, she said the agents she had worked with had helped her tremendously.
As part of its response, ASTA posted on the Woman's Day site a summary of a counter-article titled "Eight Reasons Why Booking With a Travel Professional Creates Value."
"We got an immediate response to it," said John Pittman, ASTA's vice president for industry and consumer affairs. He said that Woman's Day Senior Web Editor Meredith Bodgas emailed ASTA and said that the magazine wanted to work with the Society on future articles.
One upcoming article, for example, will pair travel agents with families to help them plan their dream vacation, Pittman said.
Several industry executives publicized letters to Woman's Day Editor in Chief Susan Spencer.
Barry Liben, CEO of Travel Leaders Group, wrote that while he appreciated Woman's Day's effort to take a deeper look at travel agencies, the article contained major errors.
"Just like any other business, travel agencies are founded on repeat business and are built on serving the needs of the customer," Liben wrote. "Steer our clients wrong once, and they'll never come back. But give them what they want, the way they want it, when they want it, and we not only have repeat customers, but we have them for life."
And Jackie Friedman, president of Nexion, pointed out that the article undermined an industry whose ranks are filled by working women.
"I know I'm not alone in being absolutely horrified that a publication with such a proud tradition of supporting women would actively malign an industry notable for being led by female entrepreneurs," she wrote.
Woman's Day modified the article in response to hundreds of negative comments from irate agents. For one thing, the magazine changed the title (and content), to "9 Things Travel Agents Won't Tell You."
It removed a paragraph that said agents won't tell consumers that airline tickets can be cheaper when booked on Tuesdays and that it can be cheaper to fly on certain days of the week, because lower fares mean agents earn lower commissions from airlines. Airlines quit paying agents across-the-board commissions nearly 20 years ago and usually do not pay any commission on domestic tickets.
Woman's Day also added a comment thanking "hard-working travel agents who provided feedback on this story."
Follow Kate Rice on Twitter @krtravelweekly.