BERLIN -- Today, brick-and-mortar travel agencies account for about
three-quarters of air ticket sales in the U.S., but that portion is
expected to plummet to about 45% by five years from now, according
to John Stow, senior vice president electronic travel distribution
sales and service for Sabre.
However, he added, about another 20% of air bookings could still
be agency business, but delivered over the Internet either via the
agencies' own Web sites or via corporate intranets.
In other words, he projected, agents could still account for
about 65% of air sales in another five years. Stow made his
projections during a travel technology forum at the ITB trade show
in Berlin last month.
In a keynote speech focused on one-to-one marketing concepts, he
said travelers of the near future "will expect us to anticipate
needs. They want to be recognized for their value; they want
recognition of unique needs and their preferences remembered; they
want unique, personalized offers.
Stow also said that if the matter is handled properly, customers
are usually willing to provide a lot of profile information that
makes it possible for suppliers or agents to integrate the data and
make personalized offers at the point of sale.
He used Sabre products to illustrate examples of where
one-to-one marketing is heading, at least from one vendor's
perspective.
VirtuallyThere.com, which allows clients to look at
their own itineraries and to get maps, directions, weather and
other information about their destinations, is averaging 46,000
hits per day, he said.
Stow said the site gives even low-tech agencies the appearance
of having a Web presence because, when the client logs on (using
his unique booking number as the key), his agency's name appears on
the screen. Stow also said a survey showed that 97% of users are
satisfied with their agencies.
More importantly, VirtuallyThere.com is a device that assists
agents in collecting profile data from clients. The customers fill
out their own profiles and ask to receive (or not receive)
promotions for specific types of products.
Agencies then can send tailored e-mails to customers; after
April, Sabre automatically will send those e-mails to clients if
agencies wish, Stow said.
VirtuallyThere.com is not a booking site yet, but Stow said it
will have that capability for nonair products of all types, and the
vendor will negotiate with suppliers to ensure each agency gets the
commission for those sales.
He said the site also will launch a patented low-fare shopping
tool. Users will fill in a template on the places they want to
visit, the preferred travel dates and size of their budget. They
will receive notices when Sabre finds a match or matches for the
requests.