For many travel agencies, the challenges of the past few years have
been not just to survive but to remain independently owned. Quite a
number of agencies have been unable to do that, opting instead for
mergers with other retailers in order to stay in the business.
But thousands of agencies have maintained their independence
through a variety of methods.
One of these survival techniques is affiliation with a larger
entity, either through subscription to a consortium or through a
licensing arrangement with a national organization.
One example of the latter is the national network of associates
assembled by the Carlson Wagonlit organization.
Members of that group of independently owned agencies, gathering
in Anaheim this week for their annual conference, have found that
by linking with a powerful organization such as Carlson, they can
get the benefit of greater purchasing clout and more advertising
exposure without losing the independent ownership they value so
much.
Affiliation with a consortium or licensing group has become even
more critical in this era of commission caps. The
strength-in-numbers approach allows smaller agencies to compete
with the megas and achieve higher average commissions from
preferred suppliers.
In addition, agencies are able to take advantage of
sophisticated training programs and enjoy the opportunity to
exchange ideas with other agencies outside their competitive
marketplace.
Members of these groups place particularly strong emphasis on
the idea-sharing component. It's one thing to go to a local chapter
meeting of a trade association where the attendees may be competing
in the same geographical area, and another thing to participate
with agents from different markets who don't regard each other as
competitive.
A common denominator of these organizations is their emphasis on
leisure travel. For the vast majority of smaller agencies, the need
to concentrate on the leisure side of the business is greater than
ever.
While many still feel the need to service the business travel
needs of clients, commission caps have made profitability in the
commercial sector more elusive than ever, particularly for the
smaller agency that can't command significant airline override
commissions.
The national membership groups help the smaller agencies
maximize their leisure travel sales, thereby improving their
chances of long-term success.
For agencies determined not just to survive but to remain
independent, affiliation may be the answer.