Travel agents more valuable than ever: Travellers Choice MD

The world is faced with global uncertainty, and terrorism is proving a bigger concern for travellers, but this is where travel agents prove their worth.

It’s a sage piece of advice from Travellers Choice Managing Director, Christian Hunter, who let Travel Weekly in on some 40-year old success stories.

Global uncertainty, while often construed as a challenge for the industry, is an opportunity for the agent. Travellers want and need a support network when things go awry, whether it is as confronting as terrorism or as frustrating as cancellations.

“This is where agents are really coming into their own,” Hunter told TW.

“The more these global incidents occur, the more valuable the relationship with a quality travel agent will be. People are prepared to pay more for that support, quite frankly.”

This also trumps the OTA’s, Hunter believes. “People may book online don’t have that support network to pick up the phone with an issue.”

“People make mistakes online booking the wrong day, wrong month, wrong country – Melbourne, Florida instead of Melbourne ,Victoria – and that was an Australian person I heard about. There are inherent challenges with doing it yourself.”

“For the independent agent it’s about positioning yourself so when a consumer sees an travel offer on TV or newspaper or over coffee that their first thought is: I need to see my travel agent,” Hunter said.

“There will always be competitive challenges but it comes back to the value you bring to the transaction rather than the price of the person paying. Quite often we get too focused on the price point and adding value is the way to be successful in the future.”

So what are some of Hunter’s advice to other agencies? It all starts with your people, apparently.

“What we don’t want to lose is culture. A way you do that is getting too big – lose that personalised element and feeling,” he said.

Despite a desire to stay manageably intimate, numbers are not something the organisation wants to focus on.

“We don’t treat our members as a number, we treat them with dignity and respect and provide them with a range of services for their business but we treat them as an independent business owner.”

“The diversity within the members warrants a tailored approach – with some members ranging from fiercely independent to less so. They can run their own business but have support of organisation with their back,” Hunter added.

“We don’t dictate. We tell them what we would like them to do and the financial benefits. If they choose to do something different that’s their prerogative. It allows them to trade with complete freedom but the benefits of scale,” Hunter said.

“The difference is that the profit goes back to who makes the sales. Above all the success of the greater group is paramount because the economic benefits flow back to the members,” Hunter said.

Hunter cannot overstate the importance of culture. He describes the relationship with management as open and transparent.

A focus for the future is on refining the value proposition and allowing members to pick and choose their services.

In terms of recruitment, they let the agent members speak for themselves.

They tell prospective members to go on their website, pick an agent at random from the list, and call them. The agents are our greatest advocates, Hunter said.

Traveller’s Choice tends to attract members who operate their own brand.

“The franchise model doesn’t necessarily meet those needs. They are very managed as they have got to have that consistency,” Hunter added.

“That cookie cutter approach doesn’t necessarily work –a all our members are different shapes and sizes. Across the country – regional centres, some in city centres and have different needs requirements client base demographics service requirements.”

Of course, despite success over forty years, the group is aware that the one certainty is change. Hunter said that the biggest challenge for agents currently is around yield.

With tickets being sold for 20 per cent less, you have to sell 20 per cent more for the same. That’s where the immediate challenge is, he said.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

Cat Attack says:
May 31, 2017 at 5:53 pm
There are quite a number of Professional Travel Agents that actually do the consulting and the selling that have been in the business for 40 years or so. These people my be independent or may even work for an agency owner, that however does not conclude that an owner/manager knows more than a professional with so my experience and longevity. Principals and some agency owners, and managers not involved in the selling ignore your sage advice sadly. It is irksome that accountants and IT people run the show these days. It is hilarious that newbies in the industry are too afraid to pick up the phone and hide behind message banks, emails and computer programmes. Perhaps another global crisis may have hotels and particularly airlines coming on bended knees once again begging for loyalty. At the moment travel professionals (i.e. agents/consultants) are an easy put down and roll over commodity in the travel business especially by airlines. A shake up and shift is required to bring pride and commitment back into those that put bums on seats and heads on pillows in the travel industry. Without these people all the rest of the shebang may as well pack up and get another job.
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