“The world is a book, and those who don’t travel read only a page,” St. Augustine said long before travel became so accessible. Lawrence citizens are taking St. Augustine’s advice as they prepare for spring and summer excursions. Families are looking forward to meeting Mickey Mouse, retirees are planning European get-aways, and the college scene is preparing to party in Cabo.
The difficult task is the planning. Today travelers have two alternatives. They can book a trip by using a travel agency, or they can plan their own trip online, through popular websites like Orbitz, Travelocity, and Expedia. The convenience of travel websites has forced local agencies to focus on their most important advantage: the relationship with the customer.
“To say we haven’t been affected by the online business would be a lie,” John Novotny, owner of Traveller’s Inc. said. “Our agency is certainly not struggling though. We have lost certain areas, but still actively compete in others.” Novotny has noticed over the last ten years “point to point” airline travel has steadily decreased. He believes the time and money conscious prefer using the Internet for an uncomplicated airline trip.
Traveller’s Inc., located on Massachusetts St., has been in Lawrence since 1951. It has a loyal clientele, but has shifted its focus to compete with online travel sites.
“The Internet can do some things better than us, “ Novotny said. “We can only find published flights, meaning the number of seats available and flight time is made public. Online sites can often find unpublished flights at the last minute that will be less expensive.”
The advantage of a travel agency was confirmed for Novotny this winter during the Denver snowstorm. “I was swamped with phone calls all day from Denver,” Novotny said. “People planned the trip online, but then couldn’t get a hold of anyone. They wanted to talk to a real person that could get them home.”
Jim Hanni, Executive Vice President of the Kansas AAA Allied Group, agrees customers see the importance of professional help. “I believe we compete very well.” Hanni said. “I always remind customers what they would do if something went wrong. We can be their middle-man.”
The Lawrence branch of AAA Travel Agency has felt the pressure of online business but has continued to find business in specific areas of travel. “We book a lot of cruises and group tours,” Hanni said. The agency has focused on large group trips and tours that are only available through the agency. This specialization gave the branch a 25 percent increase in 2006 from 2005. “We had to concentrate on trips that customers believed they couldn’t handle themselves,” Hanni said.
University of Kansas freshman Trey Greenleaf, fell into that category. Greenleaf is going to Cancun with ten of his friends for spring break. He first looked online, but decided to arrange the trip with an agency. “It seemed to get more complicated and expensive with that big of group,” Greenleaf said. “We let someone else take care of it so we could have fun.”
Dorothy Pogge, travel consultant at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, has found the Internet influenced her student customers. Her regular clients are upper class, middle-aged couples or families. “I haven’t seen the Internet affect that group, but students have really disappeared,” Pogge said.
Pogge explained students want inexpensive, uncomplicated trips. “I’m usually dealing on a different page. I handle larger trips like groups going to Europe,” Pogge said. She explained a typical trip she books costs about $1,200. A student isn’t interested in spending that on spring break. It is more economical to book through a website for $699. “That part of our business has faded in the last five years with the convenience of planning online, “ Pogge said. “But really, websites haven’t hurt us yet because we deal with larger scale trips.”
Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity are the main websites that have dominated online travel. They claim they can get the best deal, while customers conveniently book the trip from their own home. Forbes magazine reported in March 2006 online travel was the largest e-commerce. In 2005, Travelocity had revenue of $830 million on bookings of $7.4 billion.
University of Kansas sophomore, Erica Linenberger recently booked her spring break trip to Matzatlan, Mexico through Orbitz. “I didn’t even think about a travel agency,” Linenberger said. “It was so fast to look up prices online. Orbitz came up with the lowest price, and I went with it.”
John Novotny, Traveller’s Inc., admits he looks at online site prices, but would never entirely depend on them. “I believe that agents are critical,” Novotny said. “If you’re going to spend that much on a trip, you just as well make sure someone is taking care of the details and possible problems for you.”