Do travel agents have better deals than online ticketing websites now? "In certain cases yes, and in certain cases no," says Patricia Blanche, owner of La Cañada Flintridge Travel in La Cañada, California.
"In certain cases yes, and in certain cases no," says Patricia Blanche, owner of La Cañada Flintridge Travel in La Cañada, California. "In the domestic market, our agency is affiliated with Montrose Travel which is a company with $110 million worth of buying power in the travel industry. What we do is approach the airlines and say we need to have contracted situations with them. We then contract to use specific airlines or cruise lines and are able to get better deals than an individual ticket-buyer working on his or her own travel arrangements. We certainly can match the Internet on every situation. For instance, we have the same software that Expedia does. Websites such as Expedia and Orbitz are essentially large online travel agencies. That said, we can meet or beat almost every single fare in the United States or Europe and, in many cases, we can do much better on behalf of our customers. For example, we have contracts that allow us to buy business class tickets for half price which is a huge boon to our particular, high-end clientele. Because they are traveling all the time on business, the deals that we can make for them represent a significant amount of savings for their companies."
Blanche explains that since 2001, travel agents have not been paid commissions from the airlines, a significant departure from past practices. "Occasionally," she says, "there are a few that will pay a very small commission but they are certainly the exception. In response, what we have done is become a fee-based situation." She compares this to going to an accountant or a doctor and paying a fee for the appointment. "Our fee is generally $35 for a domestic ticket and most of that goes back to the actual cost and time of running the ticket itself. What clients are purchasing, however, is the level of service we provide that goes along with it. The major difference between the Internet and a travel agency is that you have our full, undivided attention and service. Most prevalent was when 9/11 hit. Within four days, we were able to get every single passenger who had ticketed through us safely back home. We were able to get on the computer and literally take care of everyone who called in and were in a panic about what to do. This was obviously a crisis we had never faced before. The Internet had gone down, everything was shut down and yet we knew where every one of our clients was. This allowed us to be able to instruct them on where to get to a car, drive to an airport and get on an aircraft that could bring them home. I think this was really a statement for everyone in this industry."
She relates another incident in which a number of clients were going to Rio and then on to a cruise. "American Airlines had an 8-hour delay," she says. "Everyone called in a panic. They were in Miami Airport, all of the hotels were sold-out, and they were going to miss their connecting flights. They got on the phone with us and we ended up being here until around 11 at night. We were able to get everyone a room at the hotel at the airport, we got everyone a dinner reservation, we had them re-booked on flights to the connecting cities, and advised the airline not to cancel them down-line because they had missed one of the legs of the trip. I don't know how many cards and letters people sent upon their return and saying that they wouldn't have had a clue what to do. With a travel agency, there's a tremendous amount of hands-on where clients are followed through from the time they purchase a ticket until the day they arrive back home." Blanche adds that each of her clients receive both her home phone number and cell phone number to call in event of emergency. "You're not going to get that kind of attention from 'the roaming gnome' or anywhere online," she advises.
For business travelers, Blanche explains, this type of service is invaluable. "Not only do they have constant changes in their schedules but there are a multitude of things that can go wrong at their destinations including strikes and bad weather. When you're stuck someplace like Malta or Tunisia or Italy, you want to know you have an ally at the other end of the line. The only thing I can't do," she quips, "is make it stop raining on a vacation you expected would be blue skies the whole time!"
