Do All Travel Agents go to Heaven?
When was the last time you went to a travel agent? Chances are, you have not been to one in years.
Where did they all go? I am told, they all became real estate agents!
Kidding aside, the story of the apparent demise of the travel agents has a key lesson for intermediaries in this new world order. Let me explain.
The travel agency network was the distribution channel for the travel industry – airlines, hotels etc. used them to sell their “products” to the end customer. The business model was that of the classic retail intermediary: a fee – built into the price - for each product sold. Customers bought from the travel agents because of convenience, service and choice. Over time, relationships developed that are hard, if not impossible to break. Airlines and hotels – the “product manufacturers” - preferred using travel agents because they did not have the relationship with the customers and to avoid getting into a high transaction business that was outside their core competency.
For decades, this model worked. Along came the internet. It was ubiquitous. It provided the capability for transaction processing, including buying tickets etc. Customers loved it because they had unprecedented choice and convenience.
Has the internet made travel agents irrelevant?
Where did they all go? I am told, they all became real estate agents!
Kidding aside, the story of the apparent demise of the travel agents has a key lesson for intermediaries in this new world order. Let me explain.
The travel agency network was the distribution channel for the travel industry – airlines, hotels etc. used them to sell their “products” to the end customer. The business model was that of the classic retail intermediary: a fee – built into the price - for each product sold. Customers bought from the travel agents because of convenience, service and choice. Over time, relationships developed that are hard, if not impossible to break. Airlines and hotels – the “product manufacturers” - preferred using travel agents because they did not have the relationship with the customers and to avoid getting into a high transaction business that was outside their core competency.
For decades, this model worked. Along came the internet. It was ubiquitous. It provided the capability for transaction processing, including buying tickets etc. Customers loved it because they had unprecedented choice and convenience.
Has the internet made travel agents irrelevant?
posted by Sourabh at 4:29 AM
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