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Agents vs. Web
Power Trip · August 30, 2002

Jim Klein wouldn't think of booking a trip without a travel agent.

Whenever he runs into trouble on the road, as he did on a recent flight from Philadelphia to Orlando, he remembers why he uses one.

"My travel agent really went to bat for me," says the Mesa, Ariz., computer specialist. "My flight was canceled, but my agent was able to find a new flight on a different carrier, and convinced a supervisor to allow the change without incurring a fee."

Gord Wilson, on the other hand, always fires up his Web browser before he flies. "In the past I always used a travel agent," says the University of British Columbia educator. "But my travel agent now charges $35 per booking. There's no way I will spend an extra $35 per ticket if I can book it myself."

Who's right in this ongoing debate, which has divided the travel industry? Travel agents insist that Klein is the smarter traveler, and they point to surveys that suggest turning on your PC instead of turning to them is a big mistake. But advocates for online travel say that's nonsense. Their studies prove Wilson has the edge, and will save lots of money by planning his trips independently.

Complicating matters further is the recent action taken by U.S. airlines to eliminate most commissions paid to agents. In response, travel retailers raised their transaction fees to make up for lost revenue. For every airline ticket booked through an agent, you should anticipate an additional fee of between $10.50 and $32.50, according to the American Society of Travel Agents.

What should you do?

If you're wondering whether you ought to phone a travel agent or log onto the Web for your next trip, stick around. I'll review the pros and cons of both methods and then I'll tell you how I buy my travel.

But first, let's review a few numbers. Travel agents sell roughly 70% of all airline tickets today. About 12% of airline tickets are currently booked through the Internet, according to the Interactive Travel Services Association. (There is a small percentage of overlap here.) The remainder is from travelers self-booking by phone or through a city ticket office.

While booking through travel agents still is the most common method, booking via the Web is growing rapidly. Only 3% of all trips were booked online in 1998; in 2003, that figure is expected to jump to 15%. In terms of dollar volume, online travel is expected to account for $26.5 billion in overall U.S. sales in 2002 — a number forecasted to more than double to $64 billion in 2007, according to research-firm estimates.

The argument for agents

Davida Dinerman, a supervisor for a communications firm in Waltham, Mass., makes a strong case for using a travel agent. "An agent has quicker access to flights," she says. "If you need to make a change to your schedule, it's easier with an agent. I could try to go online and make my own reservations, but sometimes I really need to dig to find what I need."

Dinerman represents a significant majority of the traveling public that either lacks the expertise to book its own trips or is strapped for time. And that's certainly a compelling reason to use retailers: They're the experts. Agents represent themselves as your advocates, finding you the best prices on flights, rental cars and hotel accommodations, and are on-call in case you run into trouble on the road.

If you're a business traveler, here are several other reasons to use an agent:

Easier tracking of expenses. If your company's air volume is high enough and you use a single carrier for most of your travel, then an agent can help you prove your value to the airline and help you negotiate a volume discount for airfares.

You can control costs. By managing your travel through a corporate agency, you can also keep a lid on travel costs, which are typically a company's second-biggest expense behind payroll. Regular reports from your agency allow you to monitor the expenses and make travel policy decisions.

You can save time. Without an agent, you're basically cutting your employees loose onto the Internet to look for bargains, taking them away from what they're supposed to be doing. Agents do the legwork for you, saving your company's resources.

The case for the Web

Sheri McBee, a farmer in Firebaugh, Calif., makes an equally compelling case to fly solo. "I prefer to use the airlines' Web sites to book all of my air travel," she says. "At any time I can check a fare and book a ticket and am not locked into travel agency's working hours. All of my preferences and billing information are available for instant reservations."

In addition to saving the booking fee, McBee says she feels more empowered by making her own travel arrangements. She can research her trips as much or as little as she wants, can shop online for the best rate and says she is a more informed consumer because of it.

McBee represents a growing minority of travelers who believe that no one knows their travel preferences better than they do and prefer not to entrust the trip planning to someone else. They're comfortable using the Internet and aren't afraid to deal with an airline or hotel directly instead of through an intermediary.

For business travelers, the Internet can offer these significant advantages:

You can save money. As I write this, agents are upset that their computer reservations systems don't include the cheapest "Web only" fares and are lobbying to force sites to share this information. Meantime, it's safe to say that many of the best prices are online.

You create a less dependent workforce. By learning how to deal with travel companies online rather than through an agent, your workers are becoming more self-sufficient, which for many employers is a good quality.

You get 24/7 access. When you create a customer profile on a travel Web site, you have access to all of your frequent-flier information, itineraries and other important travel information anytime from any place. Otherwise you could be at the mercy of your agent's schedule.

How I do it

You're probably wondering if I use a travel agent. I don't.

Most of my trips are simple itineraries that can be booked quickly on the Internet. I'm not bothered by my agent's fee — if I had to plan a more complex trip with multiple layovers that needed to be booked, I wouldn't hesitate to call him. But for my needs, as a self-employed sole proprietor based in Key Largo, Fla., I usually go agent-less.

I think any level-headed travel agent would agree that there are some business travelers out there who should consider doing it themselves. Are you one of them? Well, I've taken you this far. The next step is really up to you.

I'll make it easy. If you want, you can pick both. That's what Robert McAuley, a regional manager for an optical storage company in Tulsa, Okla., does. For hotel reservations, he books by himself because, "I don't need an agent to tell me where to stay." But when it comes to flights, he defers to a retailer. "None of the online services handle Asian multi-stop international fares very well," he says. "That's where I need an agent."

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.