Travel agents unfazed by online options

Internet travel planning is gaining popularity, but local travel agents say they're not fazed by the online trend.

"We're doing just fine," said Floyd McCubbins, owner of Moving Image Travel Service in Columbia Falls.

McCubbins echoed the sentiment of several local travel agencies that say (especially considering the current flurry of spring break reservations) the Internet isn't a threat to their business.

A fall 2004 report posted on Web site of The Travel Industry Association of America says that in the past year, 44.6 million people had used the Internet to book at least one travel service or product. Online travel planning was up 6 percent from the previous year. The organization is a nonprofit entity representing the travel industry.

Planning on the Web has caught on because customers can look up innumerable options and make reservations without leaving their homes or making phone calls, say representatives from Web giants Travelocity.com and Expedia.com. Add to that the appeal that most large, reputable sites don't charge any fees (other than on airline tickets), and you've got a happy customer, they say.

Dave Pearsall, a 41-year veteran of the travel industry who operates a travel agency out of his Polson home, admits he was intimidated when online planning cropped up. But he's since found the technology actually benefits him and his customers.

"I've found it's been good for me from the standpoint that I'm willing to do the research other people aren't willing to do," he explained.

The Internet undoubtedly offers seemingly endless options for hotels, airlines, car rentals and activities that customers can sift through, Pearsall and other travel agents acknowledge.

"But who wants to invest the time to do that?" Pearsall said.

Travel agents have been doing that kind of sifting for longer than the Internet has been around, so they're used to - and skilled at - researching options and putting together packages tailored to each customer, they say.

People value their time, so they're willing to pay the commission travel agents charge, said Carrie Gunderson, owner of All Ways Travel in Bigfork. Travel agents usually charge their commission once a package is booked. The commission charge varies with individual agencies and trips planned.

Perhaps more important than the time factor is the expertise travel agents can offer.

"People are willing to pay for knowledge," McCubbins said. "They want to talk to somebody who's been there, who's done something."

That's been an asset of his business that lately has drawn in the crowd of travelers 18-25.

"That I didn't think I'd ever see," he says.

Travel agents say they've noticed a decline, or even a lack, of people in their 30s and younger utilizing travel agents' services. That age group is Web savvy and comfortable planning and buying trips online. But some of them ask their parents for travel suggestions, and their parents steer them in his direction as someone who can give firsthand experience, McCubbins said.

Oftentimes such experience turns out to be a niche that a particular agents can offer that a Web site can't, travel agents say. Micki Nonemacher, manager of Kalispell's Flathead Travel Service, Inc., says her team of 22 agents don't know just the ins and outs of making reservations, they've been to many of the places people want to go.

"Online you can click and order," she said, "but you don't have someone who says, 'And try this restaurant down the road.'"

Web site-based companies have tried to combat the perception that online travel planning is devoid of personal touches by offering 24-hour agents who can be reached by telephone or by posting tips online.

"We're not a robotic society," said Kari Swartz, spokesperson for Expedia.com

Five years ago travel agents were great ways to get insider tips on where to go and what to see, but Web sites have started to build that kind of information into their online repertoire, said Amy Ziff, editor at large for Travelocity.com. Some sites include tips and suggestions from travelers relevant to what a customer is researching.

Expedia.com and Travelocity.com also provide phone service in case people are having trouble with something on the Web site.

"Everybody needs help sometimes," Swartz said.

Customers, though, often want to talk with someone face to face, and that's what they offer that online companies don't, travel agents say.

"I can offer people who care about people and people who do this eight hours a day, five days a week or more," Nonemacher said.

One thing travel agents and online companies fully agree on, though, is that who has the best price is a toss up.

Travel agents readily admit there are online deals they can't beat. And the reverse is also true, the Expedia.com and Travelocity.com representatives said.

"People assume that because it's the Internet, it's the best thing out there," Nonemacher said. "And sometimes I beat the Internet."

"The truth is, savvy shoppers know to get more than one price," Ziff said.

Travel agents say they are honest with customers if they can't beat an online offering. Several agents said in those situations, they'll offer to check out the packages being offered to ensure their clients that the offer is legitimate, even if they don't end up getting the sale on that vacation. It's that kind of customer service that will bring those customers back to them the next time they want to travel, agents said.

Local agents say they have the advantage over Web sites when it comes to planning trips for large groups or for planning very complicated itineraries.

Large groups often have various needs and interests, not to mention schedule conflicts, that can be overwhelming for the novice online planner to tackle online, Pearsall said. Travel agents are used to handling groups and can prepare itineraries that take care of details down to who's going to what sporting event when, he explained.

But travel agents do encourage customers surf the Web.

"People definitely use the Internet for research, " Gunderson said, "so they come to us asking a lot more knowledgeable questions." And that saves everyone time, she said.

Customers often do preliminary research on hotels or flights on their own, then come to the travel agent for the details of making the reservations, she said. And agents, too, are fond of doing such research online. He often checks out hotels or activities on the Web, then refers his customers to specific sites, Pearsall said.

Local travel agents on the whole said they've found the Web to be more of a help than a hindrance.

"You can either fight it or embrace it," McCubbins said. "And I embrace it."

Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com