Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008 - (Page 18)

Technology Expert Predictions The best is yet to come for travel technology, but home-based agents need to capitalize Travel agents today have grown from advisors to website mavens and Internet marketers. Still, with estimates of repeat business at only between 20 and 30 percent, it is clear that home-based agents aren’t taking advantage of the tech boom as much as they could. Customer Knowledge Lee Rosen, president of Los Angelesbased TRAMS (www.trams.com), says the future of travel technology is about knowing your customers, particularly through databases. “Agents will need to have a more extensive travel history at their fingertips for each customer,” he says. Still, Jack Mannix, president and CEO of New York-based Ensemble Travel Group (www.ensembletravel.com), sees a change in analytics on the horizon beyond what customer information you can collect on your own. “You’ll be able to buy information to find out everything your customer is doing,” he says. “They won’t always offer up that they’re a skiing nut, but if you know they’ve recently bought a new pair of skis, then you have a pretty good idea of what to market to them.” Rosen also believes travel technology will also be about how agents relate to each other. “Home-based agents don’t have the water-cooler talk that can be incredibly beneficial for comparing notes,” he points out. “Not everyone can be an expert on Italy, so wouldn’t it be great to quickly have the answer from another agent on a question your client has? I also see agents making a community setting for 18 Creating community settings online for groups should be a priority for tech-savvy agents NEW groups. Let’s say you are a bike enthusiast and have a group that likes to bike all over the world. By the agent setting up a place for them to [exchange information], it feeds into them coming up with other trips and using the agent to book them.” Web Wonders Karen Yeates, vice president of Internet business solutions for Marina del Rey, CAbased Signature Travel Network (www. signaturetravelnetwork.com), believes that appearing prominently on search engines is vital for agents. For example, if someone types your city and the word “agent” into a search engine, your company needs to come up in the first few pages, or the revenue is likely lost. Rosen believes video technology for agent sites will create stronger revenue as well. “Video webinars and conferences are a major value, so you’ll see many more of these recorded to give to the client,” he says.“The online sessions can be tens of thousands of dollars right now, but they continue to go down in price. A cruise night with a fun reception and people working the booths translates online fairly well when you bring in flash video.” Mannix says that agents will have to separate themselves from online consumer sites by being a one-stop shop. “This is a business that’s not about where you’re located anymore, it’s about what you know,” he says. “There will be extensive growth in blogging, so agents can be seen as a regular source of information, whether someone’s booking a trip with them or not.” Likewise, accessibility to the client will be a Home-BasedTravelAgent O CTOBE R 2008 http://www.trams.com http://www.ensembletravel.com http://www.signaturetravelnetwork.com http://www.signaturetravelnetwork.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008

Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Publisher’s Note Your Lifeline Agent Profile New Technology Industry News Hot Deals Charging Fees Cover Story: Divers’ Destinations For the Traveler - Cruise - Groups For the Agent - Cruise - Groups Top Hotels in Italy For the Traveler - Destinations - China For the Agent - Destinations - China For the Traveler - Destinations - Caribbean For the Agent - Destinations - Caribbean For the Traveler - Destinations -Las Vegas For the Agent - Destinations - Las Vegas Home-Based Agent Expo New Products

Home Based Travel Agent - October 2008

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