IN PRAISE OF TRAVEL AGENTS
by Tracy Michaels
The greatest misconception about using a travel agent is that you will pay more for the product. In fact, a recent USA Today survey revealed that the consumer almost always pays more for an airline ticket when they deal with the airline directly. How does this happen? Airlines are not about customers, they are about profits. It is not the job of the airline agent to advise you that a competitor has a lower fare.
The travel agent works for the customer to match their needs with the best product. For some people price is the measuring stick, and for others it may be scheduling or mileage accumulation. Even if you fly on a particular airline, the representative will often not utilize all the tools at their command to find you the lowest fare. They don’t work for the consumer.
The gay travel agent, whose industry was essentially formed with the start of the I.G.L.T.A., today has a new crisis at hand - the tour operator industry. This group directly markets to the consumer, often providing incentives that bypass the gay travel agent. Why would this be so when these two components have for years been symbiotic? The consumer has to be overwhelmed when they pick up a copy of Our World, or any other major gay publication, viewing dozens of tour offerings. Companies are now scrambling to retain their share of the market.
Like the airlines, tour companies are aware that one expense they can circumvent is the travel agent. However, in this equation, the consumer loses the only advocate they have in the process. And with this proliferation of gay travel, comes the new guy on the block. It looks easy. Put in a phone line, place ads and you’re in business. Many newcomers are inexperienced, most are underfunded and the entire industry has little or no accountability. This leaves the consumer on a "buyer beware" path to disaster.
What the tour operator fails to recognize is that the travel agent plays an important role for both the customer and the operator. When an agent calls a tour operator, he or she already has a qualified customer ready to travel. The agent has spent a significant amount of time with the customer. This is good for the tour company, and absolutely essential for the customer.
The most significant element the agent brings to the customer is product knowledge. They know who provides the gay traveler with a reliable product at a reasonable price. Consumers do not know that the B&B in Australia, advertising as "gay and lesbian," hasn’t seen a lesbian up close in eight years.
The proliferation of gay travel overseas has added to the importance of an experienced gay travel agent. The I.G.L.T.A. has assembled these markets allowing suppliers and sellers worldwide to meet. This is a critical component in providing accurate information to the traveler. There is nothing more discouraging than to travel half way around the world to find a devastating surprise destroying your dream vacation.
The consumer can now go to the internet and look at some very attractive web sites which, in reality, have little value in picking travel products. Click here to make a reservation and enter your credit card. But without a professional guiding you, the risks are significant.
There are wonderful companies offering tour products who have excellent reputations. But remember, the gay travel agent will book a tour for you at no cost, retaining your best interests, providing airline products, optional extras, and quoting you the lowest prices. Many tour companies have formed relationships with airlines, but this does not always mean they have the lowest prices to your destination. Your agent will shop the air packages offered. It’s a win-win proposition for the consumer,
Tracy Michaels co-owner of Skylink Travel in Santa Rosa, California, is a tour
operator. She is also past President of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel
Association. (Used with permission)