Travel agents say they’re co-existing with the ‘Net

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

Travel agents say they no longer have to prove that the Internet isn't going to wipe them out. Instead, they're working with new technology to make themselves more valuable to clients to keep loyal customers from booking online themselves.

The leaders of the American Society of Travel Agents kicked off their 70th World Travel Congress at the Las Vegas Convention Center Monday with a favorable assessment of the previous year. And, unlike previous years, the popular exhibitors on the trade show floor will be technology companies like Sony and IBM instead of airlines, like United, which has been banished by the association.

"I'd like to point out that some dire predictions didn't come to pass as we entered the new millennium," said Joe Galloway, president and chief executive officer of ASTA.

"First of all, planes didn't fall from the sky on Jan. 1. Secondly, our clients didn't flee when most travel agents started charging fees," he said. "And finally, the Internet didn't wipe travel agents off the face of the Earth."

Travel agents say they have embraced the Internet as a source of information for travelers. They're also acquiring other technology to become more efficient. This week's convention has been labeled as a technology education event, with more than 40 seminars and panel discussions planned.

ASTA Marketing Services Inc., the association's marketing arm, is unveiling an upgraded version of its TAedge.com site that offers members agencies software that makes it easier for agents to complete reservations.

The new version enables easier access to ground transportation, passport renewals, phone rentals, golf reservations and tickets for sports and entertainment events. The site also offers up-to-date information on fast-changing travel information like weather forecasts, exchange rates and traveler warnings.

While many small travel agencies didn't survive when the airline industry, led by Chicago-based United, cut and capped commissions to travel agents for flights they booked, many agencies battled back with increased services and service fees to clients. They also stepped up bookings on cruises, began exploiting new niches, including adventure travel, and rewarded the loyalty of airlines that continued to pay commissions to them by steering passengers their way.

Galloway noted that Southwest and Virgin Atlantic airlines still pay commissions, "and I wouldn't call Herb Kelleher (chairman of Southwest) and Richard Branson (chairman of Virgin Atlantic) poor businessmen."

Virgin Atlantic inaugurated nonstop air service between London and Las Vegas last summer and Southwest is the top passenger carrier at McCarran International Airport and is continuing to add flights here.

ASTA also built an advertising campaign warning travelers that "without a travel agent, you're on your own."

Galloway also explained how his association stood up to some of the big companies that attempted to use their own Internet resources to take business away from the travel agents.

"We often took the difficult and sometimes unpopular path to challenge suppliers," Galloway said. "We stood up to United Airlines and voted them out of the society; we stood up to Marriott, objecting to its commission cut in the guise of an education program. And we stood up to Renaissance Cruises for its antiagent policies."

Galloway said Renaissance has since reversed course.

"We will support those suppliers who support us and we will challenge those who want our support but give only lip service to working with travel agents," he said.

While the ASTA show, which runs through Friday, isn't a large convention by Las Vegas standards, it may be one of the most important to the local economy because ASTA's 6,000 conventioneers will make travel recommendations to millions of consumers.

"Any community which has previously hosted an ASTA World Travel Congress event knows that the result for them is hundreds of thousands of travelers who were sent there at the recommendation of their travel agents," said Cheryl Hudak, chairwoman of the show. "It's not unusual for host cities to realize a large increase in tourism in the year immediately following ASTA's World Travel Congress."

Organizers are recommending that members pay visits to hotels so they'll have first-hand knowledge of the properties they recommend.

With that in mind, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority rolled out the red carpet for ASTA and took advantage of being on stage at the opening session, hiring illusionist Rick Thomas and Las Vegas icon Wayne Newton to perform at the keynote address.

The LVCVA also debuted the first segment of contractor R&R Partners' $41 million marketing campaign at the opening session, demonstrating some of the "street marketing" concepts described in R&R's presentation to the LVCVA board of directors earlier this month.

The first example: the introduction of Las Vegas' newest pitchman, Brock Wilder, portrayed by an actor R&R is not identifying. Playing on a political party theme, the Wilder character representing the "Freedom Party" encourages viewers to "start your own party," adding that Las Vegas offers visitors the opportunity to play around the clock.

Several R&R employees with Freedom Party placards were strategically placed around the convention hall and cheered enthusiastically on cue.

The street marketing campaign and ads featuring the Wilder character will debut Oct. 9 in 15 cities and a special section will be inserted in Friday's edition of USA Today. The campaign will run in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore.

Other speakers at the opening session included George Warrington, president and chief executive officer of Amtrak. In his address, Warrington advocated the benefits of seamless travel, calling for the development of partnerships between airlines and the passenger rail carrier to better serve the traveling public.

Warrington said a coordinated transportation infrastructure has flourished in Europe for years.

The ASTA show last appeared in Las Vegas 16 years ago. The event is conducted all over the world, with next year's show in Seville, Spain, and an upcoming show in Hong Kong.