Travel agents are beginning to get tough with customers who pick their brains but then fail to follow up or simply bypass them, using their advice to book direct. Enquirers seeking complicated itineraries, involving multiple flights, hotels and car hire, may be required to pay a deposit. One agent is already charging £25 an hour, which is returned if the traveller completes the booking, and another is considering following suit, though at a lower rate.
Underlying the move is the increasing importance of the Internet, which is tempting some customers to book transport and accommodation independently and is allowing airlines, which incur lower costs if they sell tickets online, to pressure agents into accepting less commission. As agents watch their income drain away, they are having to redefine the way they do business.
Leading the movement to charge a deposit is Edwin Doran, who has two agencies in Twickenham and is chairman of the Campaign for Real Travel Agents, which was set up by the Association of Independent Tour Operators - the country's leading group of specialist firms - whose members argue that the big chains do little or nothing to sell their holidays. "We are assessing people as to whether they are likely to be time-wasters or genuine clients," says Doran. "Sometimes, if we spend a lot of time researching, we have to protect ourselves by charging £25 an hour, but they get it back if they then book with us."
Michael Phillips of Cadogan Travel says: "We haven't decided to start charging yet but we think the time has come. All you need is a deterrent and I think £10 would make people think twice." Estimates of how much the Internet is affecting bookings are vague. John Bennett, managing director of Osprey Holidays, told AITO delegates at its annual conference in Mexico last week that he suspected city break operators were worst hit, with business down 8% last winter and a further 1% this winter. "Because of the high commission agents are demanding, city break sales are being prised further and further away from their domain. It is hard to compete with a £19 return fare on a low-cost airline when people can book accommodation on the Internet too." AITO, meanwhile, is launching a website of its own. Scheduled to be up and running on January 6 at www.aito.co.uk, it will make last-minute deals from its 155 members widely accessible for the first time. Potential customers will also be able to tailor the holiday they want, entering requests for activities and asking to be contacted by up to five operators that can match their requirements.
AITO plans to use information gleaned via the site to establish a database of customer preferences which should lead, perhaps as early as next summer, to the creation of a loyalty scheme aimed at persuading people to book again - if not with the same operator then with another member firm. As yet, few members offer Internet reservations and some remain extremely reluctant to offer late deals, pointing to the fact that the big operators bump up their initial prices only so they can discount them later. However, if the site proves successful it seems destined to encourage more of them to do both. This will only exacerbate the problem for travel agents but ultimately it should benefit consumers. As Bennett observes, those who survive will have to be good. "They will have to offer expert, thoughtful advice - and there will always be a place for agents who do that."
