Travel agencies are facing increasing demands from their corporate customers. They also have to manage an increasingly complex offer, in a highly competitive environment and under severe economic constraints. The automation of reservations is calling into question the organisation of the entire sector. This phenomenon, which originated in the United States, is now reaching the other side of the Atlantic. While in North America almost 80 % of companies use an online booking tool, in Europe only 30 % do. But over the next three or five years, between 20 % and 30 % of transactions are expected to go online.
In France, for example, at CWT, the proportion of transactions made online during the first nine months of 2006 exceeded 7 %. Even if this score still seems modest, online transactions in this network jumped by almost 70 % between September 2005 and September 2006. On the Old Continent, online bookings are taking off in all traditional travel agency networks, whether they are integrated, like AEVA, or voluntary: Selectour, Tourcom, Manor, Afat... Of course, the proportion is almost the opposite in remote agencies. "Our customers make an average of 65 % of their bookings via their private Internet site", says Expedia Corporate Travel.
In the networks, the metamorphosis is quite clear: as soon as it's a question of organising simple trips, "on line" replaces "off line". In other words, the virtual agency is replacing the traditional travel agency. The surge in Internet sales is likely to reduce the need for human intervention, with telephone contact limited to the preparation of complex trips.
Until recently, being a travel agent meant mastering ticketing and pricing for air and rail travel, in order to book services and issue tickets in the traditional "paper" form. The dematerialisation of transport tickets is progressing, and in the large groups, the issuing of tickets without human intervention, described as "touchless" by the Anglo-Saxons, is largely taking over.
Today's travel agent, often referred to as a travel consultant, has a wide range of skills, with the job encompassing a number of different professions. Professionals working in a company office or on a business platform do not do the same job. In the first case, they deal exclusively with the requests of a single customer. In the second case, the requests come from several customers belonging to a defined market segment: multinational accounts, major accounts or SMEs, or even very small businesses. In this type of agency, designed to serve a corporate clientele, it is essential to work with technological information systems such as Sabre, Amadeus and KDS.
The advisor becomes a salesperson
Always on a business platform, the travel consultant has to transform himself into a salesperson, capable of winning the loyalty of his contacts over the telephone. Complex trips, with several destinations and long-haul flights, for example, continue to be handled by telephone. So, despite the automation of reservations, customer relations - active listening, handling difficult situations, etc. - remain a key part of professional training programmes.
As soon as the booking is complete, the efficient travel consultant must also keep a close eye on the customer's file. For example, if a flight is cancelled, the traveller must be informed as soon as possible, by telephone and SMS. At the same time, travel information is becoming available on a large number of electronic diaries and mobile terminals. Business travellers do not appreciate having to leave their office or appointment early to wait at the airport. "Even if we continue to book services, it is the way in which we market and distribute them that is changing", sums up Éric Dodin, Director of Operations, Online and Hotels at Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
Another method of remuneration
The other upheaval affecting travel agents was the abolition of airline commissions in France in April 2005. And, to a lesser extent, the reduction in SNCF commissions to 4.8 %, which came into effect on 1 January 2007. To compensate for this loss, agencies charge their customers a fee in the form of an unrestricted fee. "The disappearance of commission has established a new business model for travel agencies: that of service provider", explains Christophe Renard, who recently took up the post of Director of the CWT Travel Management Institute. As a result, instead of being paid by their suppliers, travel agencies are now paid for the services they provide to their customers.
The greater the added value of the services, the more justified the remuneration of the agencies. Of course, these services relate to business travel, a growing area of expenditure that amounts to around 26 billion euros in France, representing between 2 % and 8 % of company sales and 21 % of non-production purchases on average. "In their requests, companies are looking above all for service, savings and security," stresses Hubert Joly, CEO of CWL.
With an eye on cost control, companies are tending to outsource their business travel purchases to a single network of travel agencies, giving them a single point of contact. In addition, large groups with operations in several countries, and even on several continents, prefer to consolidate their travel expenditure. According to a recent study by Acte (Association of corporate travel executives) and Amadeus, a provider of travel technology solutions, as part of a global policy, consolidation enables customers to reduce their costs and strengthen their negotiating power with suppliers.
Value-added services
The new charges invoiced to business customers also correspond to new services. Firstly, the booking of services offered by hotel chains and the prescription of loyalty schemes developed by these tourism operators. Developing this type of service is all the more important given that corporate spending on hotels often represents between 30 % and 40 % of total travel expenditure, a level close to that devoted to air travel. As this item is rarely consolidated, the agency networks encourage their customers to include it in their travel programmes.
As soon as you are in contact with travellers or their assistants, you need to be able to expand the range of services on offer: issuing visas, taking out cancellation and assistance insurance, organising transfers, etc.
No longer confined to individual travel, travel agents are extending their expertise to group travel by offering management of business events and meetings. In practice, after receiving appropriate training, the travel agent works within the department dedicated to this market niche, long forgotten by the major networks.
In addition, since the events of September 2001, which dramatically illustrated the rise in risks that could disrupt the tourism market, these professionals have positioned themselves in the traveller safety niche. Depending on the risks associated with the various geopolitical or health crises, their security mission can be either preventive or post-accident. In the first case, travel agents must be able to advise on whether to continue a trip or, failing that, to suggest alternatives. In the second case, they must be able to identify travellers wherever they are in the world and rapidly put in place effective repatriation solutions.
Finally, in the largest business travel agencies, some staff undergo professional training to keep up with the technological revolution and be able to advise companies on the integration of information systems. Like consultants, they are then able to implement software. Or, once companies are equipped with online booking tools, to act as help desk operators to provide them with technical assistance.
In their expanded activities, travel agents are required to provide even more efficient services in terms of cost and quality. Their new role also involves providing assistance and security services to their customers' staff travelling on business.
