Bill Maloney, CTC

1
Travel Intermediaries Are Consumers Still
Willing to Pay?

• Bill Maloney, CTC
• Executive Vice President COO
• ASTA

2
New Struggles for Travel Agents

• Economic challenges
• Reduced availability of credit
• Difficulty meeting short-term obligations
• Disappearing commissions
• Consumers under siege

3
Are Consumers Willing to Pay?

• U.S. travel agents are finding the answer is a
  resounding YES!

YES!
4
Is the Link Broken?

• 1988
• Travel documents
• Information

2008 ????? ?????
5
Surveys Ask .

• Who is using travel agents?
• Are they willing to pay a travel agent for their
  expertise?
• How much are they willing to pay?

6
Survey Says

• Younger and less affluent travelers (lt 75,000 /
  54,900 ) valued and used the services of a
  travel agent as much, if not more, than did
  affluent travelers (gt 150,000 / 110,000 ).

Data excerpted from chart on Travel Agent Usage
7
Survey Says
Consumers, regardless of income, are much more
willing to pay for a travel agents services if
they see themselves as getting new suggestions.
Convenience, was cited as being the second most
important motivator overall.

8
Survey Says
A significant percentage used a travel agent
every time they took a trip, regardless of
complexity. Travelers (18-34) represented the
highest percentage12 of those who used a
travel agent in every instance.

  Young (18-34) Old (55) Men Women Less Affluent Affluent
Air 15 5 10 7 12 7
Hotel 12 3 9 5 10 3
Car Rental 10 3 6 5 7 5
Cruise 14 15 14 17 15 19
Trip package 16 10 15 12 14 14
Tour at Destination 9 7 9 7 10 5
Trip planning 11 6 11 5 10 6
Visa/Passport related services 9 2 5 3 4 7
Overall average 12 6 10 8 10 8
9
Survey Says

The main reason consumers opt not to use a travel
agent is the perceived lack of control.
Graph shows data related to Reasons for Not Using
a Travel Agent for Purchasing Airline Tickets.
Results proved similar for every travel segment
and every demographic.
10
Survey Says
Consumers were most likely to have paid a service
fee for air bookings and vacation packages, and
less likely for car rental and cruise bookings.

Fee Structure Paid when Booking a Cruise
Fee Structure Paid when Booking Airline Tickets
11
Survey Says

• When it comes to service fees
• Consumers said they prefer a flat fee rather than
  percentage-based fee.
• Flat fees provide consumers a greater feeling of
  control

12
Survey Says

The largest percentage of consumers said they
would still use a travel agent to purchase a tour
package, book a cruise or plan another type of
trip if a fee was involved.
Graph shows data related Continued Use of a
Travel Agent if Fee is Charged Purchasing a
Vacation Package.
13
Survey Says

• Whats acceptable?
• 15/11 to 100/73
• Air travel 20/14
• Cruises 50/37

14
Survey Says

Overall, 43 of respondents were willing to pay
a fee for any travel agent product or service. A
significant portion of consumers across all
demographic categories would pay fees without an
explanation of the benefits of using a travel
agent.
Travel Agent Usage Percentage Willing to Pay Fee
by Segment - Upper Limit
15
Age as a Variable
  Young (18-34) Old (55)
Average annual household spending for leisure travel/business travel 4,089 / 5,468 5,771 / 6,537
Used a travel agent in the past 12 months 58 44
Average percentage that uses a travel agent every time they book leisure travel. 12 6
Continue to use an agent to book airline tickets if charges a fee. 34 17
Continue to use an agent to book a cruise tickets if charged a fee. 33 38
Average percentage willing to pay a service fee. 51 39
16
Gender as a Variable
  Men Women
Average annual household spending for leisure travel/business travel 4,925 / 6,627 4,779 / 5,909
Used a travel agent in the past 12 months 51 44
Average percentage that uses a travel agent every time they book leisure travel. 10 8
Continue to use an agent to book airline tickets if charges a fee. 23 22
Continue to use an agent to book a cruise tickets if charged a fee. 38 32
Average percentage willing to pay a service fee. 44 43
17
Income as a Variable
  Less Affluent (75K or less) Most Affluent (150K)
Average annual household spending for leisure travel/business travel 3,195 / 4,389 8,345 / 10,561
Used a travel agent in the past 12 months 49 49
Average percentage that uses a travel agent every time they book leisure travel. 10 8
Continue to use an agent to book airline tickets if charges a fee. 28 17
Continue to use an agent to book a cruise tickets if charged a fee. 34 32
Average percentage willing to pay a service fee. 45 40
18
Working on Your Behalf

• ASTA
• creates an institutional body of learning from
  which all members benefit
• provides a variety of online tools and 24/7
  access to global network of travel agents and
  suppliers
• works hard to keep pace with the changing needs
  of consumers
• NEEDS YOU!

19
Getting Involved

• Get informed. Sign up for ASTA SmartBrief on
  ASTA.org
• Members Visit ASTA.org daily
• RSS feed
• Buyers Guide
• Dateline Weekly International Member spotlight
• ASTAs Worldwide Destination Guide
• WebExchange
• Non-members JOIN!

20
Thank You

• ASTA can be the architect, but without your help
  as bricklayers, we wont have a strong foundation
  upon which to build this industry.