Travel agents your time to shine over OTA's has come
Come the hour…cometh the travel agent.
The industry most impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is perhaps the travel and hospitality sector. By all accounts, almost every industry on a global scale has suffered. What sets the travel and tourism sector apart though, is that, unlike most other industries, this isn’t the first time the hospitality industry has experienced such set-backs. Admittedly and undoubtedly, COVID-19 is by far the most devastating one of all.
It is at times like this, that the often said, ‘Why use a travel agent when I can book online myself?’ can be seriously challenged, especially after hundreds of travelers found themselves stranded in international destinations in late March.
If you have a reservation with Bookit, you can forget about receiving any refund! They have folded. The OTA released the following statement, “Bookit is in the process of cancelling all upcoming travel between now and June 30, 2020, for international travel. Your resort booking will be cancelled automatically. As we are currently unable to process refunds to you, please contact your bank for options available to you as a cardholder. If you wish to reschedule your stay to a later late, please do so directly with your selected resort.”
Basically, what Bookit has said is “Bye Bye, don’t bother us, you are on your own now”. Would any traditional travel agent worth their salt do that? No way. As other stranded travelers who used traditional agents have found out – They are getting advice, they are getting rebooked, they are getting rescued and they are getting home.
What we are seeing here, in the wake of the coronavirus disruption, is the difference between OTA’s and travel agents. What the current situation has done to OTA’s is that their call centres are struggling to cope with the huge deluge of calls. Furthermore, as most of their call centres are located overseas, they are been forced to close, due to ‘lockdown’, social distancing and ‘working from home’ measures. Not having adequate logistics such as virtual staff or WI-FI and equipment, there is not much help they can render.
This is where the traditional travel agent shines - immaterial of where they are in the world. They have battled in emergency situations many times - tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes and even wars to protect clients. With this background, travel agencies trained their agents to work remotely, designing technology to manage them so that they are on call 24/7, and 365 days a year. Travel professionals work as much as 16 hours a day to ensure their clients are taken care of.
Stranded or seeking help in a country where you do not speak the language? Call a worldwide toll-free number or reach your agent directly on the agency’s designated emergency call centre after hours. These call centres can pull a client’s record in the GDS (E.g. Sabre, Amadeus) and access your information, giving agents full authority to assist you (the client) - be it to rebook a flight, hotel, car rental or even contact a loved one in case you could not.
Can any online travel provider, automated system or chat function, offer this much ‘high touch’ service? No way. Verily, the traditional travel agents time to shine has come a full circle - even while the world was saying otherwise.
Hospitality Sri Lanka. |
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