Agents go online for balance

A report by David Carroll in The Australian says the internet was supposed to make everyone a travel agent, but if you’ve sat down to research, plan and book a complex trip online, you’ll know it can turn into a frustrating, time-consuming journey fraught with uncertainty.

It’s no surprise, then, that traditional travel agencies are still going strong. If you are too time-poor to trek down to your local travel agency, however, you may want to consider getting a personal mobile travel consultant. A growing number of travel agents are ditching the daily commute and choosing instead to work from home.

Like most people, agents are looking for more work-life balance and, armed with a mobile phone and a laptop, they can perform the same tasks as any travel agent in a retail store.

Thanks to the creation of sophisticated networks spread across Australia, and in some cases across the world, home-based agents can also use a variety of online channels and forums to talk to each other.

Claudia Silk recently became the first Australian member of Travel Counsellors, a network of home-based agents in Europe, North America and South Africa.

When working in an agency she had two or three people around her. “Now I have 850,” Silk says. “The other day I was booking someone to Hawaii, where I’ve never been, so I was able to email two Travel Counsellors consultants who live there to ask advice.”

With no walk-in traffic to deal with, mobile agents have time to develop more meaningful relationships with their customers. That may mean they don’t need clever software to remember who you are and what you like. But don’t expect to be regularly pouring your agent a cup of tea while they call up exotic travel options on the laptop. The reality is that face-to-face meetings are seldom required.

James Irving, a member of MTA Travel, the country’s largest network of mobile agents, says he “hardly ever sees a soul”. Irving lives in Queensland’s Gold Coast hinterland, surrounded by lush forest and colourful parrots. His clients are located everywhere from Brisbane to France.

He sleeps with a personal digital assistant next to his bed and responds to calls and messages any time of the day or night. “Travel in some ways has got harder, not easier,” Irving says. “And it’s comforting for people to think they can call at 11pm and get a quick response. They want that personal service and I’m here 24-7 for them.”

You don’t need to be well-heeled to obtain that kind of service. A mobile agent will charge fees for their service but generally no more than a regular agency. They will also handle any kind of travel transaction, although if you want something simple they may gently encourage you to try it yourself online.

Mobile travel agents run their own businesses but most belong to one of four groups: MTA Travel, Travel Associates, Travel Counsellors and TravelManagers. Harvey World Travel is also in the process of setting up a home-based network and other well-known retail travel groups may soon follow suit.

You can get in touch with a mobile agent by visiting the groups’ websites. Given the popularity of sites such as Wotif and HotelClub, you may expect companies to be wary of moving into the online hotel space. But you would be wrong.

Stay247.com is hoping to lure travellers by promising discount hotel deals up to four months in advance of travel, rather than the few weeks other sites offer. The company claims that by no longer having to wait until the last minute to find discount prices, travellers will be free to sort out their accommodation at the same time as they book low-cost flights.

David Carroll’s column on new travel technology appears monthly in Travel & Indulgence in The Australian.

A Report by The Mole from The Australian