Fire your agent?
John Frenaye is not a travel agent but he owns an agency in Maryland. And his advice, while simple, might also be startling:
“Fire your travel agent.”
Actually, what he proposes is not as simple as that, but he made the point in a recent editorial that there are situations where customers do not need a travel agent, such as when a traveler is completing a simple itinerary or is very net-savvy.
“But there are also times when you almost must use travel agents,” he told TravelMole.
He estimates, for example, that someone going on a cruise will make upwards of a dozen phone calls for information before actually boarding the ship.
A recent study found that cruise lines had a “significant opportunity” to save 13 to 14 % by cutting cruise commissions, which Mr Frenaye thinks will happen in the future, though not immediately.
He thinks cruise lines are “testing the waters” to figure out future marketing. Carnival might be the first to move more seriously into bookings.
“It’s a great product for first-time cruisers, and they do a great job of marketing on their own. They’re just a marketing machine,” he said.
Mr Frenaye burned out in the construction business and bought a Maryland-based agency six years ago. Today, his company does $15 million in business and employs about a dozen people. His agents are about evenly divided between corporate and business travel.
He thinks in the future those two markets will remain the best for agents, though he thinks the trend is for only top echelon corporate managers to have some leeway in travel choices.
He thinks luxury travel offers a better market. “If a retail agency is not making a concentrated effort to get into the upscale leisure market, I think they’re making a mistake,” he said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports