Online vs high street agents – can they get on?

Internet and high street agents – are they enemies or allies? Charles Duncombe from holidaysplease.co.uk looks at discounts, paper pants and hunger.

When I meet high street travel agents at industry events they are always very pleasant to me. However in the back of my mind I can’t help thinking that their smile is a very thin veil….

That’s because I work for an internet travel agency and if I believe everything I read in the press we are the curse of the high street. We are the company that consumers come to when they have picked the brains of their high street agent for half an hour and leave without buying. We are the company who sell at margins that are as thin as the paper pants I had to wear once while having an oil massage in India (don’t ask!) and we are the company that get all the press because we are "new and sexy".

However is it really like that or is there any way that the two can work together?

Taking the biggest criticism first, do internet companies really slash costs? Some do yes, but from our own personal experience I would say that we try to maintain a reasonable margin and when we have to discount heavily it’s invariably because a direct sell operator has quoted a price that we have to match. I therefore think that the discount debate is as much "agency vs direct operator" rather than "internet vs high street".

As for consumers picking brains on the high street first, I know that there are people who come into a high street agency, get advice and leave for the internet. However I should imagine the reverse is also true. There are people who have picked the "brains" of the internet, chosen their itinerary and bring it to a high street agency to book. Why? Because with many holidays (especially the more expensive ones) the customer still likes the trust they can feel when they deal with someone face to face in a real location with a physical presence. It’s often much more powerful than words on a page, a voice over the phone and a "virtual" company.

But I think the main point is that by focussing on internet vs high street we are missing the bigger opportunity of high street + internet. The internet can provide a high street agent with a shop window to the world at the fraction of the cost of setting up a branch. The internet is not a threat it’s an opportunity.

In other markets the high street and internet are working hand in hand. For example "click and collect" services where you order online but then visit your local store to collect the product. The key is providing the customer with the most convenient way to interact with your company at the time they want to do it.

And it’s not restricted to services provided within the same company. I work for www.holidaysplease.co.uk and we are actually looking to partner with high street travel agencies who might have some sales capacity in their shops. We were born from the high street and we know that there can be busy periods and quiet periods. It’s during the quiet periods there may be capacity for some staff to take overflow enquiries from us with an appropriate revenue share. We are even offering office space for any high street agencies who wish to move or expand.

So instead of the internet and the high street fighting over who is stealing each other’s lunch I personally feel there is a huge opportunity to focus on the hungry customer standing by and how we can best serve them.