Traditional travel advisors are thriving right now. Business is booming, and independent travel agencies, once nearly crushed by technological advances that favored online-only travel marketplaces and consumer interest in self-service travel planning, have embraced the forces that nearly brought them to their knees.
With advisors in the pink (and the profitable black), it’s easy to forget the disruption of the late 1990s and early 2000s when, fueled by the growing capabilities of the Internet, competitive headwinds and a forced reduction in revenue, the travel landscape for conventional agents changed for the worse.
As Phocuswright (part of Northstar Travel Group) describes in its 2018 report, U.S. Online Travel Agencies: The Big Get Bigger, competition at the time from online travel agencies (OTAs), metasearch platforms, private accommodation aggregators and mobile-only apps combined with the elimination of airline commissions forced many agents to rapidly adapt or risk their livelihoods.
While some travel agencies survived by offering niche, specialized services such as cruises, luxury vacations and complex or customized itineraries — often on a fee-for-service basis — others closed their doors. In other words, a good time was not had by all.
However, in 2024, the climate for traditional travel consultants has dramatically improved. Technology, including the Internet, cloud computing and specialized Software-as-a-Service platforms, has evolved into a powerful backend support infrastructure that puts traditional travel advisors back in the game with gusto.
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Modern tools of the trade
Ericka Fignole, owner of New York City-based Oh My Guideness Travel and a member of global travel advisor and agency network Envoyage, remembers the days before she implemented custom travel advisor technology into her business. “The booking process involved so many different steps,” Fignole says, describing a disconnected journey from one reservation platform to another to lock down flights, hotels and tours.
When Casey Slinkard, owner of SuitCase Travel in Gilbertsville, Pa., became a travel advisor fourteen years ago, searching for flights was tedious. “When I first started, you could only put in one set of dates and find a price. Then if [the client] said, ‘Well, we're flexible,’ you had to search one set of dates each and every time. It was very time-consuming," Envoyage member Slinkard says.
The travel advisor toolbox looks much different today than in the not-so-distant past. Plus, travel consultants have choices. They can assemble a collection of standalone, third-party platforms to run their businesses or, as Fignole and Slinkard decided, opt for membership in an advisor network that provides them with an ecosystem of tailor-made technology.
In either scenario — DIY or connected community — travel entrepreneurs are leaning into the tools they need to compete, including:
• Booking platforms and travel aggregators that replace the hunt-and-gather tedium of making reservations by placing trip components within a common connected environment. “You can do an entire European itinerary right in one spot instead of going in and out of three separate platforms for hotels, transportation and rental cars. It's very helpful,” Slinkard says.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms that store client preferences and travel history. “I can access all my clients’ information, their invoices, their frequent flyer numbers, their cruise line loyalty numbers, birth dates and anniversaries. So, if I want to send a happy anniversary email to a honeymoon couple that I booked last year, everything's right there,” Slinkard explains.
• Data analytics and trend monitoring tools that help advisors understand client behavior, travel trends and price fluctuations.
• Digital marketing software, including social media and email marketing platforms that assist advisors with building an online presence and sending targeted travel offers and updates to prospective clients. Like many travel advisors, Fignole uses Instagram to build her travel business brand. She also has access to a marketing platform that delivers pre-designed digital banners and email campaigns. “We can easily send our clients happy birthday emails or updates on travel deals and promotions,” she says.
• Collaboration and communication tools simplify working with vendors, other advisors and clients. While many travel consultants use Facebook groups, Slack, Zoom and other platforms to network, Slinkard and Fignole also have access to a community of colleagues, partners and suppliers through their planner network. “It’s where we share ideas and information with each other. We ask questions like, ‘Can anybody recommend a resort in Iceland for three days?’ Everybody is on there,” Fignole explains.
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Transforming the role of travel advisors
Travel technology has transformed the role of travel advisors from booking agents to full-service travel consultants in several ways, explains Christina Pedroni, vice president and general manager of Envoyage from Flight Centre Travel Group. It enables them to customize their clients’ experiences. “Travel Advisors were traditionally regarded as middlemen—calling the cruise line or tour operator and picking a trip off the shelf to offer their customers. With today's technology, consultants can make every trip they book unique to the customer.”
In addition to making the trip distinctive, Pedroni says, “Advisors can use modern tools to customize travel proposals and trip documents, adding the agency’s branding and highlighting the occasion for which the customer is traveling. They can also provide clients with a digital app that includes all the same information and customization [from the documents] to use while traveling.”
As a bonus, Pedroni adds, new technology may lower the barrier for advisors to becoming full-service travel professionals by “eliminating the need for them to use a global distribution system (GDS). Emerging point-and-click platforms for managing airfares come without the steep learning curve.”
Joining a travel advisor network offers advisors significant advantages. These one-stop shops give members “the ability to run your business from one place, from marketing to new customers and making bookings to preparing and sending documents. It also reduces the manual keying and effort duplication of having to put travelers’ names and information into three or four different systems. All those time-savers let you concentrate on your customers,” Pedroni says.
The future of travel advisor technology
The travel technology space is rapidly evolving, and those in the business are betting on a couple of different horses to cross the finish line. Casey Slinkard is eyeing a true all-in-one platform, “that unborn travel child that does everything so we don't need to use some of the other tools that travel agents are using to keep their businesses together.”
Pedroni anticipates further simplification of advisors' technology use. “Everything's getting more user-friendly, with more intuitive user interfaces across the tools we use every day. We will continue to see that, especially as more and more air platforms come online and replace the GDS.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on many people’s minds. “One of the best potential AI use cases for travel advisors, Pedroni says, “is developing focused tools to help advisors select the best products. The travel product ranges are endless. AI can play a big role in suggesting itineraries for customers.”
Modern travel advisor technology provides more than a level playing field on which traditional travel advisors can compete with online travel agents (OTAs) and other providers. It equips them with the resources to fully service a growing niche of time-starved, discerning clients who value working with a human to add nuance and personalization to their leisure travel opportunities.