BBB analyzed its vast data store of information about the travel agent industry. See what makes customers happy and where to focus your efforts for the most impact.
What consumers like about travel agents
While there has certainly been an increase in people booking their own travel on the internet, many people still use travel agents – especially for overseas trips with complex itineraries.
Consumers use agents to navigate the dizzying considerations of flights and transfers and cities and tours. Some travelers find they have too many options and too little time. A trusted, skilled travel agent coordinates the details and makes sure that a trip goes perfectly.
Consumers want their trips to be full of experiences and memories – not missed flights, rude concierges, or bad meals.
BBB studied 318 positive customer reviews of travel agents (excluding online-only travel sites like Tripster). Reviews that only involved trip cancellations were ignored and only reviews about the work of the travel agents (not aspects of the trip, such as accommodations) were considered.
As shown in the graph, 64% of positive traits mentioned in the narratives pertained to service: responsiveness, thoroughness, informativeness, etc. This is a service-intensive business model. Consumers want travel agents to have deep knowledge, to work tirelessly and quickly, and make no mistakes. When this happens, then we see 4-star and 5-star reviews thanking the travel agents by name.
We also see that 25% of the traits mentioned were about the personalities of the agents. These were characteristics like friendliness, caring, courtesy, and patience. Consumers appreciated when their agent communicated well, was easy to work with, and cared about getting things exactly right.
Many travel arrangements through agents require a lot of back-and-forth communication, so feeling comfortable with the agent is important. Some consumers even said that they feel like their agent was a friend.
Price was a minor factor, mentioned in just 11% of the positive reviews. While those customers praised their agent’s ability to find them the best deal or lowest price, the likelihood is that when someone chooses to use a travel agent, the customer is looking for a special skill and service that is worth extra money.
Example of a positive review
Destination Europe has been planning our adventures for the past nine years. Sarah, Kayla, and the entire team work tirelessly to plan the perfect trip. They are the only company I know that truly customizes the trip to your personal needs.... As soon as they know what you are seeking, they quickly and efficiently set about to design your dream trip. They stay with you through the entire experience, giving you confidence and security. They can handle every aspect of the trip from the flight, activities, drivers, dining, guides, etc.... I have never met Sarah or Kayla face to face, but I count them as friends!
As shown by the data, travel agents get the most positive feedback when they focus on building relationships with their customers and giving them responsive and thorough service. When customers feel listened to and taken care of, they are less concerned with price.