Five Reasons Why Small and New Holiday Agencies Should Join a Travel Consortium

What should smaller size OTA’s be doing to inspire the customers to buy more? Its all about the personal touch experts say.

The way people search for travel has changed dramatically over the last 10+ years. The convenience of browsing and buying travel packages on handy electronic devices now means that more travellers are exposed to vast information on the go. Today’s new-age traveller seeks out non-traditional ways of booking experiences. They require personalized experiences and are even prepared to pay an increased price just to be able to meet their specific needs.

Customers today are used to getting personalized recommendations from trusted brands that they use. Travellers also expect the same level of personalization

So how can smaller, budding holiday agencies cater for and match the one-to-one concierge-type service that customers want?

Often large online players are unable to provide a “personal touch” to their customers. However, this leaves a window of opportunity open for smaller holiday agencies especially if he chooses to team up with his kind across the world. A travel consortium is exactly that!

The ultimate goal of every consortium is to deliver vacations that consumers couldn't get on their own. A well-networked consortium is made up of a larger network of independent travel agencies and agencies, who leverage their global presence, share collective knowledge, and allow its members to deliver exceptional travel services. Together, we are always better than each individual. Don’t we remember the fable of the bunch of sticks? The resulting consortium enlightens hundreds of travel industry operators through its strong expertise.

Here are 5 key benefits of joining a consortium, from the perspective of small and budding holiday agencies:

Knowledge: Consortiums are formed by industry veterans who bring in decades of practical experience and vision. Small-scale travel agencies who are just starting out require enough awareness about the business landscape to take proactive steps and provide solutions for a changing terrain. Thus belonging to a value-rich network helps them to adopt the winning tricks.

Reliability: All offerings are carefully designed/optimized and developed based on prior industry experience and modern/new practices. The only certainty in the travel agency industry is that uncertainty will always reign supreme! Thus constantly keeping abreast with evolving changes in the industry helps deliver more meaningful experiences for their own database of consumers. A human tour manager who is always at the reach of a customer is a great proposition to tide over uncertainties. Trust matters!

Economy: A consortium will have the clout of volumes (Due to the member partner network) to buy preferential services and products which makes the consortium subscription

economical. This is also a high energy and super-efficient way for members to discover the latest product offerings in the travel world by virtue of this network.

Efficiency: At an unbelievably low cost, they would benefit from the offerings from the consortium. These offerings generally support all aspects of their business like, products, suppliers, training, networking, technology and marketing- all designed to increase member productivity and profitability.

They’ve got your back! Consortiums work as an additional workforce enabling holiday agency owners to focus on what they need and leave the rest on the consortium. Support during every step of the travel management process helps individual members realize their full growth potential, avoid setbacks and stay on top of their business processes.

After the growth and maturity of online travel booking, it’s clear that consumers are now more empowered to achieve most of what agencies can, by themselves. The only catch is that they just won’t be able to do so as accurately, as quickly, as economically or with as minimal fuss as travel agencies can. Those who see this change as an opportunity, and not as a threat, are flourishing. It all boils down to how travel agencies can match online vendors on prices, and yet, offer a superior experience that wins customer delight. Being a part of a larger global network of support and resources helps small and emerging travel agencies stay relevant.

A Dharmaraj

Guest Author Mr A Dharmaraj is the Chief Operating Officer of Advantage Asia Travel Partnership, leisure travel consortium for small and medium travel agencies. He also serves as a director on the board of Pricol Travels Pvt. Ltd.