Tales From the Front Lines - A Salute to Travel Agents Everywhere

The COVID-19 crisis is an unprecedented event. That says a lot considering the industry has been through many threats to tourism - the fallout after 9/11, SARS, H1N1 for example.

From airlines, to tour operators to cruise companies and beyond, everyone is feeling the effects of changes in travel plans. But it could be said the unsung heroes of the outbreak are the dedicated travel agents who are spending countless hours rebooking and taking care of their clients. They are on the front lines with travelers and in a unique position - they can help travelers make alternate plans while helping to postpone versus cancel, bookings.

It's something that those of us in the travel industry are aware of, but travelers often are not. Many see using a travel agent as an option, something nice to have but not necessarily needed. But the COVID-19 outbreak should help to change that perception.

TravelPulse Canada reached out to a few agents to hear how they've been managing, what they've been up against and how moving forward, we can better equip travelers.

Cindy Almond, Owner, Romance and Foodie Travel in just one day worked from 6:00am until 11:00pm, got over 200 emails and dealt with hold times upwards of 4 hours. 6 out of 9 of her wedding groups she has booked so far have been affected, which is roughly 66% of her wedding business. She has lost income from cancellations or that income has been postponed due to the changes.

"This has been a real exercise in patience, compassion, anger management," Almond says. "Some clients have been very kind, and others have been not so kind, but I do feel that when this situation has been resolved, my clients will be ready to support me 100% and refer new business my way."

Michelle Whalen, of UNIGLOBE Enterprise Travel Ltd, echoes Almond's sentiments.

"I'm sometimes speaking with the same client three times a day to provide reassurance. I wake up in the night and check my phone to see if there are new cancellations."

While she can't say for sure how much she will be impacted at this point as she waits for updates from some suppliers on their commission changes, a big part of her business is cruising.

"I've been impressed by the cruise lines that are honouring commissions now on what we would have been paid, as well as what the commission is on the new sailing."

Rachel Stewart Founder of Eat Well Travel Happy sums up the amount of work that agents do with bookings, especially in a niche market such as hers which helps travelers with allergies find safe spots while travelling.

"In 23 days I have cancelled over $400k worth of bookings. From family, group and couple trips, FIT's to full group tours I was escorting. Those bookings took me a year's worth of advertising, social media, events, travel, 60+ hour weeks, daycare costs etc to set up. I loved it all!" she says.

"Now I have to unfortunately live with no financial compensation for my service. I've been working more than twelve hour days for weeks to help my clients get everything sorted and I would never leave them without support. I may have lost out financially, but this is the year I go from just having referrals to having evangelists of the service I provide."

Things are similar over at Click the Mouse Travel where Founder Sandra Pappas Halket, has lost 20% of her business this week due to March Break cancellations.

"All of our agents have been working round the clock to re-schedule and re-book vacations," Halket says. "Agents have waited on hold for hours (12-14 hour days is the norm right now).Our agents did this so the guest did not have to."

Halket says during this unprecedented event, if travelers didn't book with an agent, they missed out on the service and the comfort of having one be their advocate and travel partner.

"This negative event will hopefully make the traveler see the benefits of using a Travel Professional, especially one that specializes in a destination. As Disney/Universal affinity agents, we are up to the minute on all new developments and can advise our clients on next steps"

"I know we are all in the same boat and I would like to send all agents virtual hugs," said Cheryl Jaster-Rhyno of Niche Travel Group. She says there are additional operating costs of being an agent that are usually absorbed by the commission costs, but this time she's out the additional costs of mailings and custom gifts she sends to her clients.
"This has all affected us in so many different ways, not just monetarily, but also our health and our peace of mind. I have to keep in the back of my mind that clients are not necessarily mad at us, they are mad at the situation."

We asked how future bookings might change once the industry rebounds, after all, this could be an excellent opportunity to remind travelers of the importance of travel insurance, specifically CFAR.

"I will be reviewing my policies and procedures with a fine toothed comb once the rush has gone by, to ensure I am well protected in the event something like this happens again," says Almond. "One thing is clear, my insurance sales are going to triple for sure."

"Everyone will travel with insurance coverage going forward and having a travel agent handle your trip will be the smart thing to do!" explains Stewart. "I am really looking forward to the industry and perception change in the future. People will value our service and support and we'll be here to help them."

Amy Wear, an agent with Click The Mouse Travel echoes that sentiment. "It's a challenging time for everyone and the travel industry has been hit hard, but we will get through this by leaning on each other (virtually only, of course!)."