Travel Market Place: Travel executives sound off on the state of the travel trade

Five travel executives, six minutes each. (Roughly). 

The state of the travel trade took centre stage at the Toronto edition of Travel Market Place on Tuesday (June 25) as leaders from Canada’s retail, agency and consortia sectors took turns sounding off on the state of the trade.

Following a fireside chat format, the afternoon session was moderated by Daniel McCarthy, vice-president and editor-in-chief at Travel Market Report, who interviewed each contributor about a variety of issues.

READ MORE: How to be an extraordinary travel advisor: Claire Newell opens Travel Market Place in T.O.

The all-star line-up featured Mike Barron, senior director, franchise operations at Expedia Cruises; Zeina Gedeon, CEO at Trevello Travel Group; Jane Clementino, senior vice-president and general manager at TRAVELSAVERS CANADA; Mark Stubbert, vice-president, member relations at Ensemble; and Úna O’Leary, general manager for Canada at Virtuoso.

One by one, each took to the ballroom stage at the Delta Hotel Toronto Airport and Conference Centre to share insights with an audience of some 550 travel advisors and 130 suppliers.

Buzzword: automation

Expedia Cruises’ Mike Barron was first up and was asked to share his view on one of this year’s biggest buzzwords: automation.

“It’s a pretty significant buzzword right now,” Barron said, calling it a post-COVID trend.

The need for automation – technology or programs that complete tasks with minimal human input – ramped up as travel became more complex during the pandemic, he said.

That need became even more apparent as business came roaring back, all at once, when travel restarted, he added.

The expectations of post-COVID travellers have also changed, Barron explained. “They’re looking for more information, faster,” he told the audience.

That includes “more comprehensive information” from travel advisors. “They’re looking for more details about destinations – [including] barriers and restrictions in destinations and how they should plan for them,” he said.

Today’s hot tech is placing some accountability on the travel industry, forcing it to “figure this stuff out,” Barron said.

Of course, you can’t achieve automation without embracing artificial intelligence (AI) – another buzzword that, in a short period of time, has disrupted the travel industry in never-before-seen ways.

This year’s Travel Market Place dives deep into AI and automation – specifically, how the two can help agents stay competitive and find efficiencies while maintaining personalized service.

This was the premise of a workshop led by Laurie Keith, chief executive officer and founder of Boutique Travel Services, who, in a separate session, presented tools, tips and tricks to streamlining marketing, quoting, booking, invoicing and itinerary tasks, and follow-up processes.

Besides using ChatGPT to improve communications, the biggest impact automation has had on agencies are systems that speed-up administrative work, Barron said.

He said he’s heard of agents spending between 40 to 75 per cent of their time on back-office tasks.

That makes a convincing case for more automation, which Expedia Cruises has embraced by introducing an automated invoicing system.

The company just started using it, Barron shared.

“The purpose is to take administrative tasks off of agents so they can spend more time networking with their clients, building new relationships, and selling to existing [clients],” he said. “It’s going really well.”

Barron said automation works hand in hand with efficiencies. “Efficiencies are driven by automation,” he said.

What does the future hold for travel agencies as automation advances?

The rise of AI, for one, will certainly play role. But Barron doesn’t think robots will take over entirely. Rather, he believes AI and actual (human) intelligence can co-exist.

“Combining those things together can have great outcomes,” he said.

He shared an example of how AI could assist agencies with big databases in generating itineraries that match the interests of clients.

However: “You, as the advisor, are going to use your actual intelligence to sell it,” Barron said.

What AI can’t do is authentically describe an experience like a travel advisor would, Barron went on to say. He shared an anecdote of sailing the Mediterranean on a cruise last year, and the wonder he felt as his ship pulled into Istanbul, Turkey, at sunrise.

“I was on the top deck…and the whole city just opened up for me as we sailed smoothly into the port. There was no way artificial intelligence could ever explain that experience to a client,” he said. “But you can all do that.”

Zeina vs. 21-year-olds

Zeina Gedeon of Trevello Travel Group tackled the travel industry’s need for younger people as the sector ages.

“We definitely need the younger generation to come into our industry,” Gedeon said. “The problem is, we’re so entrenched in it, we don’t even think about it.”

Gedeon’s outspoken, tell-it-like-it-is style had the audience in stiches as she unpacked her experience in working with a 21-year-old she hired recently.

“He’s driving me bonkers,” she said, generating bursts of laughter from the room. “But the passion [this age group] has is phenomenal.” 

Gen Z is forcing the industry to adapt new mindsets and processes, she said. If anything, when it comes to recruiting and training newcomers, it highlights the need for more collaboration with the ACTAs and TICOs of the world.

“The onus is big on us as agencies, but it’s also on all the other organizations,” Gedeon said.

What was it about the travel industry that led a 21-year-old to apply for a job at Trevello? Young adults, today, are after one thing, Gedeon explained: the opportunity to see the world.

“The whole reason he came to us is because he’s willing to work, but he wants to travel,” Gedeon said.

Not only travel, but also have the freedom to work remotely in a destination. Which Gedeon isn’t entirely keen on, but “I have to accommodate him,” she said.

“The stuff he did was better than a director and a manager I had,” she said. “The automation he brought in, the tech, the processes…The tools he’s using. I pretend I know them because I don’t want to look like an idiot.”

Hiring young people is an investment in travel’s future, Gedeon implied, urging the industry to just “do it.”

The rise of B2C distribution

Switching gears, TRAVELSAVERS’ Jane Clementino addressed what McCarthy called “the harsh reality” of B2C’s rising dominance in the market.

For 36 years, Clementino has worked with indirect channels, from corporate to supplier to retail spaces, and she’s always made a point of calculating how direct and indirect systems are split. 

“What’s happened, because of the pandemic, is that we’ve lost some points,” she said. “B2C is gaining momentum.”

What caused this to happen? Clementino shared a theory.

“I think what happened, post pandemic, is that the demand was incredibly over the top,” she said. “There was an overflow in demand, we lost thirty to thirty-five per cent of advisors, and there was no way we could serve everybody. Some of that overflow went directly to suppliers.”

Clementino said she has learned from tour operators that there has been a 10 per cent shift from B2B to B2C.

“Which is a significant shift,” she said. “It’s profound, really, when you think about that number.” 

As the market begins to stabilize and soften, the trade will need to figure out a way to gain back those 10 points, Clementino said.

“Especially as we bring in new recruits,” she said. “We can do it. We just have to work together on what the proposition would be to get clients back into the indirect channel.”

The way travel advisors engage with loyalty programs is important, Clementino went on to say.

“After the pandemic, everybody had credits and loyalty points after everything they spent. And so, they went directly to suppliers to look at their next dream vacation and use those points,” she said.

“How do we support these loyalty programs? I think it’s something really important that we need to embrace.”

Air also factors into the equation. Clementino said more advisors are no longer supporting air, for many reasons (the complex nature of flights, and the lack of compensation, being two).

Even cruise lines are rethinking their air departments, she said.

But this also carves out an opportunity. “Within the B2B market, we need to figure out how to play in a space where we provide all services – including air,” Clementino said. “We need to re-evaluate the fact that we’re giving air back to suppliers, because once we do that, suppliers will inundate clients with all kinds of marketing…things that take [clients] away from us.”

To stay ahead, the trade should remain engaged with clients through ongoing communication so their value is clear, Clementino said.

“Keep focusing on what you can do that’s above and beyond,” she said.

New advisors need to make money

Mark Stubbert at Ensemble, meanwhile, shed light on issues that new-to-industry advisors face.

He emphasized the need for quality training. “Let’s face it, all these owners are growing their business. They don’t have the time to train [new agents],” he said.

It’s a sad scene out there. Stubbert shared some results of a 2023 Ensemble-sponsored survey by Travel Weekly that showed how one-third of advisors started selling travel in the last five years, while one-tenth of those started over the last year.

“The most discouraging point,” Stubbert said, “was the fact that 80 per cent of advisors, in the business for two years or less, are making $25,000. It’s not good. It’s not good for any of us.”

One solution, Stubbert said, is for the industry to curate training that helps new-to-business advisors get leads, grow their brand, find the right clients and understand the sales process.

“It needs to be done in a way that’s easy to use,” he said.

Nonetheless, the future of travel advisors is bright, Stubbert said. Just as long as new agents are making good money.

“We want them to be at a dinner party, saying, ‘I’m a travel advisor, and I’m proud of,’” Stubbert said. “If can’t do that, it’s problematic.”

“Luxury is not about money”

Finally, Úna O’Leary capped off the session with insights about Canada’s luxury travel trends.  

All-inclusive resorts, for one, are seeing a “bit of decline,” O’Leary shared. Canadians are also booking longer out. “Instead of 92 days, they’re now taking 105 days,” she said. “That means they’re booking more intentionally because they’re looking for interesting places to travel.”

O’Leary reviewed the motivators that are driving luxury bookings right now. The desire to “relax and disconnect” takes the top spot, followed by adventure and romance.

Another interesting stat from Virtuoso is that cruisers are not just booking longer voyages, but they’re going to far-flung destinations, like Antarctica, where they can immerse themselves in compelling experiences.

“Luxury is not about money. Luxury is personal. It’s about what you want to bring away from travel,” O’Leary said.

She also touched on sustainability, saying that “people don’t really know what that means.”

“Sustainability is really about looking at how you’re travelling,” she said. “Travellers are curious to know about the footprint they’re leaving in destinations.”

Travel advisors, O’Leary said, will be key to helping clients understand what makes a trip sustainable “and what they’re going to get out of it.”

Travel Market Place, now in its tenth year, concludes on June 26.

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