Weary of online booking, clients return to travel agents

Vacationers who hire Suzanne Burr book their travel the old-fashioned way. They tell Burr where they want to go and what they need when they arrive, and leave it to her to make it happen. Burr's business has been booming recently, in part because some people who've been booking their own trips on the Internet are returning to her. "They would push the button on some of these websites, and that was it," Burr says. "There was nobody to ask a question. Nobody to ask for help. When it comes to really spending money and wanting an advocate, people are turning back to agents because people care. A computer doesn't."

For some travelers, do-it-yourself booking is losing its luster. A study by Forrester Research found that in the first three months of this year, 28% of leisure travelers in the U.S. who booked their trips online said they'd be interested in going to a good traditional travel agent. That's up from 23% in 2008. Another Forrester report finds that the number of leisure travelers who enjoyed using the Web to plan and book their vacations dropped to 46% last year, down from 53% in 2007.

The findings reflect a growing frustration with websites that fail to simplify an increasingly complicated travel process or to meet a vacationer's specific needs, some analysts and travelers argue.

"We believe it's a function of consumers' increasing desire to get the best value as well as the increasing amount of complexity associated with planning and booking a trip," says Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst for Forrester Research. "Planning and booking a vacation should be fun. Instead, most travel websites deliver a very clinical experience and a very intimidating experience, and one that is about as much fun as walking through quicksand. It's just not where it should be."

Such dissatisfaction could provide a window of opportunity for traditional agents, whose numbers have dropped by the thousands over the last decade, winnowed by a loss of commissions, a faltering economy and the ever-growing number of travelers who sit down at their own computers to book rooms or flights. "Any time you have confusion in a marketplace or in a channel, it bodes well for those who have the potential to relieve you of that confusion," says Harteveldt, "and a travel agent can obviously provide advice and counsel."

In addition to getting clients special rates, upgrades and perks, a traditional travel agent can help passengers avoid the headache of figuring out varying rates and restrictions on their own. And they can take action when a trip goes wrong, be it an oversold hotel or a natural disaster such as the volcanic eruption in Iceland that spewed an ash cloud that left thousands of fliers stranded throughout Europe in April. "A lot of people are finding that travel has become more complicated than ever and that they need ... the assistance of professionals that are going to understand," says Paul Ruden, senior vice president for legal and industry affairs for the American Society of Travel Agents.

Noting the travails of passengers on board the Carnival cruise ship Splendor that had to be towed to shore in San Diego last week after it lost power, Ruden added, "I'm not suggesting that type of event is a common thing. It's not. But even little things that go wrong can be hard to handle if you don't have an expert working on your behalf. More people are realizing that." An agent, for instance, could have helped rearrange a cruise passenger's flights, or found them a hotel where they could stay until they were able to fly home, says Ginger Mittelstaedt, who owns Free Spirit Travel in Portage, Wis.

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