11/02/12, 23:05:28 EST

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Travel agents find their riches

thestate.com

The 1980s and early 1990s were the heyday of the travel agent.

In 1993, at least four other travel agencies were within a mile radius of Betsi Jordan’s Prestige Travel in the Shandon area.

“Today we are the only travel agency in the Devine Street/Five Points area and have been for several years,” she said.

The advent of online sites — such as Expedia, Orbitz and HotWire — and the demise of airfare commissions sent the industry into a tailspin. The number of travel agencies nationwide dropped by half between 1996 and 2006, AAA reports.

Some Columbia-area agencies have survived by specializing in certain types of trips.

Prestige works on weddings and honeymoons. B and A Travel Service of Irmo handles sports tours. Pal Travel of Columbia caters to cruises. And like its name suggests, Casino Promotions of Forest Acres goes for the gamblers.

SPORTS EVENTS

B and A Travel Service lost its contract with the University of South Carolina athletics department 14 years ago, about the same time airline ticket commissions ended.

“It was a nightmare. I was losing about a million dollars in revenue,” co-owner Billy Coracy said.

But then came the 1995 Carquest Bowl. And it hit Coracy: Why not do trips for USC football fans?

“I have found a market in taking people to games,” said Coracy, president of the Irmo travel agency. “It’s a very risky way to make a profit.”

B and A’s specialty helped boost its profits last year by a half-million dollars, he said.

Coracy sold 154 out of 172 seats on a chartered flight to this month’s USC-LSU game at $899 a head. Fans got airfare, three nights in a hotel and transportation to the game. B and A Travel pays from $80,000 to $100,000 to hire a plane.

“I keep my nose to the grindstone (to fill those seats) for one or two away games — and hopefully a bowl game,” Coracy said.

CRUISES

At its peak in the 1980s, Columbia-based Pal Travel had nine local and statewide offices and 65 employees.

Now its lone Beltline Boulevard location houses four staffers and serves as base for about 10 outside sales agents.

“The Internet was a big thing. A lot of places went out of businesses,” owner Mike Palyok said.

Palyok said the first Gulf War and cutbacks by the airlines in the ’90s made it extremely difficult for independent travel agents.

“People thought we were going to go out of business,” Palyok said.

But he had a plan: focus on what his employees did best —book cruises.

Last year, 75 percent of Pal’s sales were leisure and group cruises, Palyok said. The volume his agency does in cruise sales often allows it to offer complimentary fares to one or two travelers of a group of 20 or more.

Despite the industry setbacks, Palyok believes there will always be a need for the service they provide. “There are still a lot of people who don’t trust (the Internet) and will use a travel agent,” he said.

GAMBLING

Murray Politis loved a good game of chance and traveling with friends to casinos in New Jersey and Las Vegas. So, the former clothing retailer started a business 30 years ago with his passion in mind.

Casino Promotions’ gambling vacations and subsidies from casinos have shielded it from much of the Internet fray. It sells all-inclusive, weeklong trips to Caribbean casino resorts for $1,000 or less per person.

Internet competition has cost the Forest Acres travel agency one major piece of business, though.

Its once-booming Las Vegas package sales have dropped dramatically because of deeply discounted online package deals in the last five years.

“We really don’t do Vegas packages anymore,” said Katherine Friedman, Politis’ daughter, who now runs the agency.

Casino Promotions has found great success with casino trips to St. Kitts island, the Gulf Coast and Atlantic City. It books trips for an average of 350 people per month.

WEDDINGS/ HONEYMOONS

Aware of the changing landscape for local travel agents, Prestige Travel’s Betsi Jordan was another who decided to stick to what she did best and greatly enjoyed: booking honeymoons, planning destination weddings and packaging group vacations.

Eighty percent of Prestige Travel’s revenue is derived from wedding and retiree-group trips, Jordan said.

“We consider ourselves a boutique travel agency,” she said. “And I don’t see the Internet as a competitor; I see it as a source of information.”

Jordan said many people use the Internet to find out what is out there — but go to travel agents to pull it all together. The Internet is not a travel expert, she said.

Frequent traveler Frank Brennan said he researches ticket prices online but calls his travel agent at Prestige to help with the details and book trips.

He used Prestige to book more than 30 guests for his wedding in Cancun in June. “It is — more or less — peace of mind.”

Reach Fulton at (803) 771-8659.

TRAVEL AGENT VERSUS ONLINE

National professional travel agent associations and industry experts weigh in on why you should use a travel agent and why you should use an online travel site.

Why a travel agent?

• Advice on special promotions, competing offers and the quality of trips

• Convenience of handling every detail of a trip

• Advocate when trips go awry

• Local and part of the community

Why an online travel site?

• Can save time and sometimes money when booking simple trips

• Can see ticket price and travel information firsthand

• Priceless “user-reviews” of hotels and other venues

• 24-hour access

PICKING AN AGENT

Here’s what to consider when picking a travel agent, according to Joe Brancatelli, an online travel editor:

• Go with word of mouth. Get recommendations from friends, family and co-workers.

• Choose a travel agent who matches your personality. If you are very detail-oriented or spontaneous, your agent should be also. This way, your agent is more apt to suggest activities that you would like.

• It’s not a necessity, but check to see if your agent is a member of a national travel agent professional association.

 Printable Version  | published Sep 30, 2007