Do-it-yourself booking is losing its luster

Vacationers who call travel agents with Cruise Planners/American Express book their travel with no fees added. They tell them where they want to go and what they need when they arrive, and leave it to them make it happen.Cruise Planners/American Express's business has been booming recently, in part because some people who've been booking their own trips on the Internet are returning to them. "They would push the button on some of these websites, and that was it,". "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 us because people care. A computer doesn't." We save them time and money.

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. . 

Traveler Ken Kushnir, 62, says he conducts many transactions online, but booking a vacation is no longer one of them.  

He veered away from traditional travel agents for a short while, "but then after maneuvering around the Internet trying to get some stuff done, I figured it just wasn't worth it for any of our vacations or trips that were a little bit more complicated than just buzzing down to Los Angeles." 

Kushnir, who lives in Healdsburg, Calif., and works in telecommunications, says that he has dealt with broken links, pages that don't load correctly and travel sites that don't accommodate specific needs, like bringing along a pet or making sure he gets a hotel room on the ground floor when he's had back problems.  

Travel agents have clout  

Others switch back and forth, making their own reservations for shorter jaunts or business trips but using traditional travel agents for cruises or longer, more complicated journeys. 

Two weeks ago, Suzanne Burr got an e-mail from a client who was on her honeymoon in Costa Rica. 

"They'd paid for the royal service with the butler, and when they got to the hotel it was oversold and they put them into a standard king room," she says. Burr immediately called the tour operator, and word eventually reached the hotel's manager.  

"By the end of the evening they were in the top-of-the-line room, even more than what they paid for," Burr says. "And that would have never happened if they were on their own."

Information By USA TODAY

Edited and modified by Cruise Planners/American Express

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