On Hourly Fees - How the Pandemic Changed the Travel Industry

If you were to tell me back in 2020 that the travel industry would soon experience a colossal shaking that nearly wiped out the entire industry over the course of two years, I would have shaken my head in disbelief. Sadly, the travel industry has been one of the hardest hit industries from the pandemic era due to the initial onset of the virus followed by a litany of forced restrictions, regulations, and tyrannical control. It's taken over 27 months now to repair the massive damage inflicted upon the industry, but we are finally seeing life and liberation begin to shine in the travel business once again.

Unfortunately, the catastrophe has left some indelible changes on the travel industry and to anyone who works in this field. In addition to millions of job losses globally, the industry has also suffered a decline in flight availability, hundreds of flight cancellations, bankrupted agencies, and inflation. While we are healing in the industry, it will take some time to fully recover and repair.

INGENUITY, TECHNOLOGY, AND PARTNERSHIP

However, not all the changes regarding travel have been bleak. The restrictions enforced upon the nation ignited ingenuity in many as new trends and ideas for travel began to emerge. For example, in the summer of 2020, glamping became a highly-sought after luxury travel experience with several companies making a pivot to facilitate outdoor caravans and excursions. Families began to rediscover the great American outdoors, and the National Parks have seen record visits over the last three summers.

Mastering industry-related technology also became a necessary skill. While the need to depend on internet and commuter work deepened throughout the pandemic, we saw an increase in available online tools servicing the travel industry. In fact, I’ve been a part of several beta teams testing these new tools daily. These tools have streamlined everything from data management to client itinerary presentation and have made both the administrative and service-oriented tasks of running my agency much easier to execute.

The importance of working together has also become a prominent factor since 2020. Due to the unfortunate shifts and closings industry wide, those who were left needed to come together forming beneficial partnerships. The network I work with was one such example—in late 2020, ProTravel positioned themselves within a larger network called Global Travel Collection. The partnership has proven to be a successful move that allows us to offer our clients an even better menu of contracts and choices.

CHANGES NEEDED FOR THE NEW MODEL

But perhaps one of the greatest changes the pandemic left upon the industry is in the day-to-day operations of the travel advisors. For years, advisors have been stuck in a decades-old model that serviced clients with excellence but never charged hourly fees. This concept originally came from the 9-5 office model when travel agents were steadily employed by brick-and-mortars but were not required to provide customized client service. Now that many agents over the last decade have exited the cubicle door, established their own block of clientele, and pivoted their business to functioning as a travel advisor to a niche clientele, they have greatly increased their value and level of service. This change was never reflected in our pricing until the pandemic shined light on just how valuable our services were to the industry. It was way past time to reflect our value and highly sought-after professional services in the way we conducted our business. As a result, we are now beginning to charge hourly fees for service-related requests and research.

RE-EVALUATION OF MY CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL

During this crisis, I, like many, had to re-evaluate my current business model in light of how the business of travel now looks much different than in the past. Upon making this discovery, I had to ask myself, “How can I better service my clients, yet still remain one of the best in the industry?’ After surviving the pandemic-era disaster in the travel industry, I have determined that JSO Travel will emerge stronger than ever for my clients. I also had to find a new way to be effective in the process of designing and selling travel.

My agency is a boutique agency that caters luxury clients and their specific needs. So, I have revised the business model of the past to a custom model for each individual client. Included in this model is a more exclusive design experience for my clients with a tiered five-package structure based upon travel budgets, preferences, and exclusivity.

To deliver a more customized travel experience, I am now also charging a modest per hour fee structure. Over the years, I understand that clients desire quality, excellence, personal preferences, and a customized design process for each trip. This new fee structure allows me to focus on continuing to offer my clients the excellent service they so desire.

In truth, travel design requires hours of behind-the-scenes details for a trip to exceed my client’s expectations. By charging hourly fees, I can be completely focused on every detail of a specific trip, making sure that everything is done just as my clients have requested.

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Since the world has changed, we must change with it to emerge stronger than ever before. We can either let the storms destroy us, or we can allow it to reveal our weaknesses so that we can be refined in the endurance process. I choose the latter. While I was greatly challenged in the pandemic era, I know I am emerging better and stronger than before. The same applies to my business as well.

With a more exclusive travel experience, the new fee structure creates a freshness to serve my clients in new ways than before Yes, the pandemic-era may have been a hard blow to the travel industry; however, it did not win! As we return to unrestricted travel once again, we will enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and adventure that the “business of travel” brings to us all.

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