#14: Travel Agencies

With the appearance of internet travel websites, the writing was on the wall for these operations, which took kickbacks and commissions from airlines to book passengers on one airline or another.

And with the realignment of the world economy, fewer and fewer people will be booking a trip to, say, Kenya, to shoot animals. Certainly, someone familiar with Kenya would be the better place to book your trip to shoot Babar, but you are not going to Kenya.

Even though this CEO still prefers you go with an agency, most people from the age of 35 and under have never used a travel agent. and that does not bode well for this industry. Recently, online travel agencies have slashed their booking fees, making it even more enticing to book online rather than through an agent.

Before all this, the travel agent was crucial. How could I possibly know what the best hotel is in Reno? Where would I find the time to stay on the phone with an airline reservation agent? And where would I find a car once I landed in Chicago? All this would be handled by your friendly neighborhood travel agent.

But now I can search for Reno hotels and get a nearly comprehensive list of where to stay. Airline reservations are just about 20 seconds away and I can not only book a car reservation, I can pick which car I want and all the amenities therein. And of course, if I am looking for a travel bargain (and who isn't?) I absolutely must go with something like Priceline or Hotwire.

On top of all this, there has been a recent spate of travel agents swindling people out of money. It appears the crime created by these tough times aren't just internet scams, theft and shoplifting.

Here in Boston, I noticed just yesterday that the iconic "Please Go Away Often" sign that used to grace the American Express Travel Agency in Harvard Square was recently put away.

Which made me think to write this.