Travelers are getting leery of Internet arrangements

If one were to believe this study (I wonder who sponsored it), why has the
percent of cruisers who do not use a travel agent increased monotonically
from 12% in 2002 to 26% in 2008? (See p. B29 at
http://www.cruising.org/Press/resear...ofile_2008.pdf)

On Aug 7, 5:35*am, "TEP" wrote:
If one were to believe this study (I wonder who sponsored it), why has the
percent of cruisers who do not use a travel agent increased monotonically
from 12% in 2002 to 26% in 2008? *(See p. B29 athttp://www.cruising.org/Press/research/Market_Profile_2008.pdf)

Hi, Theron, good to see you around. It's been a while, I think.

This report intrigued me, as I have done tons of travel research and
bookings online since the inception of the Internet and wholly
disagree with the summary conclusions offered as to end user
satisfaction with online travel sites. (My opinion is, of course,
based on my own experiences.)

I didn't go as far as you did in researching other sources of the same/
similar data--good work! But when I first saw this piece in the Times
(the TravelMole article John posted is simply a derivation of the
original Times piece), I did do a casual "fact check" to see if the
editorial staff was awake. What I discovered made me wonder!

You can access the NYTimes article he

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/bu...tml?ref=travel

I clicked through to Forrester's website and pinned down their quoted
analyst's "Executive Summary" report he
http://www.forrester.com/Research/Do...,47562,00.html

You can see to the bottom right of the article, the study on which the
Forrester analyst based his report was the "North American
Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US)." You can't view
the survey findings unless you are a Forrester client or want to fork
over $499; however, you can read the summary description of how the
survey was conducted he http://www.forrester.nl/ER/Research/...49,705,00.html
and you can review survey questions he http://tiny.cc/kTBQK

I also looked around Forrester's site generally.

The conclusions I drew, right or wrong, we

(1) The survey sample is questionable as to randomness (while
Forrester claims their sample was random, it was drawn from a non-
random, sweepstakes-motivated sample of unstated size compiled by a
third party)

(2) The only survey results the Forrester analyst quotes in his report
don't really tell us anything without correlation to the other survey
findings, i.e., as presented in a vacuum, what do these two findings
really mean? "There are 15% fewer travelers who enjoy using the Web in
2009 than there were in 2007. Just one in three US online travelers
feels that travel Web sites do a good job presenting travel choices,
down from 39% in 2008."

(3) Forrester makes money counseling clients in various market
sectors, including travel, about how to improve online commerce.
Indeed, the reason they conduct this survey annually is to identify
bases for promoting their services to travel retailers. According to
the analyst's report of the survey, and borrowing the familiar intro
from Family Feud (how old am I?!), Survey says: "travel eBusiness
professionals must rethink their approach to travel eBusiness."

All in all, I guess it's clear, I wasn't impressed with the
reliability of the source material or conclusions.

Based on years of personal experience and following travel media, I've
concluded:

(1) Brick and mortar travel agencies have lost business to online
bookings made directly with the supplier or through online travel
agencies, especially biggies like Travelocity, Orbitz, Vacations/
Cruises To Go, etc.

(2) Some kinds of travel products are well-suited for online sales,
like airline tickets, hotels and rental cars. Why? The traveler
doesn't have to be very experienced or informed to conduct a
satisfactory transaction; it generally costs more if you don't book
online; there's a tolerably low risk of making a serious boo-boo in
handling the booking online vs. through a "real" TA; and if something
does go badly that relates in some way to the online booking process,
it's usually fixable, and if not, it's a one-off travel experience
anyway.

(3) Examples of travel products that are NOT well-suited for online
sales are cruises and land tours. Why? Exactly the opposite of the
factors I mentioned above. The traveler does have to be very
experienced or informed to conduct a satisfactory cruise or tour
booking; it generally costs more if you book online than through a
"real" TA, and if not more, then the same as the best online deal;
there's an intolerably high risk of making a serious boo-boo in
handling the booking online; and if something does go badly that
relates in some way to the online booking process, it's harder to fix,
and it hurts more because a cruise or tour is not a one-off travel
experience, but represents--for most--a significant investment of
precious time, money and, often, emotion.

And there are incalculable, invaluable benefits that comes from
booking cruises and land tours through an experienced professional who
is an expert in the field, e.g., Even though I consider myself a savvy
traveler and could easily book my cruises online, with little to no
negative impact on my cruise travel experiences, I book all of my
cruises through my personal agent because he knows my name and travel
preferences; he offers great advice (when I'm not too stubborn to
ignore it); he is available as close to 24/7 as it gets to help
resolve any problem far faster and better than I could; I like knowing
I put a few dollars directly into his pocket vs. contributing toward
some corporate VIP's bonus or shareholder returns; and besides, he
tells a good joke.

So...for cruisers, I always say, use a "real" TA who is cruise travel
expert. From following online cruise travel discussions over the
years, there's no question, a majority of the complaints and
unsatisfactory cruise experiences flow from three scenarios: Do-It-
Yourself'ers who had no business attempting to DIY; folks who booked
with an online TA that did not offer any or adequate support service
with its cruise sales; or cruisers who used a TA who was not a cruise
travel expert.

Just my two cents.

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

On Aug 7, 1:37*pm, D Ball wrote:
So...for cruisers, I always say, use a "real" TA who is cruise travel
expert. From following online cruise travel discussions over the
years, there's no question, a majority of the complaints and
unsatisfactory cruise experiences flow from three scenarios: Do-It-
Yourself'ers who had no business attempting to DIY; folks who booked
with an online TA that did not offer any or adequate support service
with its cruise sales; or cruisers who used a TA who was not a cruise
travel expert.

Just my two cents.

Diana Ball
Austin, TX

On our most recent cruise, we had a terrible problem with Delta (they
did an equipment change and 3 couples with business class tickets were
unseated for 2 available seats.) I pushed (calmly but very firmly) as
hard as I ever have and we got the seats. On the return flight one of
the unfortunately-bumped couples recognized us and told us that the
four of them were re-ticketed ton Air France through CDG and arrived
in Copenhagen without luggage @ 6 PM instead of 9:30 AM. They also
mentioned that the other couple missed their cruise which departed at
5:00.

Although I felt somewhat guilty upon hearing this (the couple was
elderly) -- I couldn't help but wonder who originally scheduled them
for an international flight arriving the same day as the ship
departure.

Mark

On our most recent cruise, we had a terrible problem with Delta (they
did an equipment change and 3 couples with business class tickets were
unseated for 2 available seats.) I pushed (calmly but very firmly) as
hard as I ever have and we got the seats. On the return flight one of
the unfortunately-bumped couples recognized us and told us that the
four of them were re-ticketed ton Air France through CDG and arrived
in Copenhagen without luggage @ 6 PM instead of 9:30 AM. They also
mentioned that the other couple missed their cruise which departed at
5:00.

Although I felt somewhat guilty upon hearing this (the couple was
elderly) -- I couldn't help but wonder who originally scheduled them
for an international flight arriving the same day as the ship
departure.

Mark

Hey, Mark. That's a bummer of a story. Good work on your part getting
your seats.

I've been traveling--did I miss your cruise report? Can't wait to hear
all about it.

Diana