Report by Jeremy Skidmore
A LEADING US agent has sent out a chilling warning to UK
retailers by telling them their businesses will be devastated if they charge
service fees.
Speaking to Travel Weekly on a visit to the UK, Bob
Tennyson, founder of Bungey Travel in California, said service fees had led to
widespread closures throughout the US and retailers that survived had been
forced to radically change their sales strategies.
The comments come after the Campaign for Real Travel Agents
chairman Edwin Doran revealed how his policy of charging service fees had
largely been accepted by clients (Travel Weekly October 23).
Since service fees were introduced in the US in response to
commission capping nearly five years ago, the number of travel agency locations
has dropped by around 5% each year and now stands at just over 30,000.
When commission cuts were first introduced, agents were
appalled, said Tennyson, whose agency is part of the 3,000-strong agents’
consortium Giants.
“People started rejecting fees and booking airline tickets
direct and on the Internet.
“The US experience shows that charging fees just won’t work
for many and I would never start an agency now. As the Internet becomes more
integrated into everyday business it will get worse.”
Bungey Travel now charges fees for all transactions and has
changed its main business strategy so that it doesn’t sell as many airline
tickets.