At the same time, Web sites like Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline and Travelocity arrived, stealing business from offline agents. Online bookings have been gathering steam. In 2000, they were up 110 percent for Travelocity and 117 percent for Expedia. Travelocity expects to be profitable by June; Expedia projects profits in early 2002.
While many Main Street agencies wilted in the face of these threats, Poe and others like her have survived and even thrived. They've put to their advantage the very technologies that might have run them out of business. That could be why Internet travel sites accounted for just 8 percent (or $20.2 billion) of all travel sold in 2000. Online competitors, it turns out, have one real flaw: In travel, perhaps more than any other retail business, customers want to talk to a human being.
And those customers are willing to pay for that attention. To compensate for the loss of airline commissions, Poe started assessing service fees: "We were already charging fees for corporate travel, and we started charging for leisure." For a domestic ticket she tacks on $20, for an international ticket $30, and for an upgrade or to exchange frequent-flier points for a free ticket the fee is $100. For extensive planning services, Poe's agents charge $100 an hour, plus the expense of telephone calls and faxes.
Poe is also diversifying. In 1993, she began to book more hotels, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages, which bring in commissions of 10 percent to 15 percent. The results have been impressive: Ten years ago, 60 percent or more of her agency's revenues came from booking flights. By 1999, that figure was down to 28 percent.
To combat the Web, agents have been forced to specialize. Poe runs down her roster: "Sally Blewett knows Ireland and Scotland better than anybody alive. Clare Graham probably knows France better than anybody in the industry. Linda Brown knows Italy, Turkey, Austria and Eastern Europe. My area of expertise has become East Africa."
