In today’s aggressively digital age, you could be forgiven for thinking there’s hardly a traditional industry left that isn’t on the brink of collapse. Record stores, taxi drivers, map-makers -- established businesses of all shapes and sizes have been forced to adapt to disruptive technological innovation. Throw in a catastrophic global recession, and for some the fight to survive has been a losing one. But others find themselves thriving. Take travel clubs, for instance.
“Even when the economy really fell, we didn’t see a huge decline in sales,” says Cathy Wunder, vice president of Global Discovery Vacations, a travel club and agency offering handpicked accommodations and experiences via a simple, stable pricing structure. “People always want to get away. When things are bad, they want to escape, and when things are good, people still want to escape -- they just have more money to do it with.”
In fact, the closer you look at some of the supposed casualties of disruptive innovation, the more complex a picture emerges. In a recent New Yorker article, Jill Lepore argues that, as much as the hordes of hungry tech startups would like to think otherwise, disruptive innovation is just the current version of an age-old phenomenon.
“The eighteenth century embraced the idea of progress; the nineteenth century had evolution; the twentieth century had growth and then innovation,” Lepore writes. “Our era has disruption.”
In other words, the challenges faced by many businesses today may be specific to current technology, but they are by no means unique. And regardless of industry, good product, good service, and good value will always make for enduring enterprise.
This might explain why The New York Times saw a 40 percent increase in subscriptions between 2011 and 2012; why sales of vinyl records have more than tripled since 2008; why independent bookstores, against all odds, are making a steady comeback. It might also explain why quality travel operations are doing so well.
But the question remains: with so many Web-based DIY travel services out there, not to mention sites like TripAdvisor, why are travelers still turning to agencies and clubs?
“It stops the information overload,” says Lori Smith, manager of Global Discovery Vacation’s travel agency. “When you go to a travel site, there is just so much to look at, and you might not be sure you’re making the right decision. Even with self-guided tours that allow you to explore on your own, having someone map something out for you can be really helpful.”
As anyone who has tried to organize a trip independently knows, the vast array of online options can be overwhelming. The gnawing suspicion that a better deal (or a nicer hotel, or a smoother, more comfortable flight) could be found elsewhere with just a few more clicks can soon sap the fun out of planning a vacation. A travel agent does all that hard work for you, allowing you to focus on selecting the perfect swimsuit or sharpening the edges on your skis.
On top of that, a good agent knows more than you ever will about your chosen destination. They may even suggest better ones that you (and, more important, everyone else) never knew existed.
“The expertise of these agents surprises some people,” says Emily Ceruzzi, manager of Condominium Operations at Global Discovery Vacations. “Say you want to go on a ski vacation. You might know Colorado, but there are hundreds of places to ski in the United States, thousands around the world. Agents can open eyes to new experiences by finding out what people really want and asking, ‘Have you considered this place?’”
For many travelers, nothing compares to the good, old-fashioned knowledge and customer service offered by travel clubs and agents -- a bespoke, reliable human touch, free of dubious sock puppet reviews and the nagging worry that the hotel you picked on a hunch will turn out to be a roach-infested dump five miles, not five minutes, from the beach.
We’ve all been there, and we won’t be going back.
