I think at this point, all of us, no matter where we live or what we do, have been impacted by COVID-19, and it’s pretty evident that we will be for a while in some fashion – although for how long and in what way is still unknown. Whether you are working from home, newly home-schooling your children, whether you or someone you love is a healthcare provider or first responder, whether you own a small business, or are an hourly wage earner, whether you have elderly loved ones or someone who is “at risk” or a high school/college graduate who is missing one of the most important times of their life…..all of us in some way are affected by the current situation.
And of course, those of us in the travel industry are no different. In fact, as some of the earliest news related to this novel corona virus came out, we were among the first to be affected as travel agents everywhere spent endless days handling the wave of changes and cancellations related to international, cruise, and domestic theme park travel, working to advise and help our clients and find the best possible outcomes for them.
So, while we now spend time in our homes, social distancing as we are being advised, I thought this would be a good time to chat a bit about travel both now – such as it is – and in the future.
First, let’s talk about what we actually mean by the “travel industry”, and who we are talking about. Yes, it is definitely the airlines, the hotel chains, the cruise lines, and the theme park destinations. But the travel industry is way more than these big corporations – it is also the small inn and B&B owner; the driver depending on tour business to his island; the local restaurant owner and the cooks and waitstaff who handle food for conventions; the baggage handler; the small local tour operator who relies on your trip to feed his family; the cruise ship bartender that makes only a few dollars per day before tips, who then sends most of the money home to his/her third world homeland; the Uber and Lyft and local taxi driver; the retailer who sells sports memorabilia next door to the city stadium; the theme park employees and entertainers…..and the list goes on and on.
And yes, the travel industry is also me and my fellow travel agents. While many TAs work in large travel agencies (which are also at risk right now), a large number of us are independent contractors, who have home-based businesses, relying on this income to help pay our family’s bills. And unlike salaried employees, we are paid by the destinations (not the clients) and so only get paid after our clients travel.
Which means, if they don’t travel, we don’t get paid.
I don’t point this out for pity or to imply that somehow our situation is worse than anyone else’s, because believe me, I have friends in retail and who work in restaurants, folks who are hairdressers, DJs, and other service related businesses who are in the same boat – or worse – right now. Because our economy is so interdependent, when one industry is hurt (to say nothing of several) the domino affect means that all are hurt. There are many of us who don’t know what our future holds financially over the coming months.
So where do we go from here then?
I think that as we all need to work together now, we go forward working together in the future as well. Because if there is one thing that all of this is teaching us, it’s that we really do ALL depend on each other. For a lot more than we may have ever realized before.
When things get better – and they WILL get better – we need to continue to depend and support each other. We need to shop at those mom and pop stores, and have dinner at the local pizza place, and schedule our hair appointments – and tip a bit extra right? We need to buy tickets to our city’s sports teams and make sure to get a few extra hot dogs and souvenirs while we are there.
And we are going to travel again too – and I hope you don’t mind, but I have a request about that.
As you plan your travel in the coming weeks and months, as a member of a travel industry that is in as much need of your support as your local pizza place, I ask you:
- If you currently have a trip planned, please postpone your trip, rather than cancel if at all possible.
- If you don’t have a trip planned, when you have time to breathe and think and when the time is right, book a new trip, no matter how small.
- And please, book with a travel agent. It literally will cost you nothing more than booking it by yourself, and may even cost you less because we will be aware of the best pricing options and deals that will surely come our way in the coming months.
When it comes to using a travel agent, if you have never done so before, let me just share a few last thoughts. There are a lot of folks who prefer to book their travel with Expedia, or Travelocity, or Costco, or any number of online “discount” sites because they think they are saving money or it seemed easiest at the time. You might be one of them.
Do you know how those online travel sites have helped all those people who booked with them and then had to cancel in the last two weeks? How about endless busy signals, hours on hold, calls being dropped, being transferred from one department to another to another without any resolution, and little to no accurate information about cancellation/rebooking options. This is just one example but there are many others.
Do you know how travel agents helped their clients? We spent the hours on hold so our clients didn’t have to, we knew what the current (constantly changing) policies were (and are), we advocated for our clients, got them the refunds or rebooked, and advised them of their best options. In short, we were there for them every step of the way.
All while in many cases, not getting paid, due to a necessary cancellation. Which we were -and are – still happy to do because above all, we CARE about our clients in ways that these big online sites never will and we always, ALWAYS want what is best for them.
Right now, you have to do what is best for your family, and believe me, I am no different than you. But when things are better, when you are able, please travel again. Every trip will literally make a difference in someone’s life.
And please ask me (or another travel agent you love) for help with your trip. You will be helping all of us in the travel industry – most of us who are “little folks” – more than you can ever know.
Until then, take care of yourselves and your family and stay well! <3
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